They had been hunting me for days, I knew I would soon be captured but not yet. I still had to protect my tribe, The Seminole. A gunshot blared to my left and I ran. It was a trap, and now they knew my location. I was soon surrounded. Powerless and weak but I couldn’t let them know where the tribe was. My tribe. Someone, probably the leader stepped forward towards me. He wore light leather with two pistols harnessed at his thigh. He carried a rifle in his hands. “Hard to find aren't ya” he said. I grunted. His voice was rough and he didn’t look happy at all. Before I knew it he pounced at me and with the rifle in hand, swapped it at my feet. I fell to my knees. He was fast. He threw the rifle down and got closer. Not a wise move for him.. or at least that’s what I had thought at the time. I grabbed at his ankles in an attempt to catch him off guard but he was ready for it. As I reached for his ankles he grabbed my arm and twisted it back. I let out a piercing scream I didn’t recognize as my own. My eyes watered. Then he twisted it farther. I could here the bones snap. Then he let go. I thought he was finished with me as he started to walk back, only to realize he had only gone back to receive his rifle. This was the end. He came close again. A solemn look on his face. He raised the heavy gun a couple inches a way from my head. Then he swung and I blacked out.

We searched and searched but found no sign of Osceola.. Other than a blood trail that soon ended a couple yards away.. We tried to stay positive, that maybe our leader had escaped and was now on the run but all the clues pointed to two scenarios. Either Osceola had been captured or killed. We wondered why the Americans would target our leader or if his capture or death would end this everlasting battle, not in our favor. But mostly we wondered who would be next. Tonight Micanopy would talk to the tribe and tell us what we should do next. Now that Osceola was captured none of us felt safe and we might run from the one place we called home and flee to Oklahoma where the Americans wanted us to go. I decided to end the search so we could go back to our families. We started to head back only to find American soldiers blocking our way. I knew now that just because they caught Osceola that didn’t mean they were done fighting.

Micanopy sat around the fire with all the women and the men that stayed behind from the search party. The drums that were being played banged and banged in our ears and we knew that even after the ritual was over we would still hear their loud beats. Boom boom boom. Suddenly Micanopy started to stand. He said calmly and so faint you had to strain your ears to hear “ The Americans have kidnapped Osceola and many of our men.” Speaking louder as the children around started to cry. Osceola continued “And now that they have done so, we must take back what is ours.” The throng of people shouted in agreement. “ We must surprise the Americans and save our people” now shouting. “We must do it for our brave people, we must do it for our children so they can see their fathers again but most of all we must do it for our ancestors.”  The crowd shouted louder and louder until Micanopy finally sat down as the ritual finished. The families returned to their huts as the sound of the drums rang in their ears.           

They pushed us in one by one. Nobody knew what time of day it was. We just entered this accursed dungeon. We hoped our tribe would save us but after hours of sitting, our hopes turned into anger. We were angry Osceola got captured. We were angry Micanopy made us search for Osceola but most of all we were angry we let ourselves get caught.

They threw their stale bread in the dungeon for me to eat. I looked at it but never ate it. We were in a war right now and eating one piece of stale bread might let the Americans win this war. I am the leader of the Seminole.  I am Osceola. I still have my pride.

We saw the guards walking towards us each carrying a basket. From the basket they produced stale bread. They threw tiny pieces of stale bread into the dungeon where we were. I looked at the bread and threw it back on the ground. I ran to the bars and yelled to the guards. I told them we would get out of here and when we did they would be are first victims to feel all the pain we felt. Not seeing our families, being stuck in this dungeon helpless, weak, pained, and they would also feel all of that but they left not even looking back at me as I yelled. As I sat back down I felt eyes on me never leaving, burning a hole through my weak skin.

That's when I heard it. The loud yell that told me I was not alone. I thought of how I could escape this dungeon to go see who else was here. For what felt like days I thought of how I could see the other prisoners but only one idea came to me. I had to fight the guards when they came to give me food. I waited and waited for the guards to come but I never saw them. I gave up waiting for them and crawled to a corner where I found all the bread they had given me over the past days. Then I heard a door creak open. Time to put my plan in play. 

