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Chapter 3

Cyeran

    Hope: a flimsy, useless idea that leaves you wasted. Life has never looked so miserable, yet Mar just can't see to give up on that stupid idea. I scowl, glancing back at her following me. She's like a little puppy: always loyally two steps behind me. She isn't looking ahead, but has her head cocked to one side, staring at the sky. Her lips are just barely curled into a smirk at the corners. How is she never bitter or angry? There is so much in this world to hate, and yet she doesn't. There's always that hint of a smile… I can't help but snicker at this, which she answers with an abrupt puzzled stare. I only turn forward once more and walk a bit faster. I've been a little more…emotion-showing than usual today, I guess --- enough to make her wonder, at least. The thought excites me: I enjoy her confusion.
    Mar says weakness is not an option, yet she lets herself have the one weakness that can destroy everything --- emotion.
    Useless.
    I am free from those bonds. I freed myself long ago. Emotion is an enemy that is not afraid to betray you again and again.
    I look back at her once more. I still see a child needing to be trained. There's stil so much that she hasn't learned. She's still blinded by those empty thoughts that ruin you.
    Turning around again, I walk on. I often wonder why I even saved her. I don't remember much of that day because I was so young, but there was something that caused me to even think about raising her. I still haven't figured out what.
    Ahead stretches a length of desert. Have I mentioned hope is useless? With a growl, I speed up my march. The wrong way, she had said; but now we are walking straight back to Gulyen. I hate that place.
    Destroying it was a mercy killing.
    I partly hope our back-tracking won't mean going through Gulyen. It holds nothing for us except hated memories. On the other hand, maybe going through Gulyen may cause grief that will break down Mar's thoughtless hope.
    What a child… Sometimes I almost feel sorry for her. So naïve and trusting: she's yet to learn the right way of life --- my way.
    I hear her footsteps speed up and I know she is catching up to me. She's probably getting read for another one of her rambles. I speed up my pace a little bit.
    Still, she matches my steps with a hesitant "So, I was thinking…
    See, what did I say?
    I mostly ignore it. I rarely listen to what she says, just like she never listens to me. So, I keep walking ahead, nodding every now and then and getting lost in my own head.
    Gulyen is getting close to us on this next big hill. I wouldn't recognize it except for where it is, though. It is ruins, as much as I can see --- only ruins. That will wash away Mar's empty hope.
    She is in the middle of her usual childish storytelling when I cut her short. Looking at my too big clothes on her, I comment, "Those clothes look horrible on you." She is silent. Ha! That will change her mind about my mood changing today. She falls behind a little as I chuckle inside. She'll get over it.

