Chapter Two

Upon seeing that her body was too weak to stand up, the man carefully lifted her onto his shoulders and ran into a building.

Laying her down carefully, he allowed her back to lean against him gently and pulled out the arrow in one swift motion, earning a scream from her.

"I'm sorry but you have to endure this," he said, proceeding to remove the arrow from her leg with the same sharp motion.

After that was done, he rummaged around the house and got a cloth to tie up her wounds. "All done," he said to her. "We shall soon leave this place. I need to scout the area to know the best time to escape."

Olivia nodded, the tears still streaming down her eyes. Her body aches severely.

The man tiptoed towards the door and peered out. "Seems like things have quieted. Now is our chance."

He picked her up once more and stepped out into the growing night, running with silent footsteps until they were a long way away from her pack.

+++++

Olivia woke up to the happy chatter of birds and the sun filtering its way in through the room. She opened her eyes slowly and glanced at her strange surroundings.

"Where am I?" She croaked to no one in particular. She tried to stand up and then felt a sharp pain in her legs and shoulders then the events of the previous day came rushing back to her in torrents.

She closed her eyes once more and willed herself not to cry.

"I see that you are awake." Olivia opened her eyes upon hearing the door creaked open. She saw a middle aged woman walk in. "You have been asleep for a long time."

"Oh," Olivia muttered. "Where am I? How did I get here?"

"My husband brought you here," she said. "There was an attack on your pack."

Olivia nodded. So this woman's husband had been her savior. "I am sorry for the inconvenience," she said with a tight smile. "I will leave as soon as possible. I shall begin to look for a job."

Olivia forced herself to stand up, ignoring the pain in her leg and shoulder. She looked at her leg and saw that it had been neatly bandaged.

"Oh no," the woman said hastily. "Don't worry about that."

"I hate to be a bother."

"You aren't a bother dear." The woman had a sinister smile on her face. "Anyways, my son shall soon take you to see a doctor again. You need to get your wounds cleaned up daily to avoid infections."

"I'm sure, it's alright," Olivia said. She hated bothering people. "You don't have to worry about me."

"Come on!" The woman urged. "I am not happy knowing that you are in this state. Come, it's time for lunch already. You slept all the way through breakfast."

Olivia followed the woman to the dining area where a bowl of chicken biryani waited for her. She savored the meal with a grateful heart, wondering when last she had had such a luxurious meal.

A tear slid down her face as she wished her mother and father were with her to enjoy such a meal. Hastily, she wiped it away.

"Once you are done with your meal, meet me outside," came a familiar gruff voice.

Olivia looked up to see the man who had saved her. "Alright. Thank you so much for your kindness to me."

The man only harrumphed and walked out of the house. Olivia wondered if this was the same man that saved her as his attitude was suddenly cold.

She finished her meal as quickly as possible not wanting him to wait long and met with him outside. He was having hushed conversations with two men so she stood a little way off to give them privacy.

One of the men gave him a sack that looked as though it contained coins and patted him on the back.

"Girl, let's go!" The man that had given him the bag of coins said.

Olivia looked at the man who had saved her with a raised eyebrow.

What on earth is going on? She thought to herself.

"He is to treat you," he said, avoiding her eyes.

Olivia found it suspicious.

If the man was to treat her, was he not meant to be the one receiving the bag of coins?

Nonetheless, she followed him into the cart that awaited her and was surprised to see other young girls like herself in it. They were all confused while it seemed as if some knew what was going on.

The cart bumped along the road steadily and when it finally reached its destination, all the girls were made to file out in a single line.

Olivia looked around her and was appalled by the ghastly environment. Two men brandishing whips were standing at a corner having a heated argument.

"What on earth is going on?" Olivia muttered to herself as she saw a girl being thoroughly searched and then shoved roughly into another cart.

A girl behind her snorted. "isn't it obvious? We have been sold as slaves and they are searching if we have any weapons for escape."

"Slaves?" Olivia sputtered, turning to face the girl. "That's not possible, I was... I was supposed to be treated and..."

The girl rolled her eyes. "What? Do you feel betrayed?"

"No, I... I mean yes but..."

"Who sold you? Where are you from."

"There was an attack on my pack and this man came to save me. He treated me and took me to his home but his wife said I had to go to a doctor for further treatment."

"It's the same narrative," she shrugged. "The attack was planned. They did it so they could capture young and agile people as slaves. Then they kill the older ones."

"Oh!" Olivia gasped, feeling terribly disappointed and horrified. "Did that happen to you too?" She asked.

"No," the girl said. "My family sold me off."

"What?"

"Yeah," she shrugged. "I'm Cassandra by the way. Cass or Cassie for short."