1942, PARIT SULONG BRIDGE, Malaya.

He pulled out the small book. "Malay," he said. "I'm Malay, on your side."

The Japanese man shoved Ali to the ground.

"You're wearing the Chinese uniform," The man replied in Malay.

"They captured me," Ali explained.

The man slapped him and took his passport. As he inspected it, his expression softened from the austere glare.

"Poor boy. Captured by a Chinese and British syndicate?"

"Yes, it was terrible."

"Who captured you, as you said?" The Imperial asked.

"It was him. The one with light hair, on the end." He pointed.

"Is this death too merciful? "

"Yes. Can I take him beneath the bridge?"

"If that's where you like, go ahead. But before you do..." The man pulled his own passport from his pocket. "Can you read this for me?"

Ali struggled to hide his shock. As a farmer, he'd never gone to school. Never learned to read. In Malaysia, schooling had been mandatory for his age. What could it say?

"It says..." He remembered the writing on his passport. The order of the letters.

The lines jumbled in front of him.

"Japan," he said finally. "Citizen of Japan."

"Good," the man said, and turned to another soldier to order something in Japanese.

The Japanese man next to him rushed to the group. He undid the wire around Amadi's hands and pulled him to Ali. When Amadi finally reached the men, Ali took his arm and shoved him towards the riverbank.

The mud was a cool escape from the scorching heat of the rising sun.

Ali carefully made his way down and solemnly stared at the river.

Hundreds of men could be dead down there.

Ivan looked at Ali with a scrutinizing gaze.

Ali pointed at his hair. "Malay," he said. His lips twitched. He turned back to the water.

"Malay," Ivan skeptically repeated. Then why did he fight for the Chinese?

"What to do?" Ali asked.

"I'm not sure," Ivan admitted. He kept his gaze fixed on the stranger before him. "Do they trust you? What do they think of -"

"Slow," Ali echoed it with a motion with his hands.

"Okay. Trust?"

"Yes," Ali replied.

"Good."

"They think I hurting you," Ali cocked his head towards the Imperials.

"They think you - Ah. Give me a bruise then," Ivan pointed to his cheekbone. Ali shook his head.

"No. You hide. Stay."

"But -"

"They make bad plans for enemy," Ali slid his forefinger across his throat.

"Okay. I'll stay here. Right in these bushes, I guess... How long am I here for?"

Ali tilted his head.

"I stay here," Ivan repeated slowly, pointing at a bush. Ali nodded.

Ali began to make his way up the hill when he paused, staring. Ivan craned his neck to peer around the bushes. A man stood in front of Ali.

"Quite the story there," he said in Malay.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ali replied.

Mud splashed behind him. When Ivan turned around, three men stood blocking the path, arms raised. He emerged from the bush to stand next to Ali.

"Try again," the Japanese said. Two more men were revealed at his side. All their escape routes vanished behind imperial uniforms.

"Amadi," Ali whispered at Ivan.

"Me?" He whispered back. Ali nodded. "It's Ivan," he said. Ali shook his head and blinked slowly, maintaining eye contact with the soldier.

"Calm," Ali whispered.
Then his hands grasped Ivan's shoulders. He was flung between Ali and the Imperial.

"This is why I am here," Ali said, shaking Ivan. "Revenge. My family -"

"That's a lie!" The soldier shouted. He nodded at the men behind the pair and Ali's hands were ripped from Ivan. He watched as the men grasped Ivan's wrists as well.

A thin wire twisted tightly, cutting off the circulation to his fingertips. Ali tried to wrench his wrists apart, but the thin metal only sliced his skin with the motion.

The men took his wrists and pushed him forwards, up the hill.

Finally, he collided with the group of allies. Ali turned to snarl at his captors, then turned to see Ivan's cross expression. He twisted in the wire to face him, then when he was somewhat comfortable, met his glare and raised his eyebrows.

"They could've killed me," Ivan said slowly. He pursed his lips.

"They didn't," Ali replied.

"You know we're probably going to die soon."

"I know."
Ivan dropped his gaze and pulled his lips between his teeth, shaking his head. Then his mouth drew into a smile as he chuckled under his breath. He turned to face Ali and saw that Ali had begun to snicker too.

"What a mess we've gotten ourselves into," Ivan mumbled. He sat down, pulling Ali down with him. He sighed and fell onto his back in the gravel, ignoring the rocks poking his bare arms.

***

He ran through the hedges. Suddenly, he was jerked back, and his mother's call died out in the long, distorted, arbitrary colours around him. He was pulled back farther and farther until he landed feet-first on the ground, his mother's hand wrapped tightly around his shoulders. He shuddered. She looked up to see her face, and it streamed crystal tears while her other hand grasped her mouth. Her fingertips whitened around his shoulder as the pedestal rose above him, the wood creaking with every step that the man took.