    The rest trip is severely silent --- the way I like it. The one thing I don't like is that too much thinking happens during silence. I like being able to think in peace, but I worry about Mar. The thoughts are probably coming back again. But all that would be over soon enough. She probably doesn't even realize where I'm leading her, even though it's right to the heart of Gulyen --- and through hers.
    Don't think I'm completely cold toward Mar. I've raised her, I've helped her, and I've claimed her as my sister! I'd just like her to face the world a little bit more. She needs to learn about life. She needs to learn about life --- there are no positives. I'm trying to teach her her own motto: Weakness is not an option. It is never an option in this world.
    I grew up that way, and so has she; but it's yet to grow on her. Mar still holds on to helplessness without knowing it. Maybe it's because she's a girl. Girl's have always been weaker.
    I put away these thoughts and trudge forward. The burning ground is hotter than ever, bubbling skin and even ripping it. I keep my reactions small, though. It doesn't hurt that much.
    Gulyen looms ahead. Mar is off in her own world again, so she probably doesn't even notice. A coughing fit takes hold of me as we walk through some whirls of dust. Mar begins to cough hard, too; but it still doesn't wake her up from her daydreams. I growl to myself in protest, making my march a bit more with purpose. I can hear her slow steps behind me, so I figure I'll wake her up a bit more and speed up her pace. Her lagging costs us time. I could have already been in Gulyen, enjoying the spoils if I didn't have her with me. Still walking, I swing my pack to the front of my shoulder and rummage through it. "Here." I call, throwing her a rotten fruit I expect her to catch. That will help her hunger and at least slow her thirst. I hope it will make her move faster.
    Right after I throw the fruit, I run ahead, scaling the hill quickly. Almost all the grass is gone. The dirty air did that. The few spots of grass that are left are loose and don't make good hand-holds. I quickly make my way up, knowing that I am a lot faster than her. The wind swirls dust off the hillside, probably slapping it in Mar's face. I feel for a hand-hold, taking a little rest. My fingers clasp something hard and steady. I haul myself up with it and find another close by. But as soon as I grasp that one my grip slips on the first. Whatever it is peeks out of the sand, white and brown. Suddenly, I realize with a bit of shock that it is an arm, not a skeleton yet. As a reflex, I let go, cringing. So this is the purging on Gulyen --- bloody murder. I believe that they deserved every bit of it. Gulyen was a place of scum.
    I drop the arm and watch it roll down the hill. Mar used to talk to and get to know the people in the village. She called them her friends and she loved going out there again and again to learn more. I really think it's funny now how the same girl who didn't want to go to school was happy to learn. Her closest friend of all had been the baker, so I had figured I'd teach her a lesson using him. She had complained one day of starving. I had guessed she would since I hadn't stolen much lately. We had been living on scraps I could find. I had figured now would be the best time to fully teach her how to steal. The bread had just been baked and was sitting on the cart, steaming. I had told Mar time and time again that these people were not her friends --- that I was her only friend. She had nodded her head, then continued to o out and talk to them. Now, after this, she would learn. I had seen the brightness in her eyes when she saw the hot bread. The baker had gone into the building to bring out another few. I had urged Mar to take at least half a loaf for us. Without argument, she had run around the corner to do so. Soon, I had heard sounds of crashing and yelling, "Thief!" being the main word. I had peeked my head around the corner to see Mar running away from the baker, a whole loaf sticking partly out of her collar. As soon as her foot had showed around the corner I had taken off, hoping she would follow.
    I won't go into the details of how we got away. What you do need to know is that she cried that night --- she cried hard. She had found out the coldness of the world. Mar had no longer went out into the village for anything but stealing. This is when she had adopted her motto: "Weakness is not an option." But still, the world's coldness hadn't affected her. Some would see that as a strength, but without coldness right back you can get hurt.

    This memory comes back to me as I watch that arm roll down the hill toward Mar. She probably knew a lot of the people in the village, or at least on this side. I start back on my work of getting up the hill. I feel through the sand for another bone and find a rib. It stays stuck in the sand, probably attached to something, so I grab on with both hands. Swinging, I launch my legs up and stick my feet deeply into the sand. If I can get up, I should be able to walk the rest of the way. I take one glance down just out of instinct and see Mar racing up the hill on all fours, maybe trying to impress me. The way she climbs is horrible and nothing compared to my skill. Abandoning my first idea, I swing my feet back down and grasp the next bone. The impact of my swinging sends a sheet of sand rolling down, so I am able to see the next few bones. I jump from hand-hold to hand-hold, knowing that Mar has no chance of beating me. I laugh quietly at her childishness. Trying to be a showoff…
    I glance down again just to watch her mess up, but I see she's gained on me. That doesn't matter. Her climbing is more speed than skill. She's only making a mess of herself. I'm using the skills of our trade, though.
    I'm almost to the top: just three more hand-holds, I guess, and I could jump up. I only see one, though. I take another glance down. She's right behind me, trying to follow my movements but doing even worse than before. I'll show her how it's done… I jump to the one I see, grabbing with both hands. Right then, something shifts, sending a wave of sand tumbling down. I cough up the dust and blink my eyes, finally seeing that it's a leg I'm holding on to. The leg falls out, but so does half a skeleton with it. I let go, speeding up the rest of the hill as the rest of the body slips out, bringing a whole tangle of bone and skin with it. Mar catches up to me as the pile of bones rolls down the hill. We both climb onto the beginning stones of the village and watch the tumble of bodies crash at the bottom.
    "This many?" Mar suddenly whispers. "What did Gulyen ever do to deserve this?" Her face is blank: there is not one emotion to be seen on her face or heard in her voice.
    "Everything." I mumble before turning and walking into the village.



