The Night

Chapter 3

“You see?” he whispered, half-smiling. “I told you we’d finish.”

Tife looked at him. “Why do you keep helping me?”

Steven shrugged. “Because… you look like someone who deserves someone in her corner.”

For the first time since her family died, Tife felt her chest warm—not with pain… but with something softer. Something she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Hope.

But hope was a dangerous thing in a place like this.

She looked away quickly, swallowing it down. “We’re not here for friendship. We’re here to survive.”

Steven nodded slowly. “Then we survive together.”

Before she could respond, a loud explosion echoed from the far side of the base. Smoke burst into the sky. Alarms rang. Soldiers scrambled.

General Kame’s voice boomed:

“Everyone inside! NOW!”

Tife’s heart pounded.

The war wasn’t somewhere far away anymore.

It had just reached them.

The explosion shook the entire training camp. Dust fell from rooftops, alarms screamed across the compound, and soldiers rushed toward the rising black smoke.

The youths were herded back into the quarters like frightened sheep.

But Tife wasn’t frightened.

She was alert.

She was hungry for answers.

“Everyone stay on your bunks,” a soldier shouted. “Do not move!”

The door slammed shut behind him.

Tife’s heart hammered. She moved silently toward the small window at the far end of the room. Steven noticed and followed her, ducking beside her before she could tell him not to.

Outside, soldiers sprinted toward the western gate—where the smoke came from.

Steven whispered, “What do you think happened?”

Tife’s eyes narrowed. “Either someone attacked the camp… or someone inside tried to escape.”

Steven swallowed. “Do you think it was some of the older youths?”

“No,” Tife said quietly. “They’re too afraid.”

Steven looked at her—really looked. “But you aren’t.”

Tife didn’t respond.

She kept watching the soldiers drag out a large burning vehicle. It looked like a supply truck that had been blown apart from the inside.

A bomb.

Someone was sending a message.

Suddenly, the door burst open again. General Kame himself stood there, his voice thunderous.

“All youths, OUT!”

Fear shivered through the room. Dozens of boys and girls scrambled to line up outside. Tife and Steven exchanged a worried glance before joining them.

The general paced before them, his face cold and unreadable.

“Listen carefully,” he growled. “This camp has been attacked. But the enemy did not break through our walls—they used someone inside to plant a bomb.”

Murmurs broke out among the youths.

“Silence!”

The general’s voice shut everyone up instantly.

“One of you,” he said darkly, “worked with the rebels.”

Tife felt Steven tense beside her.

The general continued, “Our rules are clear. Any youth who betrays the government… dies.”

A soldier dragged someone forward.

A skinny boy. Maybe 14. Shaking badly.

Tife recognized him—his name was Dele. One of the quiet ones. He never fought. Never argued. Always afraid.

eneral, please,” Dele cried. “I didn’t do anything—please, I swear—”

The general didn’t let him finish.

He slapped him so hard the boy fell to his knees.

“You were seen leaving the supply tent last night,” the general said. “And this morning—my men found explosive powder under your bed.”

Dele sobbed. “They planted it! I didn’t—please—please!”

Tife’s stomach twisted.

This wasn’t justice.

This was control.

The general raised his gun.

Steven whispered desperately, “No… no, he’s just a kid…”

Tife’s fists clenched. Her heart pounded.

Everything inside her screamed to do something.

But she couldn’t.

One step out of line, and she would be dead beside him.

The shot echoed through the camp.

Dele’s body fell forward, still, silent.

Several youths cried softly. Others stared blankly, already too broken to react.

The general turned his cold gaze on them.

“Let this be a warning. Loyalty is survival. Betrayal is death.”

His eyes landed briefly on Tife—as if he sensed something dangerous inside her.

Then he walked away.

The soldiers ordered the youths to disperse. Training would continue as usual—no mourning, no questions, no mercy.

Steven grabbed Tife’s arm as they walked.

“Someone framed him,” he whispered. “You know that, don’t you?”

Tife nodded once.

“Why would they kill him for nothing?” Steven asked, voice shaking.

Tife looked ahead, her expression hardening, her eyes glowing with a quiet, burning fire.

“Because,” she said softly, “fear is the easiest way to control a broken army.”

Steven swallowed. “We’re not broken.”

Tife glanced at him. “Not yet.”

As they reached the training field, the smoke in the distance still rising, Tife made a silent promise in her heart:

One day, I’ll burn this place down. I’ll destroy every single one of them. For my family. For the twins. And for every youth they break.

She didn’t know it yet—not fully.

But today was the day Tife’s revenge truly began.