[Which wasn't to say child soldiers did not exist. They did. Not as a common occurrence, to be sure, but there had been instances of nameless orphans as young as four or five being taken in. Taught to fight. Taught to kill. Sometimes, worse.]
I was about seven or eight, I think, when they first came to our village. They were looking for kids willing to help them, and they were willing to pay. Very well. Enough to feed a very sick older man and three little boys for some time. [It hadn't been the money that motivated her. It had been the thought of taking care of her family, who might have otherwise starved.] I had no other choice but to sign up. It was our only chance.
So I went with them. And they trained me. For more than a year. How to fool soldiers. How to listen. Pay attention. How to gain intel, decode basic encryptions, and most importantly, only get noticed when it was necessary. I had to seem completely innocent, or they'd suspect me.
no subject
No. Not me.
[Which wasn't to say child soldiers did not exist. They did. Not as a common occurrence, to be sure, but there had been instances of nameless orphans as young as four or five being taken in. Taught to fight. Taught to kill. Sometimes, worse.]
I was about seven or eight, I think, when they first came to our village. They were looking for kids willing to help them, and they were willing to pay. Very well. Enough to feed a very sick older man and three little boys for some time. [It hadn't been the money that motivated her. It had been the thought of taking care of her family, who might have otherwise starved.] I had no other choice but to sign up. It was our only chance.
So I went with them. And they trained me. For more than a year. How to fool soldiers. How to listen. Pay attention. How to gain intel, decode basic encryptions, and most importantly, only get noticed when it was necessary. I had to seem completely innocent, or they'd suspect me.
None of them ever did.