“Nooo! Help me!” the young girl screamed as she kicked and punched wildly. She fell onto her back as A’shai tried to grab her hands and calm her down.

He placed a firm hand over her mouth to stifle her panicked cries. “Shhh! Please stop hitting me. I am not going to hurt you. Just pretend like I’m hurting you ok?” A’shai said as tears began to form in his eyes. He did not want to harm her in any way, he only wanted to save her from the other violent rebels. He grabbed her tightly and put his hand over her mouth. “Listen. I am not going to hurt you. Trust me. Now, I’m going to take my hand off your mouth and I want you to scream like I’m hurting you, okay? I promise I will not touch you. You have to stay in here with me for a while and don’t run out. The rebels out there will rape you,” he said as he looked into her eyes, showing his sincerity. She nodded her head in agreement and A’shai slowly stood up and took two steps back, letting her know that he didn’t have any bad intentions.

The girl screamed at the top of her lungs and A’shai could hear the rebels outside of the tent laughing while cheering him on. A’shai was ashamed to be a part of such a mob and as he looked at the girl, he wished he could save her… but inside he knew that he couldn’t.

Fifteen minutes had passed and A’shai watched as the girl cried in the corner as she shivered violently. He didn’t know what to say to comfort her so he said nothing at all as he awkwardly watched over her. Just then, Ezekiel entered the hut.

“A’shai! Time to go!” he said as he glanced at his son and then over to the young girl.

“She’s beautiful,” Ezekiel said as he looked at the frail, fair-skinned girl who sat balled up in the corner. A’shai remained quiet as he looked at his father’s lustful eyes and wondered what would happen next.