Simulation

No one slept much the night Ryan was taken. It wasn't a matter of whether the rebels would attack, but when. We jumped at every firefly in the forest. They were flashlights to our imaginations, or the headlights of a four-wheeler, or rebel campfires. They would eventually fly away and we would catch our breaths as the mysterious lights rose above the world, then we'd go back to whispering, huddled tightly around our dwindling fire.

We'd argued over whether it was wise even to start a fire, but the dropping temperatures and our dripping clothes had made the decision for us. Water still sloshed in my heavy boots but I refused to take them off even to let them dry- I didn't want to have to run into the woods barefoot when the rebels came for the rest of us. We weren't hungry anymore, and that was a blessing. The Vulture tribe who we had contacted earlier that day had taken us in and fed us well.

When we finally climbed into the shelter for the night I wrapped a thin scarf around my bare arms and stared up into the face of a thousand stars.

"I'll probably be captured first if they come," I said, trying to sound brave. "I'm the closest to the entrance of the tent. So... hopefully, I'll see you guys in the morning," I laughed.

Reagan, the self-proclaimed least daring of the team, yawned as she rolled over on her patch of grass. "I'd come for you," she said.

"We'd all come for you," said Lance.

I realized then that I'd never had friends who'd looked out for me before. I just whispered, "Thanks."

I don't remember falling asleep, but I remember waking up. Loren was shaking me awake and saying something about a rebel attack on another camp- "Explosion... captured... they're not here yet, got to go- Now!"

He ran and disappeared into the forest with Caleb. Where was Reagan? Escaped? Captured?

I grabbed my water bottle and Lance's arm and pulled him awake, then dragged him out into the forest where we dodged and trekked up an incline. We came to a spot of high grass with a ledge where we could scout out the forest from above.

"Where'd Loren go?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Where's the rebel camp you think?" He shrugged.

"Well, where haven't we been yet? It's somewhere we haven't been. Are we going to go there? I think Reagan may have been captured. Should we try to save her? But how would we do that, they all have guns and we're not armed... Should we look for the rebel camp or try to meet up with Caleb and Loren somewhere?"

"Just slow down, I'm not awake yet..." He put a hand to his head. He hadn't slept in days.

I crouched lower and stared over the ledge. There was movement down in the forest- one of ours? Or an enemy?

"Come on, let's move," said Lance. I followed him without a word.

We made our way back down the slope, hoping that the person below would prove to be one of our men. It wasn't.

"I've been looking for you," said the man with the gun. "Your camp is the only one left. We'll have to go on without the other two."

He led us back to the rebel base where our friends were sitting on the ground a few yards from Ryan and several others, who were bound and barefoot with sacks over their heads and shotguns trained on him. The terrorists wore skeleton masks and checkered scarves, most waving weapons around like toys.

We sat with the others and looked around to see who else was there. Where was Reagan? Where was Rebecca? Loren and Caleb were still missing. They, at least, had gotten away.

The leader of the rebel camp strode confidently before us.

"Your friends," he gestured toward the bound captives, "had a difficult night." His accent was thick and guttural. I scowled back at him. "This one tried to escape in the night." He pointed to Ryan and laughed. "We'll kill him, the girls will be sold." That's where Reagan and Rebecca went...

He balanced his gun upright on his shoulder. "I know you found the way to the Vulture tribe's village."

No one replied.

"You will tell me where it is."

I looked around, thinking of each person there in turn. Would he betray the tribe? Would she? No. Neither would I. We stood silently together in the face of death. The Vultures trusted us, we would not betray them.

The leader pointed his gun to Ryan's head.

"For your friend's life then?" He shouted.

I thought of Ryan- he was going to propose to his girlfriend when he got home. He would be a husband soon. Not him...

Would he give them away? What would he want us to do?

"I will give you three seconds," said the leader, "to tell me where the Vultures are hiding!"

Would he actually shoot? Ryan would gladly die to see the Vulture tribe come to Christ. He would never betray them. I bit my lip and stayed silent. Who would speak? No one, not even Sebastian, who we could never get to shut up, said a word.

"Three," said the leader. He gave a moment for us to think.

"Tw0," he cocked the gun. Not a word....

"One!"

I squeezed my eyes shut as I waited for the shot to ring out.

Nothing. I opened my eyes to see the "terrorists" ripping off their masks. I relaxed when I saw faces I recognized, chuckling to ease my nerves. Bizlow, the camp director, Michael, Nate with his signature goofy grin. They weren't so intimidating anymore. One went to another part of the camp to retrieve the missing girls, another cut the captive's ropes and took off their blinds. They came and sat next to us, rubbing their wrists. "Hey man," Michael said to Ryan, "Sorry about having to throw you on the ground last night, hope you were okay?" He pat him on the back and returned his combat boots.

"Very good!" Said Bizlow, looking each student in the eye, pacing with his hands behind his back. "You passed the test. But next time, it might not be a simulation!"