A cry echoed and Ali woke with a start. The pitch black of night devoured the dull colours of the day before and the jungle hushed in the distance. An Imperial troop loitered around the huddle of soldiers.
It had been two days since they came. Ali hadn't seen Ivan fake an emotion since. They hadn't spoken much since their maniacal laughing.
The cry sounded again through the dark, and the Japanese guard stopped his lazy pacing as another man dragged an Australian soldier towards the bridge. Without hesitation, they threw him over the edge, his cry resounding once more before silence pierced it like a blade.
Ali winced. Today. They had to get out today.

Ali knew that they had no hopes of escaping the first day, so he had kept his folding knife in his pocket, without anyone knowing - including Ivan.

But in the past few days, the Imperials had shown no further hostility towards the group. At least, not that I know of. He shook the thought away, only to give space for another - What if they've been doing this the whole time? He shuddered uncontrollably at the thought. We need to get out of here, now.

He waited until the guard had begun his strolling to start the process.

Ali shimmied quietly to reach his back pocket. The wire cut into his skin, and he could feel a warm liquid dripping down his arm. He reached a little farther, jutting out his leg in the process. He pulled on the wire and Ivan tossed in his sleep, tugging on his side of the wire until Ali had to slide up closer to him to get a little more slack on the wire. Finally, he felt the flap of his pocket and began to yank on it. He quickly cursed to himself.

His pocket was velcro.

And not only was it velcro, loud and obnoxious, but it was also military-grade - even stronger, and unfortunately louder than the average closure. He shook his head to himself.

A guard. He quickly relaxed and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. Something hit his outstretched leg. The guard. But just as Ali opened his eyes, the guard was toppling forwards into the gravel.

Ali quickly drew it in, and as the guard shuffled in the gravel to stand, Ali ripped the velcro pocket.

The guard stood up and looked around, at the ground, at Ali's leg. He knew Ali had tripped him.

Ali whispered a quick prayer under his breath.

He felt around his tool, hoping to find the sharp edge to rid of the wire before the guard reacted. He felt around. He found the opening to the knife and used both his hands to pry it open behind his back.

Just as the knife met the wire, the guard grabbed the front of his shirt and drew him up to his face. Ali dropped the knife and desperately tried to slide it under Ivan.

He spoke in Japanese and Ali couldn't understand. Then, he turned and yelled some order to the sleeping troops behind him, still holding Ali's shirt.

He took the tip of his bayonet and leaned it into Ali's throat as he yelled again.

Ali was dropped to the ground just as a sweat broke out.

The group began to stir, and even Ivan was wide awake.

"What happened?" He whispered.

"I trip him."

Ivan's eyes widened. "On purpose?"

Ali tilted his head and Ivan shook his head.

Suddenly, the guard grabbed his hands and pulled them up, forcing Ali to stand.

Ivan was yanked up by the wire and looked down to see the knife on the ground.

The shine caught the guard's vision and he yelled something indistinct. Another man, with a nicer uniform, came running over and picked up the knife.

"Look what we have here," he said in Malay.

Ivan's eyes widened again. He looked to Ali and back at the knife.

"Not... me," Ivan stuttered in Malay.

The man whispered something in the guard's ear, and the guard nodded, studying Ali.

He spoke in Japanese and the guard pulled the wire, still only connecting the two of them.

He threw them into the mud on the side of the road.

Ivan tried to scramble away, but the wire kept him attached to Ali, who stayed motionless on the ground. Ivan cursed under his breath and looked at the wire around Ali's hands, to see if it was as tight around Ali's as it was around his own, but...

There was none. The wire was grasped tightly in his fist, cut sharply at one end.

Ivan gasped quietly, almost smiling. We're going to get out of here, he mused. The Japanese man yelled once more, and imperial troops closed in on the group of soldiers, still huddled on the road. One large line of soldiers, bound together at the wrists just like himself, were led to the bridge. Ivan's expression fell. They're going to execute them. He looked away but the guard kicked him in the bad leg, then grasped his chin to turn it towards the group.

They faced the water. They would drown, slowly. The water was far too fast to swim in, let alone stay afloat in.

Ivan had no choice but to watch.

The guard fired a single round at the soldier on the end.

As he fell, the man to his left was pulled in by the wire.
Ivan screamed as another was dragged. And another. Another. Until they had all plunged into the water.

The guard drove the butt of a rifle into Ivan's ribs. He yelled louder and fell onto his side. Blood splattered onto the gravel from his lips and he could only watch as another line of soldiers lined the edge of the bridge. He shut his eyes to their screams.

