Jerry’s eyes widened as the group of twenty or so fully armed riders approached.

In hindsight, they should’ve fled as soon as they heard the thumps of horse hooves, but Patel and Sophia decided they should find out where the horses came from and, more importantly, who were riding the horses. They had no idea where they were or how they got here. If they could talk to someone, that would change.

Now it was obvious this was a poor decision. The riders obviously weren’t here to invite them to drink coffee. Plus, as far as the students knew, there wasn’t anything even resembling these riders on Earth. This wasn’t a movie set or a place for cosplayers. No...these riders, just like their horses and their weapons, were real. Real and dangerous. They needed to get the hell out of this place right now!

As soon as the situation became clear, everyone turned and started running deeper into the forest. At first, they tried to stick together, but as the sound of the riders came closer and closer, the students got more and more desperate. In the beginning, those who tripped and fell would be helped up by their friends. As time passed, fear took hold, and the students were more worried about keeping themselves out of the hand of these mysterious horsemen than doing the moral thing and helping their fellow classmates. In the scuffle and chaos, they were also completely scattered, with many boys and girls running as far as their legs could take them with no care of where they were heading.

The riders came to a halt in front of the forest. They dismounted and laid their spears on the ground. Two of them stayed behind to guard the mounts where the rest moved into the forest on foot. In the trees, horsemen were even slower than foot soldiers. Plus, the horsemen didn't feel like they needed to be mounted to defeat a bunch of unfortunate farmers either.

One by one, the dismounted riders made their way into the treeline. They quickly split up into multiple groups and started tracking.

In one part of the forest, Sophia and Patel stumbled across a ditch before Sophia tripped and fell. She tried to use her hands to support herself, but that only resulted in several bloody gashes being drawn across her hand. Patel hesitated for a brief second before stopping and helping her up. The two breathed heavily for several seconds as they stumbled a few more steps and took up cover behind a large rock.

“I don’t think those people got into the woods.” Patel reasoned through labored breaths. He was no stranger to exercises, but all that happened today had taken a toll on him physically and mentally. “Normally, horsemen are too valuable to be used as foot soldiers. I heard a horseman is worth more than ten foot soldiers.”

“Really? I’m glad to hear that.”

The young man froze in fear as he turned around and found one of the dismounted riders standing right in front of him. He was holding a thin sword. The blade was designed to be used by mounted warriors against infantrymen, but it was still dead in a situation like this.

Sophia yelped from behind. Another rider grabbed onto her by the neck and rested his weapon on her cheek. One wrong move, and he would gladly open her throat and watch her bleed out.

“How did you…Who are you?” Patel could feel his legs shaking. What was happening here? Where even were they? He had a thousand questions and no answers. All he knew was that he was facing two armed grown men while not having a thing to use to defend himself. As such, he did the smartest thing he could. “We...we surrender. Don’t hurt us.”

The rider in front of him smirked before punching him in the face.

…

A single rider walked across the woods, frowning at the sound his boots made as they crushed pieces of twigs on the ground. He looked around vigilantly. His blade was ready.

Suddenly, a figure appeared from behind a tree and jammed his spear at the rider. Behind the rider, Christopher raised his club, ready to move in for the strike.

Ambushed and surrounded, the rider seemed to be in a dangerous situation. Yet, instead of faltering, he simply smirked. He was a veteran of a dozen battles. He had slain many, and it would take more than two amateurs to threaten him! With an impressive level of decisiveness, he quickly moved to the side and dodged the tip of the pike. The militia obviously didn't expect to miss, and his spear missed his target, causing him to stumble. When he tried to pull back, it was already too late. The rider grabbed onto the wooden, harmless part of the spear with one hand and jammed his sword into the militia’s chest with the other. Blood dashed out of the wound and stained the rider's face red, making the man look more like a demon than a mere mortal.

Within two seconds, the mysterious militia Christopher summoned was on the ground, dead.

Christopher froze. A minute ago, he would think he was the bravest person alive. He could say with confidence that he could face death with a smile and make some sort of cheesy joke like he was the hero in an action movie. He imagined what would happen if he could continuously summon militias and ambush the individual riders that have split up to chase after the students. He imagined the gratitude the other students, especially the girls, would show him after he saves the day.

All of those popped like a bubble when the rider killed the militia like a chicken.

His club fell onto the ground. He tried to pick it up, but his hands were shaking like crazy.

The rider scoffed at the traumatized young man and returned his sword back to his sheath. He didn't need that anymore.

“You idiot. You know how I knew I was watched?"

Chris gulped.

"Usually, in a forest, there are a lot of animals making a ton of noise."

Chris tilted his head. He couldn’t hear anything.

“No…”

“Precisely. They are silent, and they only do that when they feel threatened.” The rider proceeded to kick Chris in the stomach. The man collapsed on the ground, vomit rushing to his throat. The rider chuckled gleefully before giving him another kick to the belly. That was when he added something. "Oh...also, I caught a glimpse of your friend...could be the animal thing though..."

...

Raymond ran across the forest. He repeatedly turned around and looked to see if there was someone was behind him. That was until he ran into a tree.

