Episode 3: Running into the Dark
The moment I said “we run,” Adaeze looked at me like she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
“Run… where?”
“Inside the bush.”
Her voice trembled.
“Chinedu… there could be snakes… or something…”
Behind us, the headlights of the Sienna appeared again at the bend.
They were coming fast.
There was no more time to argue.
I opened my door.
“Adaeze, come out now.”
She stepped out of the car slowly, her legs shaking.
The air in the hills had suddenly become colder as evening settled in.
The forest around us looked dark and unfamiliar.
The kind of darkness that hides things.
I grabbed her hand.
“Leave everything.”
“My bag—”
“Forget the bag.”
We ran.
Into the Forest
The moment we entered the bush, the ground changed.
Dry leaves.
Sharp sticks.
Hidden rocks.
Branches scratched my arms as we pushed deeper into the forest.
Adaeze struggled to keep up.
Her sandals kept slipping.
“Chinedu… slow down…”
“We can’t.”
Behind us, a car door slammed.
Then another.
My heart stopped.
They had arrived.
Voices echoed faintly through the bush.
Rough voices.
Angry voices.
One of them shouted.
“THEY RAN INTO THE FOREST!”
Another voice replied.
“SPREAD OUT!”
Adaeze squeezed my hand so tight it hurt.
“Oh God…”
“Oh God…”
Her breathing had become shallow.
We kept moving deeper into the forest.
The Hills
The forest around the hill was very dense, steep and slippery.
We climbed one small hill and slid down the other side.
At one point Adaeze nearly fell.
I caught her arm.
“Careful!”
“I can’t run anymore…”
“You must.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I’m tired…”
Her voice was breaking.
“I’m really tired…”
But then we heard something that froze both of us.
Footsteps.
Somewhere behind us.
Branches cracking.
Someone was moving through the bush.
Not far away.
Very close.
Adaeze whispered.
“They are coming…”
I pulled her behind a thick tree.
“Don’t talk.”
We crouched low.
My heart was p******g so loudly I felt sure the kidnappers could hear it.
The forest had become silent except for the sound of insects and distant footsteps.
Then suddenly—
A flashlight beam swept across the trees.
Adaeze buried her face into my chest.
Her body was shaking violently.
I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight.
“Don’t move,” I whispered.
The flashlight moved again.
Closer.
I could hear the kidnappers talking.
“They cannot go far.”
“Search everywhere.”
“If we catch them the boy will pay well.”
My stomach twisted.
They were already calculating ransom.
Fear
For nearly ten minutes we stayed completely still.
The flashlight beams moved across the forest like wandering ghosts.
Sometimes very close.
Sometimes far.
At one point the light passed so near us that I held my breath completely.
Adaeze’s nails dug into my arm.
But somehow…
They didn’t see us.
Eventually the voices faded.
The forest swallowed the sounds again.
Adaeze finally spoke.
Her voice was barely audible.
“I thought we were finished.”
“So did I.”
Tears rolled down her face.
She wiped them quickly.
“Chinedu…”
“Yes?”
“If they had caught us…”
She didn’t finish the sentence.
But we both knew.
Kidnappers rarely release victims quickly.
Sometimes they keep people in the forest for days.
Weeks.
Sometimes worse things happen.
Things I didn’t even want to imagine.
I held her face gently.
“Listen to me.”
She looked at me.
“We are getting out of here.”
She nodded slowly.
But the fear in her eyes was still there.
The Long Walk
Night had fully arrived now.
The forest had become darker.
The only light came from the pale moon above the hills.
We began walking slowly.
Not running anymore.
Just moving carefully through the bush.
Every sound made Adaeze jump.
Every rustle of leaves made her grip my arm tighter.
After about one hour of walking, she finally said what had been sitting in her heart.
“Chinedu…”
“Yes?”
“What if they had succeeded?”
I didn’t answer immediately.
Because the truth was frightening.
If they had taken us—
My family might have been forced to pay millions.
Adaeze might have faced even worse dangers.
Kidnappers sometimes separate victims.
Sometimes harm them.
Sometimes…
I shook the thought away.
“They didn’t succeed,” I said quietly.
“But what if they did?”
Her voice cracked again.
“I’m scared.”
I squeezed her hand.
“I know.”
A Light in the Distance
After what felt like forever, I saw something.
Far in the distance.
A faint yellow glow.
Adaeze saw it too.
“Is that… a light?”
“Yes.”
Relief washed over me instantly.
It meant one thing.
A village.
Civilization.
Help.
I turned to her.
“Come.”
She looked exhausted.
But hope gave her strength again.
We began moving toward the light.
Through the forest.
Toward safety.
