Hours later my ass has become numb from the constant jostling. Though they didn't tell me directly, I know we're taking a roundabout path to avoid unnecessary attention. We've almost passed another small village when I feel a soul-deep pull. My head spins, and blood rushes to my ears. I hear myself panting, unable to catch my breath. I tremble with the near painful need to go back. At the speed we are going, my brain only had a second to register deep green eyes. But that instant was long enough to know those vivid eyes are capable of entrapping my heart and soul. By the time I came to my senses, we had long passed the village. Finding the whole thing to be unsettling, I attribute it to my possible deteriorating sanity and throw it to the back of my mind.

We continue at our fast clip till we stop at midday. And even then, the pleos show no sign of tiring. I gratefully crawl off Kala. As soon as my feet touched the ground the rest of me followed suit. I hear what sounds like a laugh from Kala, but I ignore her. Too tired to bother. I managed to maintain some dignity as I prevent myself from sprawling on the ground. Daric is better off than I am, but his walk was staggering a bit as he made his way toward me. I chuckle under my breath.

"Daric, you can barely walk in a straight line sit for a moment. I'm not going anywhere." I wave off Andri's help a little surly that he can walk around without issue. Scias, Lina, and Ryo get midday meal ready.

The wind brushes by bringing along with it a familiar scent that puts everyone on alert. After a long moment of listening for any signs of danger, it becomes apparent trouble isn't coming. Curious, I get up to take a look. Forgetting my legs have turned to jelly, I stumble forward crashing through the bush in the direction of the smell. Lark reacted quickly but not fast enough to stop my tumble. I hit to the ground with my eyes closed and braced for impact. After coming to a painful stop, I cautiously open my eyes. Staring right back at me unblinking are a pair of eyes that have long lost their spark of life. I jump up with a yelp and crawl backward; the scene completely registers. There is a broken overturned oza. Shiny jagged pieces of it gleam in the sunlight from where they lie scattered around the bodies. Directly in front of me is a middle age man with a wound in his neck deep enough to see the ivory bone of his spine; the state of the other three bodies was worse. There's one woman, and two little boys and all three are missing clothes. Combined with the various bruises and cuts it's not a huge leap to understand they were abused physically and sexually. My jaw locks and my hands clench in helpless fury.

Unknown to me, as I sat in rage the ground slightly shook.

There's the rustle of leaves as the others come through the brush. Ignoring my sore muscles, I stand and manage to stay upright through sheer willpower. I rush over to Daric and pull him into my chest, dragging him backward.

He startles, "Emma?"

"Don't look. You don't need to see that."

I can tell I piqued his curiosity rather than deterred him. But my grip is tight enough that he can't break free. He stops fighting my hold when he sees that he isn't going anywhere. I hesitate to leave. It gnaws at my conscious to leave them exposed to the elements. Unable to bear it, I tell Irvin, Lark, and Andri burry them. Once buried, I say a few words for them and drag Daric away.

The midday meal is cold after putting off eating, but I don't complain. We finish quickly to make up for lost time and continue traveling without further delay. The rest of the day passes and is uneventful, but seeing the wary exhaustion weighing on everyone not used to riding the pleos, Irvin stops and sets up camp earlier than usual. Riding Kala all day has made me sore and achy; I find sleep soon after eating.

I'm in the middle of a deep sleep when I'm thrown from my slumber. I don't have a chance to gain my barring before the shaking of the ground tosses me around once more. I stumble disoriented when the smell of smoke and the sound of screams registers. I quickly locate Daric. He's on the ground looking around with wide eyes. He clutches me as I assure myself he's fine. Lark, Irvin, and Andri all have grim looks like they're about to charge into a horde of enemies. Lina looks terrified. Well, more than usual; while Ryo and Scias are unsettled.

I turn toward the sounds. It's nearing sunset, and there's black billowing smoke stark against the reddish-orange sky. After it becomes apparent we weren't in any immediate danger everyone relaxed some.

"Scias, pack," Irvin commands, "Lark get the pleos ready. We're leaving."

I stare at Irvin as everyone gets moving. "Why is it, that sounded like we aren't going to do anything to help?"

He glances at me, "Because we will not."

"Why?"

"Our mission is to return you to your father. Anything deviating from that objective only puts you in danger."

I bite out, "People are screaming for help."

"They're not my concern."

That takes me back. I don't know why I'm surprised. Life has beaten him enough that he's given up, he follows his orders and does no more.

I give a hollow chuckle, "Well, I'm concerned."

I turn and bolt, running full tilt towards danger. I catch them off guard, but it isn't long until I hear multiple footsteps following behind me. Since it would be a crime for Irvin to forcefully stop me, as they have lower social standing, he's left with little choice but to follow.

It takes about three minutes to reach ground zero. A large open space with packed dirt and a mine settled into the side of a small mountain has become the perfect picture of absolute chaos. I couldn't understand what I'm seeing. Dust is still settling, smoke billows from the mine entrance, and people were everywhere. Some sat in a daze while others scream over the dead and missing limbs. I panic.