Ivan first felt the anger as it pulsed from his heart. The cold rush of it stung his veins and he turned his glare to Ali.

"You did nothing." Ali turned. "Nothing," he spat.

He kicked at Ali with his good leg. The guard laughed.

A battle cry echoed from the group, and the guard refocused. One of the soldiers from the bunch had freed himself from the wire and ran towards the jungle.

The guard sprinted from his place next to Ivan and followed the man. Gunshots reverberated from all around them, and finally, the man fell to the ground.

The guard reached the man and roughly bound his wrists with the same thin wire, despite the captive being dead. Ivan watched as he grabbed the man by his armpits and began to haul him back towards the road. Ali caught his attention.

With his free hands, he was undoing the wire behind Ivan's back. Then he grabbed Ivan's wrist and ran behind the soldiers, slipping down the hill to the riverbed beneath the bridge. Ivan whimpered as the pain shot up his leg but kept going. His vision blurred - although he couldn't tell whether it was from the speed or the leg.

They stopped to catch their breath.

Ivan fumed. "How dare you." He whispered harshly, turning to face him. He jabbed a finger in his direction. "All those men are dead and you did nothing!" He shoved Ali to the ground, wincing at his leg. He limped to tower over Ali. "You could've saved them. Saved them all!"

Ali coined a stern expression on the ground. "I saved you," he panted in Chinese. "I saved you, and you punish me?"

Ivan scrunched his brows, not understanding his words. His gaze remained hostile and he clenched his fists.

"You didn't want to save me, you wanted to draw the attention to me, didn't you? Back then, a few days ago, you never wanted to save me, you wanted to save them?" Ivan asked. "You wanted your Chinese friends to get away so you distracted the Japanese by calling me your commander! That's why you protected me before!"

Ali didn't respond. He didn't understand.

"You can't even defend yourself." Ivan continued. "And here I thought you were my friend," he mumbled under his breath. He turned away and brought a hand to his face.

"I couldn't have let you die, Amadi!" Ali defended in Chinese.

"I could've died saving you," Ivan responded, still unsure of Ali's words. He was positive it was something hurtful. "Your kind doesn't deserve this land," he said in English through clenched teeth.

"You deserve better life," Ali said at the same time, this time in stuttering English. He dipped his head in shame.

Ivan tilted his head, confused. He shook it off.

Ali stood and brushed himself off. Ivan stepped back and turned to sprint away through the brush.

A man stood in his path.

"Now look what you've gotten yourselves into," the man admonished in Malay. The same man who caught them before. Same place. Same time of day. Ivan cursed under his breath.

"Come to stop us again? That went so well for you last time," Ali replied.

"Still witty, I see. That will get you nowhere in life, boy. How old are you? Eighteen?"

"Older than any kid you'll ever have," Ali sneered.

The man squinted as red flushed his neck.

"We'll see about that." He jerked his chin towards the soldiers behind Ali and Ivan.

Ivan hissed, shaking his head. "We're not getting out of this one," He whispered to Ali. Ali shook his head in reply.

Ivan moved in front of Ali, raising his hands. He began to get on a knee and capitulate, but Ali grabbed him under his arms and kept him standing.

A gunshot rang out.

Ivan flinched - still in Ali's grasp - and a line of men dropped from the bridge in canon.

Their bodies swept away in the water like dust in the wind.

The strong current carried them out of sight.

"Follow," Ali mumbled under his breath. Ivan followed his gaze and gulped.

"Subuh matahari terbit!" Ali's voice boomed his native language - Malay - and even the guards on the bridge paused to see the commotion, despite the language barrier.

"Those are some strong words there, son." The man mocked. He nodded to the right of Ali, and he followed their gaze to a group of three Imperials. Their guns raised in unison.

The rushing water to the right seemed to loom closer in the trickling morning light.

The Imperial Japanese troops closed in, slow paces sticking in the mud. Their bayonets inched closer and closer.

Ivan's breath quickened, and Ali watched as panicked movements reached his light, fidgeting fingertips.

"Lompat," Ali whispered. The breaths became even faster.

"No way, Ali. I'm not jumping!"

"Calm, Amadi. Lompat," Ali repeated. Ivan didn't move. Ali moved to grab the back of his shirt, fist slowly closing around the fabric.

"Subuh matahari terbit," Ali roared again.

"Dawn of the rising sun," Ivan muttered in realization. Ali adjusted his grip and turned toward the river. It sped past. He grabbed Amadi with both hands.

And he leaped into the rushing water, pulling Amadi with him.