James Cooper was a teenager when he was captured by the commander who had killed his entire family in front of him when he was only eleven years old.
And he was sent to die by the hand of someone from his past.
When he was held hostage for some time in a garbage hole, James survived by eating the rubbish. Soon, the commander decided to kill him, for the hostage was likely to try to avenge his family. Finally, when James heard footsteps approach the hole, he knew that he would die. As the soldier pulled back the cover of the hole, it took a moment for James, blinded by the light coming through the opening, to see that his childhood friend had been sent to carry out the execution.
The friend, also in his early teens, had been recruited by the commander when opposing forces murdered his family. Now called Cry Your Own Cry, the boy was likely tortured, brainwashed, and drugged to break down his inhibitions to committing horrible acts. However, when he recognized the boy whom he had played with as a child, he could not bring himself to kill James. Instead, Cry Your Own Cry took him to the execution area and fired his gun in the air. Then, he took James to the bush near a village, hiding him inside a large, hollow tree trunk before finding a means to escape.
Today, these young men are still friends. While Cry Your Own Cry was reticent to say much in the interview, James spoke about how his friend had risked his life to save him. Had the commander realized that Cry Your Own Cry had not carried out his order, he almost certainly would have executed the young soldier.