They yelled and yelled but I wasn't listening. The cowards were afraid of standing up for themselves. They had thought by threatening the guards we would all be punished. I wasn't afraid. I was thinking of a way to break free. More yelling came followed by a punch in the gut. I stood up and looked at them. Everyone went silent. They knew I was in charge. I was King Philip. I am a Seminole chief. It was my turn to start yelling at them. I told them that if we didn't escape our side will lose this war. I told them we have to go and save Osceola... But Osceola didn't need to be saved. He was right outside our cell with two guards on the floor.

We split up in two groups. Osceola led one and I led the other. It wasn't easy slipping past the other guards and escaping but we managed to. Both our groups met outside the American's territory. We grouped back together when someone behind us yelled "their escaping." We ran for it but got sidetracked when a series of arrows shot at the Americans coming at us. It was our tribe the Seminole, but before I noticed it I was grabbed from behind. Someone noticed me and shot an arrow at the man holding me but missed and shot me instead. A sharp pain pierced through me as I shivered on this hot summer day. Everything got fuzzy as people jumped on the man holding me. I crawled out of the mass of people defeating the man. I felt my stomach where I was shot as a pool of blood oozed out of my body onto the battle-floor.

I was lifted off my feet by two strong arms. I couldn't get a good look at him but I was grateful he got me out of the battlefield. I was taken to a tent where I could heal and sleep. The last thing I heard before I blacked out was a battle cry, hoping we were winning.

I woke up but saw nothing but darkness. It was a darkness blacker then no black. The darkness was unimaginable yet it made you feel safe. Like you belonged in that one place. It felt like the perfect home, away from all the problems in life. Their was no war, everyone was friendly and always agreed with you like all answers were perfect. A light emitted from the darkness that showed it all. But that was not the life for me. I will one day earn that life but for now I have not. I still have a war to fight. I turned my back to the light and looked into the darkness. I glanced back at the light and realized it was the right choice as I walked back into the darkness.

I woke feeling a searing pain in my stomach. I put my hand on it as I felt something warm. I picked my hand up and saw my blood trickling down my fingers onto my arm. I started to stand but only got pushed down. I tried again and this time no one stopped me. I started to walk near some woods that I recognized that had a stream behind it. and then I felt it. The arrow was still in my stomach. I muttered a few nasty words and then tried to remove it. I grabbed it and snapped it in half. Next I ran until I reached the edge of a forest and dived into a stream.

I felt the coolness of the water go everywhere in my body. I kept my eyes shut not wanting to open them. I forced my body to relax and give in to the cool touch of the water. I wanted to live right here in the stream and never go up until I died, but I had a battle to fight.

Blood coated the barren land. Bodies laid dead. Unmoving. For the first time in days it was silent. Footsteps. They were coming. The bushes we hid in rustled. We crouched awkwardly behind them. Shifting our weight from foot to foot. Our palms began to sweat. Silently we nocked our bows. Ready for a fight.

The thunderous noise of a battle started. Enemy guns were fired. As murder swept all around me I hid. I watched as a man attempted to climb a tree and shoot from above. Halfway up a bullet struck his back. He instantly died. No noise escaped him. Not a shriek nor cry. I jumped out of hiding and shot arrow after arrow. I was tired of acting like a coward.

I was lifted three feet into the air. I saw everything clearer than ever. My vision felt enhanced. I saw a man fall from the kickback of his own gun. I saw Osceola lead our tribe. Invading the other army. My back hit the hard ground first. My vision turned hazy now. A high pitched noise was all I could hear. I felt deaf. My head ached. My spine felt broken. I couldn't move. I was cold.

I crawled and crawled with only my left arm. My right shoulder had been shot with a rifle. I crawled over the dirt… my right arm sagged. Blood from my arm oozed on the battlefield. Blood and dirt from the battlefield infected my shoulder. I kept crawling but I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. Where was I? There was no one here. The sun baked hotter than the deepest crevice of hell. I screamed in agony. Days went by. The sun never went down. It only got hotter. I crawled. My arm had turned grey and withered. The infection had taken it away from me. I kept crawling. My throat was parched. I crawled. My spirit was damaged. And I continued to crawl.