I take first watch, refusing harshly to let Adam stay awake any longer. When he continues to protest, I tell him that either he goes to sleep on his own or I knock him out. He chooses the first one.
I sit with my back to my tree, fuming that he tried to scold me. I lean my head back, staring at their dark figures through the small light the candles provide. I start to nod off and fall into a dream that is but a nightmare.
I'm running. At first I'm alone, running through the streets and jumping over the trash and debris on the ground. Dashing through the streets, the brain washed soldiers were behind me, but not close. Then I see Jonah, trapped under a fallen piece of ceiling, and a voice echos in my head.
"We help anyone who needs it."
I help Jonah and pull him to start running as well. He isn't as fast as me, and the soldiers are even closer than they were when I was running by myself. I press Jonah to run faster but he can't because he's injured.
I sling him onto my back and start running. Of course, because this is a dream, it only feels a bit heavier. I continue to sprint, but at a slower pace. And then I see Adam, cowering in fear in front of a soldier, and a voice echos in my head.
"We help anyone who needs it."
I shoot the soldier and help Adam, but Adam is hurt too. I move Jonah to sit on my shoulders and somehow get Adam on my back. The soldiers are closing in now, and the weight seems heavier, and my running has slowed down.
I slow to a fast jog, and my face is pouring with sweat. I see a little baby abandoned in a stroller, and a voice echos in my head.
"We help anyone who needs it."
I run to the stroller and pull the crying baby out, who stops crying and giggles as soon as I lift him up. A bullet whizzes past my head and I turn to see the soldiers closing in. I start to run as hard as can, but now it's no more than a fast walk.
It's just a baby I'm holding, but it's so hard for me to keep going, and I'm about to stop when I remember. I have to get us to safety. And then I see a crying toddler, alone next to her dead mother.
"We help anyone who needs it."
I help the little girl up to her feet, pass the baby to Adam who is on my back, adjust Jonah who is on my shoulders, and then balance the girl on my hip. But I can't run anymore. I walk slowly, and turn into an alleyway. I see a fence at the end, and I help all of them over the fence and to the side as the soldiers get closer.
All the while, the voice is echoing in my head.
"We help anyone who needs it. We help anyone who needs it. We help anyone who needs it." I boost Jonah, who is the last to get over the fence, up and on the other side. But before I can get over as well, one of the soldiers shoots me in the leg, and I fall against the fence.
"We help anyone who needs it."
The soldiers come nearer, their guns up and ready to shoot.
"We help anyone who needs it."
One of them prepares to shoot, and I hear the voice one last time before they kill me.
"But what happens when no one can help you?"