Run, Jim, run! Faster, faster. Haven't you seen them hanging? They will beat you to death. If you are lucky that is. Oh how stupid have you been?

The boy didn't see the ditch in time. He tripped and fell. Just bruises. It isn't important. Are you a man or not? Come on Jim, run! No! Don't. They're here.

He heard their shouts. They were still a few hundred yards away, but he knew he couldn't outrun them anymore. All he could do was to keep his head down and try to lay still. Why couldn't he stop shaking? He closed his eyes and tried to stop breathing.
The steps came closer. There were at least two men.

" Where has he gone?"
He whished he could shrink and vanish like a rat, hide in some hole in the ground. His trembling fingers closed around the little medallion. It wasn't his, but it might as well bring him luck. Silently, he begged for mercy. Let them go away. Let them go away, please.

" Maybe he has reached the forest already? They run faster than you'd think possible."

Yes, yes, he had reached the woodland's rim. He was gone. Go away, forget about it.

" This one was young. I doubt he could outrun us. He must be here, somewhere."

No. He wasn't here. He was invisible.

" Where could he hide?"

" Perhaps he's hidden in the barn."

" Let's search it.'

Slowly the footsteps died away, but it took ages before Jim could hear the shrieking of the barn's door. He didn't know if they both went in, but he knew they'd come back after they'd searched the barn.
As quietly as he could, he got back on his feet. He peeked at the barn. There was no-one in sight. Quickly he climbed out of the ditch and began to run again. He didn't look back, just ran.

" There he is!"

The forest's rim, Jim. Think of nothing but the forest's rim.

A loud bang resounded.

" Fool! Don't shoot him! What were you thinking?"

He passed the first tree, and a second one. Slowly the jungle grew around him and immersed him in its soft green glow. He halted and listened. The wood was filled with sounds, but he did not hear human voices. Carefully he turned around, affraid that he would look right into the faces of his pursuers.

There was no-one. So they had been right. The white men feared the forest. He couldn't believe it. For minutes he just stood there and searched for the guards, but there was no sight of them. Then he laughed. He laughed as hard as he had never laughed before. And he cried. Tears ran over his cheeks until his eyes began to burn. The white men feared the forest! They would not follow him here!

He could stand there forever, looking at the patches of blue above the dome of leafs. But, after he had laughed and cried, shouted and screamed, he sank to the ground exhausted and he began to realize that the peril was far from gone.

He had never been in the forest before, and perhaps the white men's fears were right. He had heard the stories about man-eating beasts, and even about  man-eating men. And how could he know what fruits were edible and what not? Slowly his euphoria was replaced by despair.

Here he was, all alone, away from his relatives, surrounded by the jungle, which seemed to become ever more dark and threatening. Where would he live? What would he eat? Or would he be eaten himself? The mosquitos had already begun.

If he would go back, they would break his legs. If he would not go back, he'd meet the Grim Reaper. What would be worse? Slavery or death? Perhaps he should stay here and wait.

Time past by and the sunlight disappeared. His stomached ached, but he didn't dare to touch the fruits. Some of them were poisonous he knew, and a guarantee for an agonizing death.

He closed his eyes and tried to forget about everything. He took the medalion in his hands and fell asleep.

He was woken by the daylight, which shone through the branches. The forest had never slept and the air was filled with the sounds of animals. Jim looked around. Someone or something was watching him. He could feel it.

Uneasy and even hungrier than last evening he rose and looked around. He picked up a large stone as a weapon. Whoever it was, Jim was prepared to defend his life as well as his freedom.

The bushes in front of him were pushed aside and a man appeared. He was pale compared to Jim, but a lot darker than the whites. He only wore a loincloth and in his hand he held a javelin.

Jim looked into the man's eyes, but he couldn't fathom what he thought. Surely this one of the natives they told him about, the men-eaters. He held up his stone. Not a step further!

The man frowned and then started laughing. He looked at his javelin and then laid it on the ground. Jim dropped his stone.

" You are one of the escaped slaves, aren't you?", the man said in the language of the whites.

Jim nodded.

" Come with me. You are not the only one. Your friends have a settlement nearby."