Tat! Tat! Tat! Tat!

The sounds of automatic assault rifles exploded in A’shai’s ear and angst overwhelmed him causing his heart to race frantically. The people of the village ran for their lives, causing dirt to fly up in the air from the mini stampede. A’shai couldn’t believe his eyes. He was horrified as he witnessed Ezekiel shoot a round into a fleeing man’s back. It was a complete massacre unfolding, and the blood of innocents stained the earth.

The roaring laughter of Ezekiel echoed through the air as the man dropped. Ezekiel acted as if he was hunting game instead of slaughtering humans. Seconds later a little girl came running out of a hut and went to the slain man’s side. “Papa! Papa!” she cried as she flung herself over the man’s body, becoming soaked in his blood. The ten-year-old girl had just witnessed her father be brutally murdered in cold blood. The girl kneeled next to her father as he lay there motionless. She began to shake him, hoping that he would get up but there was no use… he was silenced forever.

A’shai looked on in anguish as he saw the young girl cry while hugging the dead body. He was frozen in terror and plagued by guilt. When he noticed the other rebels run to the girl and snatch her up, he snapped out of his trance. A’shai didn’t think about what he was about to do, he just reacted. He immediately sprinted over to the men as they taunted the girl, groping her backside and private area as she cringed at every touch.

“No, leave her alone! Let me have her,” A’shai yelled as he grabbed her butt and then pulled her into an empty hut nearby. As she kicked and screamed, A’shai’s heart ached because he realized that she was terrified of him. He didn’t know why he was drawn to the girl, but it was something about the way she looked. Her features resembled his dead mother’s and had instantly piqued A’shai’s interest. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

“Little A’shai is about to get his first piece of poo nanny,” one of the rebels yelled as they watched A’shai force the girl into the hut. The rebels cheered as the two disappeared from sight, believing they had just witnessed what was to be A’shai’s rite of passage. In their eyes, he had just been initiated into the Rebellion officially.