Well, that was the end of it. Let's go...
They both walked away from the chaos behind them, thinking about nothing in particular anymore.
Aman and Mei Lian both were just tired at this point. Their bodies ached, their minds burned with lingering adrenaline, but it was fatigue that truly owned them now. There was nothing left to say, not really. Not after all they had seen and done.
"Hey, can you walk faster?" Aman asked, trying to sound annoyed but only managing to sound winded.
"I'm trying, okay! You try talking like that when you're the one who got injured!" Mei Lian shouted back, exasperated but not angry.
"Hahahaha…"
They both just laughed in the end. What else could they do now? Nothing, really. The laughter didn't mean happiness it just meant they were still alive enough to find something ridiculous in their situation.
They were sure they'd met some of the weirdest people in the world, lived through some of the strangest situations. They were still processing it all.
But they wondered... what was next?
Why worry, they asked themselves. There wasn't much sense in it. After everything, worry felt useless. They should feel free now finally free from the bloodshed, from those killer, from everything.
And yet…
They still wondered. What had happened to the British troops? How many would make it out? Death? Capture? Some would desert like the others.
Funny how, twice, Aman had killed deserters. No remorse now, not even a second thought. Just survival just instinct. If it can count as survival instinct the no remorse so far Aman just shot few guys that no threat to them while Carter just show front of them and go away without being face Aman new attitude.
Mei Lian, for her part, felt no guilt left over Carter. But still… they both couldn't stop thinking about him.
"Hey… don't you think it's weird?" Mei Lian asked suddenly, her voice low but sharp in the quiet.
"What?" Aman turned to look at her, squinting slightly under the morning light as they kept walking, the sounds of gunfire fading behind them like a fading storm.
"You know… Carter. He's alive. Isn't that weird? I mean, he survived that shot to the neck. We left him there. He should've bled out. No one survives that unless unless someone helped him."
Aman stopped walking.
"Hmmm. His eye too… Remember? We're even. I'm pretty sure we left him there. I was sure he was dead."
"That's the problem, Aman," Mei Lian said slowly, the weight of realization dropping into her tone. "Someone helped him. He didn't survive that alone. And I'm pretty sure... we're going to meet him again. He's like a ghost now. A living ghost."
"Well, that's pretty damn scary," Aman muttered.
...
Eventually, they reached the place they had hidden their bicycle and cart. It was supposed to be their way out, their getaway plan once all was done.
They looked at it and froze.
It was destroyed.
Aman stepped closer. Something was off. Pieces of the cart were torn apart deliberately. Not by shrapnel. This wasn't random. Someone had found it.
A folded note lay on top of what remained.
"...Carter," Aman muttered, picking it up. "He wasn't done with us. Fuck... him..."
He looked down at the note, face grim. "No wonder he didn't want to kill us back there. Seems he got revived somehow. Someone patched him up. Took his left eye... in exchange for healing him. Now he just wants to mess with us."
"Carter did this?" Mei Lian asked, voice laced with disbelief.
"I don't know. I don't have an answer. The note says he just wants to play."
Aman handed her the note. She read it silently, lips curling into a mix of disgust and exhaustion.
Aman took the note back, looked at it once more then folded it into a ball and shoved it into his mouth. He chewed it slowly and swallowed.
"Shit. Not even tasty," he said dryly.
"You idiot," Mei Lian replied, rolling her eyes.
"I know."
They were sure now they were going to see Carter again. If he kept messing with them like this, it was inevitable. It wasn't even a question anymore. And the worst part?
It all felt almost comical. This man, who had almost killed both of them... who had nearly done worse to Mei Lian... was now toying with them like they were pieces in some twisted game.
...
They looked at each other, then turned their gaze to the horizon. In the distance, they could see faint smoke columns rising. The battle was still raging Japan was advancing fast.
It was just a matter of time before the Japanese took over Slim River.
There wasn't much they could do now.
"Hey… we should go check after the battle ends," Aman said suddenly.
"You're crazy," Mei Lian replied, but a small glint of curiosity flickered in her eyes. She didn't say it aloud, but she wanted to see the aftermath. She wanted to know how far the fire had spread.
"What's so crazy about it? You say that like you just met me a few hours ago. Come on, you know me. And I know you want to see it too."
"Fine," Mei Lian sighed. "If we get killed or captured, though, just know this consider my first kill not unvalidated with Carter show his face front of us. I'll kill you as my first kill."
Aman smirked. "Okay. Deal."
They both kept walking, limping slightly, sharing the weight of their packs between them as they moved toward the edge of the battlefield toward the edge of their story in this chapter.
They were escaping Slim River now… but they knew they'd return.
Why?
Well, maybe there wasn't a clear reason. Maybe the reasons didn't matter anymore.
You'd understand, if you saw them these two kids who had been thrown into madness. You'd understand how they had changed, how they had been twisted and forged and broken and reshaped.
Children once. Now... something else entirely.
In the end, all we can do is watch.
Watch them grow.
Watch them fall.
And maybe just maybe watch them heal. Or become the very monsters they once feared.
But for now... they just walked. Through dust, and ash, and fading gunfire. Toward whatever came next.