UPRISING

Chapter 8

Bastian and his troop were hot on the trail of the Balkans as they aimed to clamp them down in their numbers. Bojan rode faster on his horse while cradling the baby still amidst the mad rush and scrambling crowd who were on the loose for life. In spite of the heat of flames, the Balkan merchant veered his horse towards the burning chariot as close as he could in order to keep pace with the mad horses in motion.

''M'lady, throw me your arm; I'll catch it!'' Bojan shouted again urging Limah to vacate the burning chariot. ''Just leap! You're in safe hands, trust me, M'lady!''

In a wink of an eye, Limah summoned up courage and leapt frantically unto the back of Bojan's moving horse from the troubled chariot. She wobbled slightly as she struggled to cling to the back of the horse which was on motion still. Bojan managed to turn his head back to have a glance at the struggling Limah only to realise that the tail of her long veil had caught fire. His horse was on motion still; in spite of that, he managed to pin Limah down to the back of the horse with one of his left arm while his right arm cradled the baby as he sporadically switched focus between Limah and the horse's direction. He feared ceasing in track as Bastian and his troop advanced towards faster than ever as ever. The soldiers from the city of Athena wouldn't stop anytime soon. They were adamant, dogged and hellbent on bringing every Balkan down to ruins if the crying baby could not be discovered.

Bastian and his troop soon resorted to shooting arrows at the Balkans as had refused to halt. Many of the travellers began to crash to their instant death and some were engulfed with fire that had spread from the burning chariot. Bojan could see the fleeing travellers crash before his horse. He became even more tensed than ever as he had had to steady the troubled Limah with one arm and also direct his horse with his other arm that cradled the baby. The Balkan merchant had been lucky to dodge one of the flying arrows. However, Limah fortunes did not smile quite much on Limah as she was hit in the thighs by one of the arrows. Glancing back sporadically at Limah whom he had managed to pin down to the back of the horse as she struggled to cling to the horse's back, Bojan noticed the arrow the arrow that had pierced her thigh. The incident came within his eyeshot in one of his sporadic glances back. The priestess was bleeding. Damn! She looked haggard as though she was about to drop off the horse's back where she had precariously draped over.

''Hold on, M'lady! Hold on!'' Bojan shouted again. ''I will get you to your freedom! Just hold on!''

As fate would have it, the fleeing travellers hit the Judean desert. Bojan glanced back still and still noticed the troop chasing after a handful of the Balkans.