    After an hour of scouting, we find many supplies and spoils. But Mar can't get her mind off the fact that we don't find any survivors. We walk into our old corner and "house" we had from childhood before we had moved a few months before leaving. "Should we camp here? Just to be like old times?" Mar asks, setting a few spoils down.
    "Old times are old times, Mar." I growl, quickening my pace as I begin to walk the other way. She quickly catches up, stuffing her few spoils into her outfit.
    "You were happier this morning," she states under her breath.
    I've never known Mar to complain about anything except me. I've raised her, taught her how to live, dragged her with me on everything; yet she still finds something that's wrong with me. Maybe it's a girl thing.
    I ignore her comment and keep going, staring at the ground, staring at the ground as I sort my thoughts. If we keep moving, we can make it to the other half of the city by dark. The sun's already most of the way through the sky. We had rarely been to the other half. Gulyen is, or was, a large city. That may have been why it was one of the first to be destroyed. This half, what we had called the village, was ours. I find it funny that we had always stayed in this one part of the city, and yet we had never been caught. It's one of the few things I find to laugh about in Gulyen.
    Up ahead are ruins that aren't so bad off. There are even whole buildings. This village road may have just been stolen from instead of destroyed. The small group only taken instead of killed must have lived here. I can't see anything special about the houses except that the shadows up ahead look like they're moving strangely. I keep going, though. It's nothing to think too much about. Fear is an emotion, too, and almost as bad as hope. My thoughts trail off into nothing as I walk forward.
    "Survivors!" Mar suddenly yells, running ahead. I finally pay attention to my surroundings and see a person step out of the shadows, then another.
    "Mar---" I start to say, chasing after her. Stupid, childish girl! Trust is deadly. Without even knowing these people, she is rushing toward them. I shake my head and speed up. The people are coming closer. Mar is almost to them.
    And then, something horrible happens. I blink, and somehow, in that one moment, everything changes. He couldn't have been that close; when I open my eyes he has mar by the hair, picking her up off the ground. Something rushes through me. I don't know what it is, but it speeds me up.
    I am rushing toward the strangers, yelling wildly. Just when I start getting close, a huge weight slams into my chest. The world spins above me as I fall. I have been knocked down. I look up to see two all-white eyes staring down at me. A grin crosses the stranger's face.
    I wonder what is happening to Mar. Whatever it is that sped me up is now drained out of me. Even with it in me this creature took me down. I struggle, but the breath was knocked out of me by that hit. That creature pins me down, the grin now deadly. I call it a creature because his face doesn't look human at all. What I think is a laugh comes out of his mouth, but it just sounds like pure evil escaping. He leans down slowly.
    Suddenly, something flies down from the sky. There is a flash of something across the stranger, then he falls.
    Three more creatures run out from the shadows. Another stranger rains down on them as the first takes on another group. I only watch. Let them get themselves killed --- it will give us time to run away.
    Running away isn't fear: it's keeping yourself alive for a better cause.
    Mar has already been freed somehow, so she runs over to me. "C'mon!  Let's go!" I begin to tug her away.
    "But Cyeran… Survivors!" She pulls away, trying to go toward the creatures. I yank her back by the neck of her clothes. She fights against me, one of her childish fits.
    "Mar! Did you see them? They're not even human!" I whisper fiercely, picking her ups off the ground as she fights.
    "But the others are!" She kicks against me. Mar is so blind. I swear, the girl's foolish emotions are going to get her killed one day.
