It was already afternoon. It was already a loss. All of this for Kampar seemed to end with a British victory, but in the end, they had to retreat. The Japs had actually surrounded them.
Aman and Mei Lian kept moving, trying to slip away. It didn't matter whether it was the British or the Japanese now they had stopped believing in either. Each side was just another reflection of the madness infecting people.
In fact, it was already afternoon and Aman and Mei Lian still hadn't escaped from Kampar, due to how many soldiers were still around. Plus, they had been looting supplies.
Mei Lian now carried a backpack full of medicine she had looted from the British before they escaped. Aman kept his snub-nose revolver with him…
They were just lucky Carter hadn't thrown it away, locked it up, or taken it. They had left it behind in the same house where Aman had been tortured.
…...
"Ah… they already gone?" Aman asked from inside the wheelbarrow, which was covered by a huge cloth.
Mei Lian, hiding beneath the wheelbarrow, peeked out. "Yup, they're gone. Phew."
"Just noticed you talk a lot more than usual. You used to be kinda mute," Aman teased.
Mei Lian climbed out from hiding, pulled the cloth off the wheelbarrow, and started pushing it. "For someone with those injuries, you're pretty brave to say that… You know I could, I don't know, cut your tongue out and you couldn't do anything about it. Then you'd be the mute one."
"Now you're scary," Aman muttered.
They were growing closer. There was trust.
They weren't far from escaping the battlefield now. They barely saw any soldiers anymore. They wondered how Kampar had turned out in the end… Did the British somehow manage to hold against the Japs, or had the Japanese managed to make a breakthrough?
….....
Mei Lian looked around.
"Huh? We're out of that place already… We're lucky for that," she said.
"Really? Ahh…" Aman tried to sit up properly and look around. They had actually escaped.
They really did it.
But now… they had no idea where to go.
Aman still had his compass—but the map for the southern route had been lost. Carter had taken it when he caught Aman.
Mei Lian pulled out a folded map from her bag.
…
…
…
"Where'd you get that?" Aman asked.
"I stole it, of course," Mei Lian replied.
"How?"
"Eh, seems most of their higher ups had already fled, so their tent was empty. I grabbed some stuff…"
Aman stared at her in disbelief. "Yeah, if I were totally gone, you'd probably do just fine without me."
"Hey! Don't say that!" Mei Lian shouted, pouting.
…...
It was already night. Aman had finally gotten out of the wheelbarrow which was a relief. It had been extremely uncomfortable. He now lay on a cloth they had laid out on the ground.
They now needed to look for a cart or bicycle something for transport if they wanted to make it south.
Mei Lian returned, but she looked disappointed in herself. She had gone to look for animals or something to eat and came back with nothing. Usually, it was Aman who did the hunting, not her.
Yeah, they had some bread… but it would've been better to keep that and the supplies they had looted from the Brits for emergencies.
"Sorry… Seems like we'll have to eat our supplies. Sigh," said Mei Lian.
Aman looked at her and then noticed a pair of birds nearby. He took a piece of cracker and threw some crumbs onto the ground. One bird cautiously flew down to eat the crumbs, followed by the others.
Mei Lian just stared. "Are you an idiot? That's our food!" she said.
Aman said nothing and simply put a finger to his lips, signaling for Mei Lian to be quiet. He grabbed the cloth, tied pebbles to the corners, and got ready.
As the birds got closer, Aman suddenly flung the cloth and caught some of them. He immediately pulled the cloth in to trap them.
"Phew… Some got away, but I think this is enough for both of us," Aman said.
Mei Lian watched in awe. "Well… even injured, you're still kind of useful, heh." She sat beside him and flicked his forehead.
"What was that for?" Aman asked.
"Nothing," Mei Lian replied.
This was why… Mei Lian couldn't do this without him. He took care of her. And Aman would probably already be dead if it weren't for Mei Lian saving him.
In the end, they needed each other. That was the only way they could survive now.
They laughed and had a conversation just the two of them.
….....
Aman slaughtered the birds and got a fire going while Mei Lian watched. She pitied the birds for dying… but they had to stay alive, right?
"Here," Aman said, handing over a roasted bird to Mei Lian.
She took it.
Now, they didn't need to worry too much. It was already night. They had a plan: by morning, they'd continue their journey to the south.
Then snap. The sound of a twig breaking.
They both turned to look toward the source of the sound.
Was it an animal? Or were they just tired after everything?
"Wait I'll go check it out," said Mei Lian.
Aman nodded. "Be careful."
Mei Lian moved off to investigate… and suddenly, Aman heard her scream. A sharp screech. And it stop it clearly Mei Lian.
He panicked, immediately trying to stand but collapsed after just a few steps.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit… Why…" Aman cursed under his breath. He shouldn't have let Mei Lian go alone. What was that?
Why did Mei Lian scream?
Aman grabbed his sling bag and pulled out his snub-nose revolver. He immediately began crawling in the direction Mei Lian had gone.
Before he could reach her, he saw a figure.
"You…" Aman whispered.
It was Carter. He stood there, holding Mei Lian, a knife pressed against her throat. She was crying.
"Ahh… you're still alive," Carter said and look at Aman.