Two riders ran up from behind. They wore heavy metal armor and helmets and Raymond was in t-shirt and shorts, but the riders barely broke a sweat from all the running.

Once escape became impossible, Raymond immediately threw his hands into the air.

“I yield! Please don’t kill me.”

The riders exchanged looks of boredom.

...

After a few minutes of running blindly through the forest as far as their legs could carry them, Jerry and Alex finally came to a stop. Both of them were panting. Alex was a little better, but Jerry was never a fan of cardio. He could swear that if he ran for a more minute, his heart would explode in his chest.

“I think we lost them.” Jerry suggested, hoping for the best.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m tired of running anyways.” Alex replied in annoyance. Slowly, she reached down and picked up a stick. “If we didn't outrun them already, we can't do it. These people know the surroundings much more than we do. We have to fight." She looked around. "We’ll make our stand here. If we can take out whoever is coming after us, we may be able to get the information we need out of them.”

“What?” Jerry coughed, partially because he was never a strong athlete and partially because of surprise. “Did you say stand and fight?”

“Are you deaf?”

“No!” Jerry groaned. “Look, we can’t win a fight. We are not fighters!”

"Speak for yourself." Alex retaliated. "You can go yourself if you want. I'm done with running."

"I..." Jerry's eyes suddenly landed on three figures that emerged from behind a line of trees. Even taking the difference in number out of consideration, the three men were still better armed and armored. They also seemed like real soldiers, while he and Alex...well, an hour ago they were still talking about geometry.

Their fate was sealed.

…

Soon, the thirty students met up once again. This time, they were all bruised up in some way. The riders weren’t happy that they had to dash through the forest for pretty much no reason at all, and they were glad to beat up their defenseless captives just because they could.

“Uhhh...That didn't go so well.” Jerry commented. He had a bleeding nose, but compared to the swollen eyes Alex received, he had it off easy. “What were you thinking back there? I don’t know about you, but when I face an impossible enemy, I run!”

“Worth a try. We couldn’t have outrun them anyways. They’ve got more stamina than we have combined.” Alex shrugged casually as she wiped off a few drops of blood on her lips. Jerry couldn’t imagine how she could do that after everything that has happened, but he was in too much pain to ask.

The riders brought the captured students back outside the forest, where they met up with their horses and the lieutenant.

The lieutenant glanced at the captured young men and women. He keenly noticed how what they wore wasn’t exactly the standard choice of clothing for civilians in the empire. They also didn't look like farmers or hunters either. In fact, everything about them felt weird. A group of over two dozen young men and women wandering around the forest that run as soon as they saw the forces of the Sullivan Empire?

If the lieutenant was a careful man, he would take it upon himself to interrogate these young men and women. Break a few bones and flay a few patches of skin, and he would learn everything he desired. Yet...the lieutenant had no such intentions. He didn't care what the stories were with these people. All he knew was that their fate was already sealed. They would be brought to the mines, where they would be worked to death under the harshest of conditions. Who were these people? He didn't know and he didn't care. He had more important things to attend to.

No one ever credited the lieutenant for his wisdom. He had been called a brute and a butcher, but never a wise one.

“Take them to the mines.” The lieutenant ordered quietly before turning his ride and returning to the road. This entire time, he didn't bother exchanging any word with his captives.

“Yes sir.”

The walk to the mine was gruesome. While the riders had their mounts to work with, their captives were all on foot. The students haven’t eaten or drank anything for a while, and the dash across the forest was already exhausting enough. When some started stumbling and slowing down, especially the girls, the riders didn't hesitate to use their whips to give them some extra incentive to move. As the wound of whips crackling echoed through the air, those who were falling behind suddenly found the strength to keep going.

Within twenty minutes, the boys and girls were close to collapse. Jerry did his best to keep this fear down and his legs moving, both of which were becoming harder and harder with every passing second. Strangely, Alex didn't seem to have a similar problem as she managed to somehow keep a poker face even in a situation like this. Chris looked like he was ready to punch one of the riders, but his broken arm prevented that from happening.

Suddenly, one of the girl’s knees buckled. She took a cut to the calves and it made every step burn like hell. Patel’s eyes widened as he quickly moved to beside the girl and supported her. He knew if she collapsed, the riders would more likely kill her on the spot than treat to her injuries.

"Playing the hero, huh?" One of the riders smirked at the sight before whipping Patel in the back, hard. A deep wound was drawn across his skin. The short pained groan from the young man was music to the rider's ears.

The path started to grow more mountainous. Jerry noticed they walked past a valley of some sort. Almost subconsciously, he imagined what would happen if he had a group of archers to rain down arrows from the cliffs on both sides of the valley. The riders would be pinned down and slaughtered. Unfortunately, another whip to the back brought him back to reality.

He didn't have an army of archers, and the magical interface he had that could summon troops? Something told him a few militias wouldn't do anything against several dozen mounted knights...knights?

Finally, after marching for what seemed like an eternity, the group reached their destination. In front of them, a line of wooden fences formed something of a wall. An opening at the fences acted as the entrance and was guarded by a dozen men in red armor, just like the riders. Two wooden towers stood tall around the entrance. Thanks to whatever was done to him to repair his vision, Jerry could see multiple archers on the towers. No doubt if they tried anything, they would be pinned down. Literally.

