It was heartbreaking to see Vidhya say goodbye to his sister and niece. They were his tethers to the world; no, they were his world. I could see it in the way his expressions changed when he looked at them and said goodbye. Despite her apparent coldness, I could tell how fiercely Arya cared for her family. I thanked everyone for helping me and risking their lives for a stranger. Instead of the reaction I was expecting, they joked that what they were doing was way less risky than what I was doing and laughed about how crazy I was. They even started calling me "The Madman of the Mines" for what I planned to do. It felt good to be appreciated, but it made me even more nervous for Arya and Itzel. I couldn't help but feel I might be leading them down the wrong path. Arya's reassurances that this was best for them fell on deaf ears before me. I did, however, understand that it was their choice and was glad they were deciding what was best for them; at the same time, though, Itzel was only 14, and I couldn't help but worry for her. She was so frail and small due to the malnutrition that was so common here; she looked half her age.
The rest of the people also said goodbye to us. Finally, Vidhya came up to me to say goodbye.
"Well, I guess this is the end for us two," he said as he clasped my shoulder and then quickly turned it into a pat on the back.
"Truly, thank you for everything. If there's anything I can do for you, I'll do it from the outside. That's a promise,"
He looked at me with pride, "Thanks, kid, don't put yourself at risk too much to do it, but anything would be appreciated. More importantly, I need to tell you something, and please promise me this: fight for my family as fiercely as you can. The outside world is not like this; their people are not like us. Every day you could all face unknown danger, so please do all you can to protect each other."
That much was easy enough to agree with, "I promise, Vidhya"
"Okay, thanks, kid. Now we're off to make a ruckus, remember the plan, and stick to it," he said as he turned with the majority of the people to go and stir up some chaos for us. Soon enough, we would have to leave, too. However, we had to wait roughly 20 minutes until the guards had been drawn out. Those 20 minutes of waiting felt like a century; the anxiety of waiting felt more crippling than I'd ever felt before. That's why it was a relief when Arya announced that our window of opportunity had come.
We quickly, yet cautiously, began making our way through the run-down streets, hearing yelling and shouting as we passed through each alleyway. If Arya and Itzel felt any anxiety for Vidhya, they didn't show it. My people and Vidhya's people had a lot in common. Still, the ability to keep this calm facade definitely wasn't one of them. As we made it further, we eventually made it out and towards the border, where there was a large 50m open plane to allow for the guards on patrol to clearly see anyone's approach; luckily for us, thanks to the diversion, there was now no one in our sight, and we made it into the border building without trouble.
The building itself was in a large square shape, and we had to find our way through despite not knowing the direction. We made our way through, but we occasionally heard echoes of soldiers' footsteps and had to find alternate routes. Right now, we find ourselves stuck in a locked room waiting for guards to pass.
"I just wanted to thank you, guys, for…" I began, but was soon interrupted.
"You really don't need to thank us over and over again, you know, you're helping us out just as much as we're helping you. You hear."
I went silent after Arya's reprimand. She let out a long and hard sigh, like she was letting go of a heavy boulder that she had always carried.
"I'm sorry for being harsh; it's how I've always been. Don't take it to heart." She paused to figure out how to word what she wished to say, and then decided, "look we heard about what happened to your people, it was horrible, and don't get me wrong, I ain't pitying you or anything like that but, I don't want my daughter living in a world where that can just happen; it ain't right. They believe that simply because they are 'conquerors', they can step on us. I want to show em that they can't, so I should thank you for giving us this opportunity, the opportunity to live a better life." I was about to reply to what Arya had just said to me when Itzel came up to me and handed me a flower, and confusion washed over my face.
"It's the flower of our people," Itzel whispered, "It's called the bird of paradise. You're one of us now," Itzel said simply, and Arya let out a laugh.
"Right, they must have gone now, let's keep moving"
As we continued to make progress, we realised the crowd was getting thinner and thinner. Eventually, we found a sign that said we were heading the right way. However, the next corner we rounded, people were waiting, not moving, but waiting. Shit, what the fuck do we do now? Arya signalled to go in a different direction. And we continued down that way, but then as we went to look down the next corridor, we came face to face with a squad of 3 small, young men, they looked my age.
"Hey! What are you scum doing here!" One spat out as they drew their weapons. We all exploded into a sprint down a corridor, making as many turns as we could while trying to vaguely head in the right direction; luckily, thanks to the heavy armour they were wearing, we were making ground.
However, panic had now set in, and they'd likely called in where we were. The only way to get out now was to go fast while still being cautious. The panic, however, had set in.
We were each sprinting for our lives, hoping and praying that we didn't run into others. Arya sprinted as close as she could to Itzel, trying to shield her from any dangers. At the same time, I ran slightly separately with my Talons Edge drawn, ready to fight for our survival if it came to that.
Our feet smacked the ground. I was faster than the two of them, and so I kept pace beside them. It meant that while they were getting more and more tired, I remained mostly fine, for now at least. All the time I'd spent training and within the mines meant that I could go on where others couldn't. It also meant that before a corner came up that we wished to go down, I would break into a sprint, then while the other two caught up, I'd give the call to stop or keep going. The bright lights in the corridors illuminated each hallway, creating multiple shadows of us on the ground that followed us closely.
We made it closer to the end and were about to round the corner. This had now become habitual for me. As I sprinted down, I looked down the corridor and saw a soldier with some sort of massive mounted gun pointed toward it. I lifted my hand to signal them to stop. I don't know whether it was the panic or the tiredness, the reason doesn't matter, but Itzel didn't stop when I told her to, and I was late to react. Shit, panic rose in me as I heard the whirring of the machine. I was going to be too late to save the girl. I couldn't stop the inevitable.
That's when Arya flew past me, faster than I thought the woman was capable of. Nothing was faster than her maternal instincts in that moment. Not even the weapon. She lunged straight for Itzel's body as the gun fired. What I saw filled my heart with dread. Arya had pushed her daughter out of the way just in time for the young girl to be unscathed. Arya, on the other hand, was hit. It was hard to describe what happened to her. It was almost as if the right side of her body ceased to exist before the brutality of the heat of the pulse blast of the weapon. Instantly, life left her body, while a blood-shadow formed on the wall behind. The body slammed to the ground, now unmoving. Itzel's face was a mix of confusion and dread; she seemed not even to understand what had happened. As the confusion on her face turned to despair, mine turned to white anger.
I screamed madly as I sprinted faster than I ever had, straight at the perpetrator. He went to reload his weapon. He was too slow. I broke the visor on his mounted weapon and grabbed his neck through the shattered glass and began to squeeze and slam his head against the wall in anger. I felt the man groan more than I heard it. It didn't stop me. I didn't stop even when I saw blood leaking from his skull, even when I heard the crack and pops of the joints between his neck. After that, I pulled his head out of the machine, and as quickly as I heard him scream in fear, I plunged my blade into his neck. The man was dead and I had broken my promise, and lost a friend.