I crouched over the kid with my back to the wire fence. The fence hummed like a swarm of bees. The kid’s fingers were burned where he touched it. He was lying still in the dirt, but when I put my ear to his chest, his heartbeat was there. Just barely there.

I heard the footsteps of the men who were chasing us. I drew the knife from my boot and waited for one of them to get too close. A shadow fell over me and I spun fast —

They were all around me. Man-shaped heaps of mud and moss and sticks. One lunged at me and all I could do was scream. It grabbed my wrist and twisted hard, sending my knife thumping to the ground. Another one rushed forward and forced something over my head, a bag or a blanket. The cloth smelled awful, like a chemical, making my head swim…

One of them was saying something… I couldn’t understand… I couldn’t breathe… My eyes stung and wanted to close… They grabbed my wrists and pulled them behind my back… I tried to fight… I tried to…