The lieutenant rode up to the guards.

“Captain, these people are suspected to be spies of the Crescent Empire. Under the orders of Commander Hartfield, they are to be punished accordingly.”

“Yes sir. I will inform Vice Commander Liam about this.”

“Very well.” The lieutenant turned back around and waved at the riders, who left the prisoners alone. Not bothering to waste another second with this meaningless affair, he joined the riders and rode away at full speed. Before the students could say or do anything, the guards at the entrance walked up and pushed them past the fences and into the camp.

At a first glance, the camp was far from flattering. The ground was covered in mud and dirt, which was quite unique to the students, who were used to the concrete ground of the 21st century. There was also a weird stench in the air. It seemed like a mixture of sweat, blood, and feces. Concerning, but unsurprisingly, considering sanitation wasn't really a thing for a big part of human history. A few of the boys and most of the girls turned pale and forced the vomit that had rose to their throats back down.

Once they ventured into the camp, the students were forced into two groups by their sex. The boys were led to one side of the camp while the girls were led to another. As they departed, Jerry couldn’t help but think about what happened at the gates of Auschwitz. He just hoped this wasn’t a similar situation. That was when a horrible thought hit him. Even if his group, or Alex's group, was led to their slaughter, there was nothing they could do but march along to their death.

He could barely maintain his calm when he and all the boys were brought to an open field.

A guard walked up and tossed a stack of rag-tagged clothes on the muddy floor in front of the boys.

“Strip down and change.”

The boys looked at each other, but nobody moved.

“Hmm...looks like we’ve got some tough guys here…” The guard smirked and rested his hand on the handle of his sword. “I said, strip down and change.”

Chris’s fists tightened. He looked around. The guard was alone. If they made a stand, even without any weapon, they might have the numbers to overwhelm that guard. They could make a go for the door...

Behind him, Patel’s eyes widened. Unlike Chris, he knew if they fought, they would die. Every single one of them would be slaughtered by the guards around here. There was no way they could get by the fences. He tapped Chris. As the man turned around, Petal turned to everyone.

“Do it.” He pushed it through his teeth.

Everyone started at Patel in confusion. Chris’s face turned red in disbelief. In the middle of the spotlight, Patel felt his heart racing. He could see the guard was getting impatient, and it was a bad sign.

Finally, he took off his shirt, picked up a piece of clothes from the ground, and put it on.

The boys turned away. One by one, including Chris, they stripped down and dressed up in muddy clothes. As Jerry put the clothes on and smelled the filth, he felt his eyes getting wet. Everything seemed so blurry but now was the moment when he truly recognized where he was and what position he was in.

In just hours, he has been taken away from his home, given some sort of magical summoning device, and tossed into a world with knights and slavers. It was a lot of change in a short period of time.

But the grief and fear disappeared almost as quickly as it came. Before he knew it, Jerry’s eyes turned cold once again, and his logic returned to him. Tears wouldn't help him. A lesson he had learned long ago.

Seeing the boys have submitted, the guard smiled.

“Honestly, you should feel lucky. No one wants to watch a bunch of men get naked, but I bet a lot of us are willing to see your girlfriends change.”

Almost as soon as those words were said, Patel knew things would get messy.

“What?” Chris’s eyes widened once again. He was about to charge forward when Patel grabbed onto his arms and held him back. It was a difficult task, just like a monkey trying to keep a tiger back.

Jerry silently turned around and stood in front of Chris.

“We need to calm down.”

“Calm down?” Chris screamed. “Our friends are getting raped out there! We need to get out there and do something! If you don’t have the guts to do it...”

“It’s not about courage. It’s about survival.” Jerry peaked at the guard and saw he was leaning back on a fence with his arms folded and watching this play unfold. He showed no intention of putting the boys down, and Jerry knew why. It was the same reason he told the boys what would happen to the girls. He wanted to see them suffer. “If we fight, every single one of us will die! What good can that do to anyone?”

“Good?” Jerry could almost feel Chris’s breathe on him. “I don’t expect someone with no balls to understand. Now, get out of my way.”

Chris’s eyes were bright red. He was crumbling under the pressure. Everything he went through, from summoning the militia to fleeing from the riders to trying to ambush one of the riders to losing his militia to getting captured to being humiliated to now this...it was driving him mad. All those fear and anger came together to make him ignore logic. His adrenaline was pumping. All he wanted was a fight. If Jerry stood in front of him, he might be the one Chris was about to fight.

“My girlfriend was in the other group!” At that moment, Jerry suddenly shouted. His face was still poker, but his voice was shaking. “If something happened to them, we will live on and avenge them. To do that, we must live on.”

Chris gulped as logic climbed back into his brain. He wanted to fight, but he knew he couldn’t. Fighting was easy. Dying was easy. If he died, then that was it. Game over. He would be a martyr. But so what? His friends would be slaughtered. He would be gone. Death was just an easy way out.

Surviving, staying alive and persevering through everything, that’s hard.

Chris lowered his head.

But his fist was still so tight Jerry could see his veins.