Chapter 257 - Escape

The boy didn't answer Lilia's question. He tried to push the little girl away from him with all his might. He did manage to get away from Lilia, but his actions made the chains on his hands come loose. The chains hit the ground with a loud jingling sound.

They both then froze in shock. In the next second, there were clattering sounds and screams from the direction of the alley that the boy had left behind. Lilia didn't understand the dialect of those people's screams, but she caught the word 'chain'. Her gaze immediately fell on the chain wrapped around the boy's feet.

It seemed that the boy had been locked up for a long time, judging from the condition of the chains. The iron chain had completely eroded his sleeves and trousers, leaving bloody marks on his ankles and hands. Lilia didn't know how that kid would break the chain. The boy continued to hold onto the end of the broken chain, to prevent the chain from making a sound as he walked.

The sound of footsteps was getting closer and closer. The boy's expression was tinged with regret and disappointment. He knew he couldn't escape them, but he still wanted to try.

Lilia studied the boy's expression. She didn't know what moved her, but Lilia felt that she couldn't just leave this child.

"I-I will help you! Let's go!" Lilia grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him away from there.

Lilia ran as fast as she could while occasionally glancing back. Normally, that boy could run faster than a little girl like Lilia. However, the child's body lacked energy after not being given enough food for days. Lilia was worried that the child would run out of energy, but he was trying hard to keep up with Lilia's speed. The stubborn look in his eyes showed that he had no intention of simply giving up.

Lilia was increasingly convinced that this child was not a bad person who needed to be imprisoned — instead he was a victim who was tortured by bad people! If not, why would they put chains on his hands and feet?

As the sound of the footsteps behind them got closer, Lilia panicked even more. The little girl sped up her run until it almost knocked the boy over. The child was about to collapse from exhaustion, but Lilia's white and clean hands continued to grip her dirty hands tightly.

That simple act moved the boy's heart and gave him the added strength to keep running. He didn't know who this little girl was, or why she would be willing to help a stranger like him. But he could guess that this little girl came from a rich family and had never had a hard time. The boy's heart began to warm by the courage and kindness that Lilia showed to him. 

The two children continued running aimlessly. The only thing on Lilia's mind was to run from those bad guys as far as possible. She repeatedly checked over her shoulder, but luckily no one followed them.

Some of the villagers saw the two of them running past, but they all pretended they didn't see anything. Their cold attitude irritated Lilia, but the residents had their own reasons.

Near the village, an illegal mining of precious stones was established. Every year, hundreds of workers were sent there for never ending hard work. The workers usually consisted of poor children sold by their families, or children with mental disabilities, to victims of human trafficking.

In the eyes of the residents, the boy was just one of the many workers trying to escape. But what's the point? Sooner or later, the guards would catch them back and punish them even more cruelly. Countless people were killed trying to escape. That's why the residents try not to get involved with them.

But the coldness of the villagers stabbed Lilia's heart, who had never felt the harshness of the outside world. She tried to meet the eyes of every resident she came across, but they all looked away.

Finally, Lilia and the child could not run any further. They arrived near one of the residents' houses. The owner of the house, an old man, was sitting in front of his house smoking a cigarette.

"Wait here, I'll ask him a favor." Lilia said to the boy, who was still struggling to catch his breath.

She turned around and was about to walk up to the old man, but the boy pulled her hand.

"Don't." The boy shook his head. "The old man is a part of them."

Lilia looked at him in disbelief. The old man had a kind and harmless face, how could he be part of the evil people who were chasing them?

"But…" Lilia protested.

"Trust me." The boy grasped Lilia's hand tighter. His eyes begged Lilia to listen to him.

"Alright…" Lilia just nodded when they heard footsteps.

"Over there!"

The scream made the two of them immediately run again. But in the end, they were too young to escape the adults chasing after them. The voices of screaming and cursing grew closer behind them.

"Where... are you ... taking me?" The boy asked, panting.

"To the bus park ...!" Lilia answered without slowing down. She remembered that the bus was still there. Maybe they could ask the bus driver for help!

The boy winced as the wounds on his body opened from running too fast. Fresh blood stained his shirt, but he didn't say anything. If they stopped running now, they would definitely be caught by those bad guys. He felt that this was his last chance to escape.

"There he is…!" Lilia's face brightened when she saw the school bus still parked there.

However, her smile immediately vanished when several muscular men with fierce faces also headed to the bus. Before Lilia could react, the boy immediately pulled her back. The two of them crouched behind a bush near the village gate. They were lucky that they both had stature, so their bodies were hidden perfectly.

As Lilia tried to think of another way to escape from here, their situation took a turn for the worse. More men appeared from various corners of the village. They all gathered at the village gate, for this was the only safe way out.

The burly men gathered around the bus exchanging reports. Lilia could hear them cursing the boy because they couldn't find him. As time went on, Lilia began to feel the impact of running around with all her might. Her body, which was prone to fever, now felt heavy and her head was dizzy.

The boy next to her was even in a worse condition than her. His heart was beating so fast that he worried those men could hear him. His remaining strength disappeared and the boy finally collapsed to the ground.

Lilia almost screamed when the child fell beside her. She immediately approached the boy and studied him hesitantly for a moment. Then Lilia dared to pat his cheeks.

"Hey, wake up…! If you stop here, they will catch you!" Lilia urged in panic.

But the boy could only stare blankly at Lilia. In his blurry gaze, he saw Lilia's face full of worry. The boy tried to say something to calm Lilia down, but his strength was already drained.. He couldn't even move his fingertips.