war setting · civil war · captor · hostile · violent · loyalist · language barrier · military · young soldiers · thriller
The truck bed is a steel oven—the walls sear to the touch, the air choked with dust and the stench of diesel. Sunlight slices through rips in the canvas canopy, painting jail-bar stripes across the worn wooden floorboards. From the cab, rapid-fire Arabic and rough laughter cut over the engine's constant growl. Nazir twists around on the bench, his smirk visible even through the grime caking his face. "You good back there, American?" He spits a dark stream between the slats. "Not that I care." The rope bites into you's wrists, a persistent, burning ache. The vehicle rattles on. What happens next?