    "They tried to kill you. Do you really want to go up against their enemies?" I try to warn her, but she stubbornly breaks free. I grab her arm. "Let's go!" But when I turn around the strangers' faces greet me. I finally see that they're, in fact, human and maybe Mar's looked-for survivors, but I still don't trust them.
    The one on the left has a skinny face and light hair that partly covers his face. There is a sword in his hand, but he drops it to reach out to me. I jump back in disgust and give him an angry glare. Those eyes look as if they are deeper than we think. He's smart, but I don't trust him.
    I don't trust either of them.
    The girl on the right has a cold look on her face, like she wants to kill me but is holding back. I can't even see most of her eyes because of her dirty thick hair thrown everywhere around her head. She keeps her grip on her weapon. She knows something he doesn't.
    They both stare at us. The boy puts his hand down. They both have a bad look in their eyes. Without thinking, I slightly push Mar behind me. With a grin, the girl lunges. I jump back and shove Mar to the ground.
    Just then, the girl begins to laugh. "You jumped," she says laughing harder.
    I figure out then that she was never going to attack: she had tricked me. I growl in anger and help Mar off the ground. Her laughter finally stops when she sees my face.
    "It was a joke," she explains, serious, then checks to see if Mar is okay.
    "Don't worry. We're not as horrid creatures that almost pulverized you. It's a grand thing we arrived and came to your distress," the boy joins in.
    "What---?" Mar finally asks after a few seconds of waiting.
    "We're human, not those robots. We're not going to kill you. It's a good things we saved you or you would be dead," the girl explains like we're small children. She says this coldly and without interest.
    I hate her already.
    "I am Rueka, and this is Galaden." We're from a different city than you. We both met while we were traveling. We're not from the same city either." Rueka lets out all of this information quickly and harshly. At least now I know their names. They sound different and evil, just like the people. And there is something strange about the way they both talk. Galaden uses words we don't know; and Rueka makes different sounds with her letters. Her talking doesn't sound the same as ours.
    We both stay silent. Rueka turns violent. Her back is now straight, her hand on her weapon.
    "We saved your lives." she spits out. "The least you can do is thank us."
    The meaning confuses Mar. She doesn't know what "thank you" is. I have nothing to thank them for. We'd be better off alone. The only thing I could maybe thank them for was showing me that I need weapons, which I could have figured out myself. I don't like them. I want them to leave.
    Mar is still quiet. "Great. More company." I complain loudly, then push past them. It's enough having Mar; now I have these strangers with me.
    "Your welcome." Rueka mutters angrily as she begins to follow.
    I march straight ahead, not even turning to look at the buildings. The sooner we get out of this scum, the better. I even think about trying to lose the strangers in the city. But they're so fast…
    "The way you talk…" Mar starts to say, "it's so weird." She looks at the strangers, wide-eyed. She trusts them already: I can see it. I know when Mar is curious about something. She'd sit at these strangers' feet if they wanted her to. She's a stupid child…
    Rueka laughs. Her laugh makes me cringe. It's so harsh and heartless. "Well, Galaden always talks strangely with big words." She grins, expecting her answer to please Mar. I can tell it's not enough.
    "No…" Mar begins, looking confused. "Your voice…" I've never seen her think this much into something. Thinking gets her in trouble.
    "Oh!" Rueka laughs harder. I think the more she laughs, the angrier it makes me. "That is because I am from a different city." She's talking to Mar like a child again. And Galaden is from a different city than me. Different places have different ways to speak." She smiles. It's fake. I can see through it. A growl works its way quietly through my teeth. Rueka meets my eyes, her cold stare fighting with my own.
    I don't trust either of them. There's something about the girl… Still I follow them --- keeping an extra step closer to Mar.

