Published: 2025-10-19

The handcuffs on her wrists made her skin tear apart; they were tight. The other nine people were being transported in the back of the military truck, but Teresa was the only woman. The truck hit another bump, and the prisoners jumped in the air; they were scared. In front of Teresa, a man broke into tears; he had heard the stories. Teresa looked at him and tried to calm him down. “Hey, it’s OK. Don’t worry, this too shall pass.” She said, but the man didn’t seem to hear anything beyond his crying.

One of the guards who stood near the rear door, noting the man’s tear, tried to make it stop. “Hey, crybaby, stop it or I’ll beat you up.” The guard said. The man was in a state of panic; he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to.

“Leave him alone, would you? He’s complying like everyone else.” Teresa said.

The guard turned around and, pointing the buttstock of his rifle at Teresa, hit her in her naked ankle multiple times. She folded in pain and grunted while gritting her teeth. Although it wasn’t the first time she was buttstroked, the experience didn’t get any better over time.

“I don’t take orders from you.” The guard said, while grinning at Teresa’s pain.

The truck stopped, and the guard walked towards the door. The man in front of Teresa didn’t cry anymore. She looked at him and smiled, still trying to shake the pain off.

The truck’s doors opened, and the prisoners were ordered to get out. They found themselves in a military base. The entrance to a thick forest could be seen mere meters from the base; many thought escaping to it could be their salvation. They were wrong.

“This is what you’re gonna do, parasites,” said one of the soldiers, “you’re gonna run to the forest. You do it, you live; if you refuse, you’ll be executed. The forest has a radius of five kilometers; if you exit the forest, you will be executed. We are instructed to give you an advantage of five minutes. The clock starts ticking now. Go!”

The prisoners looked at each other, confused by the instructions. Teresa ran. The rest ran after her.

Teresa’s ankle still hurt; she could barely run. Things didn’t look promising for her. She felt her left shoulder being lifted: it was the crying man from the truck.

“What are you doing?” She said.
“Supporting you.”
“You shouldn’t. Let go.”
“Don’t worry, I know who you are.”
“Everybody knows I’m one of them.”
“I’d say as of right now you’re one of us.”

The prisoners ran deeper and deeper into the forest; their bare feet meeting the dirt soil as their grace period came closer to expiring. Teresa, on the other hand, stayed near the entrance of the forest. She seemed to have other concerns in mind. The crying man clung to her like a leech.

“We should go deeper. It’s not safe here.” He said.
“On the contrary. It’s human nature to run to the deep end. Staying here gives us more time to prepare.”
“What the hell is wrong with you? Are you gonna use the rest of the men as bait? And for what?”
“I already told you, it’ll give us time to prepare.”
“To prepare for what exactly?”
“To fight back, of course.”

A blaring sound penetrated the forest. The grace period was over. Teresa pulled the crying man next to her; leaning into the trunk of a big oak, they were invisible. “Get down.” She said as a military jeep ran past them. The calmness of the forest was replaced by rifle shots.

The crying man covered both his ears and crouched; he was trembling. Teresa grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up.

“Get up. This is our opportunity.”
“To do what?”
“Survive.”
“Are we gonna escape the forest?”
“And be shot by the soldiers that wait outside? You cannot be that stupid. Now we set a trap for them.”

The sound of gunfire in the distance was now accompanied by that of human screams.

“Listen,” Teresa said, “we have no longer than five minutes. They’ll soon notice that we two are missing. I need you to get me wood, all you can find, the dryer the better. Dry leaves, too.”
“Why?”
“Because I say so. Now shut up and pay attention. I want you to run to where the forest is the thickest and start a fire.”
“But why—”
“I told you to shut up. If you want to live, do it. And don’t get near the open road or you’ll give up your position. Move it, now.”

Teresa turned her back to him and started walking away. He grabbed her by the arm. “Wait a minute, why do I have to do all the hard work? What are you gonna do?”

She smiled, “I’ll take care of la pièce de résistance.”

The men in the jeep inspected the zone near the entrance of the forest, but aside from two pairs of footprints, they couldn’t find anything or anyone. Smoke started to come from the center of the forest; the men understood what it meant, and they felt offended.

The center of the forest was too thick for the jeep to be useful; therefore, the men proceeded on foot.

The jeep was guarded by only one man. He didn’t expect Teresa to come from the top of a tree and crush his head with a boulder.

Her now free hands trembled with pain as her dislocated thumbs started swelling.

She started the jeep and smiled; she could smell freedom. As her foot rested on the gas, she looked at the black smoke that mounted towards the sky and sighed.

The crying man hid behind a tree while the men, lured by the smoke, got closer and closer to him. He understood it then; he was about to die. The men’s steps sounded nearer and nearer. It was the end. A man stood in front of him; he smiled. Three shots were heard. Blood splashed on the crying man’s face. He felt faint, but he wasn’t in pain. The man in front of him dropped to his knees, his head slowly spilling blood as if it were a punctured bucket.

“Let’s go.” Teresa said as she extended her hand.

Another shot. This time, in between the crying man’s hands. “You drive, I shoot.” Teresa said.

They jumped into the jeep and stepped on the gas. Past the military base, freedom awaited.

As soon as the base was visible, Teresa opened fire. Some ran for cover, others dropped to the floor after being impacted by Teresa’s bullets.

They drove into the sunset. The crying man could not believe it.

“We’re free. You did it. We’re free. Oh my God. We are truly free.”

But Teresa said nothing in return. He looked at her; her shirt was soaked and red.

THE END.