Page 34 of Sor

At the opening, the nine men that had preceded them were standing quietly.

“Nice work,” smirked Cade.

“We thought so,” said Kiel. “It was just these seven upfront. There could be a helluva lot more inside. Nathan and I will scout for an encampment. If there is one, we’re going to make sure no one wakes up. If there isn’t one, that means there are more men inside with the kids.”

“Sebastian, Garr, and Wade stay at the entrance. The rest goes in,” said Dom. “If shit goes south, get the hell out of here. We’ll find a way to get home.”

“No. No fucking way,” said Sor. “We all go home together.”

“We’ll go home together, Sor. I promise,” said Dom. “Let’s go.”

It was slow going in the cave. Occasionally, there would be a small kerosene lantern to light the pathway, but, for the most part, it was pitch black. They needed to get to those kids and get them out before daybreak.

When they reached a large pool of water, they realized they would need to swim beneath and through an underground water cave to the other side. This was the most dangerous part of what they were doing. Darkness, no idea of what was on the other side, and all their gear.

Conor entered the water and went under with a deep-water light. A few seconds later, he came up.

“Good news, they left a guide rope for us to follow. I’ll have my light on, then every other man should have their light on. We have to move quickly.”

Sor knew that most of these men were expert swimmers. He was good, but they were great. He would trust their experience and follow orders as needed.

In the blackness of the cave waters, they followed one another with one hand on the guide rope and the other pushing them forward. When Conor lifted his head slowly at the other end, he was greeted only by another kerosene light. He tugged twice on the rope, indicating it was safe for the others, and they emerged from the water.

It was a never-ending succession of tiny openings, narrow ledges, small pools, and underground tunnels. Until Conor held up his fist. The men stopped, silent other than their shallow breaths. They could hear the sounds.Tap, tap, tap.

Lining the walls of the cave, they moved slowly toward the sound as it got louder and louder. Someone yelled something, and they heard small cries. Turning, they all looked at U-Jin. He signed the translation to them.

“Keep working. No one sleeps until this is done. No one eats.”

The faces of his teammates told him everything. They were going to move forward and kill every man in the space. As they turned the final corner, they saw the horror show before them. Dozens of young boys in only their underwear chipping away at walls and floors. They were so thin they could barely stand from weakness.

Four men sat against the walls, rifles lying over their knees. It was pointless. These boys couldn’t fight them. They couldn’t run. Hell, they were going to be lucky to get them out of these damn caves.

Dom turned to give an order to the others, then saw U-Jin slowly moving against the wall behind the seated men. It was as if he melted into the cave walls. As suddenly as he was there, he swiftly made an end to the men with his superior knife skills. Not one man made a sound. They simply fell forward, their blood soaking the earth.

U-Jin carefully wiped his blades, returning them to their holds, then held up his hands to the children.

“Are there more men?” he asked. The boys just stared at him, shocked and frightened. “It’s alright. We’re here to get you out. Are there more men further in the caves?”

“No,” said a little boy. “There are men at the entrance.”

“Not anymore,” said U-Jin. “We will get you out.”

A small boy walked toward Cade. He’d probably never seen a man his size before. He stared up at him, then held his fingers and thumb together, tapping his lips.

“He’s hungry,” said U-Jin.

Cade kneeled before him, digging inside his pack. He pulled out several soft nutrition bars, handing them out to the boys. Sor and Abe removed their water packs, allowing the boys their first taste of fresh water in weeks.

“Slowly,” said U-Jin. “We have to get out of here.”

Sor stared at the small buckets of gold and gemstones. He held up the bucket to the others, and they only shook their heads.

“All this for a bucket of bullshit. Killing kids for this,” he growled.

“Come on, brother. We’ve got to get these kids out.”

“Any signs of a camp?” asked Sebastian as the others returned.

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