Ethan doused the flames beneath the river, but when he brought him to the surface, the fires started anew. He quickly piled mud onto the boy's body, choking the flames of oxygen, but by then it was too late. The dead eyes of the boy looked up at him accusingly. "I tried," Ethan told him. "I tried to save you. I told them there were civilians in the village, but they wouldn't listen. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."The child's accusing eyes bored into him."Don't look at me like that," Ethan told him. "I tried!"Yes, those dead eyes seemed to say. You tried. And yet, you are going to give up now? After everything?"There's nothing I can do," Ethan pleaded.There's always something. You fought to save me. You tried."But you died anyway," Ethan told him.Yes, but you tried, and that's what matters. Open your eyes and try. Open them!Ethan's eyes shot open.There had to be a way out of his predicament. There always was a way. Ordinary men gave up. Ethan wasn't ordinary. He had regained much of his strength since leaving the jail, but the weariness hadn't faded entirely.
