Kuro: A Land in Eternal Night

Chapter 4.2: Marauders

"It's not so bad, you'll see."

The little girl turned toward Mina with tears in her eyes. Pretty, green eyes that knew sadness. Innocence lost. Mina's heart broke. She did not know how to explain to the little girl what was going on.

"What's your name?" Mina heard the sound escape from her mouth before she was even done thinking.

"Kari." The little girl answered, hesitation in her voice.

Mina smiled "Kari. It's a very pretty name for a very pretty girl." Mina extended her hand toward the little girl. She cringed, but Mina smiled even more and extended her hand further. "It's okay, Kari. My name is Mina. Can we be friends?"

Kari looked cautiously at Mina, then at Mina's hand, then back at Mina herself. Slowly, she extended her little hand to take Mina's. In spite of herself, Kari managed a faint smile.

Mina took the tiny, cold hand in hers. "Kari, there is nothing to be afraid of. We're going to get out of here, you and I. Mina's going to figure out a way, okay ? You just stick with me and we'll find a way out of here."

Mina looked around. They were a pathetic sight. The girls were grimy, covered in dirt and soot, their clothes a jumbled patchwork of hand-me-downs and tattered clothing, long past their usable state. Everyone was sitting around trying to make sense of it all. Some of them were openly crying, a few lay around, a forlorn look on their faces.

Mina turned to Kari, trying to distract her. "Kari, how old are you?"

"I'm nine."

Mina shook her head gently. "Much too young to be taken by Marauders. Do you know why they took you?"

Kari started sobbing gently. "They were in our home. They tried to take my older sister Kira. I wouldn't let them." Her voice cracked as she fought back tears. "One of the soldiers pushed me away, and I hit my head against the wall of our living room. Kira fought back, but one of the armored men shot her. Then they killed my parents, too. Everything went black and I woke up here."

Mina paused, unsure of what to say. "I see. You're from the villages." She took Kari and hugged her close. "Kari, you may have lost everything today, but you have gained a friend. I promise I will protect you to the end. I won't let anything happen to you."

Mina seethed with anger on the inside. The people of Sector 6 were already treated like dirt by the outside world, slapped in the face daily and humiliated. They had to beg and steal for scraps of food just to survive another day. And yet, despite all that, they were being treated this way. The people of Sector 6 had nothing. Not the will to survive, nor a zest for life, not even something so mundane as personal dignity. And yet, these Marauders had the gall to take something else from them. Why? Why would they continue to oppress a people that were already oppressed? So aptly named was the Utter Darkness, for it plunged mind, body and spirit, so completely in darkness leaving no hope for the light.

Mina was about to get herself lost in her dark rumination when Joab's smiling face suddenly flashed in her mind. "Why do you let yourself be troubled by such things?" Mina saw Joab make light of the situation. Joab could make light of any situation. "A situation is what you make of it, Mina. Good or evil, light or darkness, man makes of it based on how he interprets events. Darkness may be all around you, but if you have the light in your heart, they can never extinguish your flame. The light shines brightest in the darkest hour." Mina decided then and there she was going to press on.

"They're going to dispose of us, you know." Mina turned around abruptly as she heard the voice.

One of the girls had come up behind them and was staring intently at Mina. Mina sized up the girl as she continued to gaze at her. The girl was frail, wraithlike, as if her very person could collapse at any time. Her thin, oval face, pale and drawn, was framed by dark, braided hair that went to her shoulders, down almost, to her patched and threadbare gray robes. Mina found it odd, but in the darkness and perhaps because of her frailty and mysterious appearance, she was oddly beautiful, standing out as if she didn't belong with the rest of them.

She bowed by way of introduction. "I am Vannah."

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