Description
Chapter 3

Cyeran

    Hope: a flimsy, useless idea that leaves you wasted. Life has never looked so miserable, yet Mar just can't see to give up on that stupid idea. I scowl, glancing back at her following me. She's like a little puppy: always loyally two steps behind me. She isn't looking ahead, but has her head cocked to one side, staring at the sky. Her lips are just barely curled into a smirk at the corners. How is she never bitter or angry? There is so much in this world to hate, and yet she doesn't. There's always that hint of a smile… I can't help but snicker at this, which she answers with an abrupt puzzled stare. I only turn forward once more and walk a bit faster. I've been a little more…emotion-showing than usual today, I guess --- enough to make her wonder, at least. The thought excites me: I enjoy her confusion.
    Mar says weakness is not an option, yet she lets herself have the one weakness that can destroy everything --- emotion.
    Useless.
    I am free from those bonds. I freed myself long ago. Emotion is an enemy that is not afraid to betray you again and again.
    I look back at her once more. I still see a child needing to be trained. There's stil so much that she hasn't learned. She's still blinded by those empty thoughts that ruin you.
    Turning around again, I walk on. I often wonder why I even saved her. I don't remember much of that day because I was so young, but there was something that caused me to even think about raising her. I still haven't figured out what.
    Ahead stretches a length of desert. Have I mentioned hope is useless? With a growl, I speed up my march. The wrong way, she had said; but now we are walking straight back to Gulyen. I hate that place.
    Destroying it was a mercy killing.
    I partly hope our back-tracking won't mean going through Gulyen. It holds nothing for us except hated memories. On the other hand, maybe going through Gulyen may cause grief that will break down Mar's thoughtless hope.
    What a child… Sometimes I almost feel sorry for her. So naïve and trusting: she's yet to learn the right way of life --- my way.
    I hear her footsteps speed up and I know she is catching up to me. She's probably getting read for another one of her rambles. I speed up my pace a little bit.
    Still, she matches my steps with a hesitant "So, I was thinking…
    See, what did I say?
    I mostly ignore it. I rarely listen to what she says, just like she never listens to me. So, I keep walking ahead, nodding every now and then and getting lost in my own head.
    Gulyen is getting close to us on this next big hill. I wouldn't recognize it except for where it is, though. It is ruins, as much as I can see --- only ruins. That will wash away Mar's empty hope.
    She is in the middle of her usual childish storytelling when I cut her short. Looking at my too big clothes on her, I comment, "Those clothes look horrible on you." She is silent. Ha! That will change her mind about my mood changing today. She falls behind a little as I chuckle inside. She'll get over it.

    The rest trip is severely silent --- the way I like it. The one thing I don't like is that too much thinking happens during silence. I like being able to think in peace, but I worry about Mar. The thoughts are probably coming back again. But all that would be over soon enough. She probably doesn't even realize where I'm leading her, even though it's right to the heart of Gulyen --- and through hers.
    Don't think I'm completely cold toward Mar. I've raised her, I've helped her, and I've claimed her as my sister! I'd just like her to face the world a little bit more. She needs to learn about life. She needs to learn about life --- there are no positives. I'm trying to teach her her own motto: Weakness is not an option. It is never an option in this world.
    I grew up that way, and so has she; but it's yet to grow on her. Mar still holds on to helplessness without knowing it. Maybe it's because she's a girl. Girl's have always been weaker.
    I put away these thoughts and trudge forward. The burning ground is hotter than ever, bubbling skin and even ripping it. I keep my reactions small, though. It doesn't hurt that much.
    Gulyen looms ahead. Mar is off in her own world again, so she probably doesn't even notice. A coughing fit takes hold of me as we walk through some whirls of dust. Mar begins to cough hard, too; but it still doesn't wake her up from her daydreams. I growl to myself in protest, making my march a bit more with purpose. I can hear her slow steps behind me, so I figure I'll wake her up a bit more and speed up her pace. Her lagging costs us time. I could have already been in Gulyen, enjoying the spoils if I didn't have her with me. Still walking, I swing my pack to the front of my shoulder and rummage through it. "Here." I call, throwing her a rotten fruit I expect her to catch. That will help her hunger and at least slow her thirst. I hope it will make her move faster.
    Right after I throw the fruit, I run ahead, scaling the hill quickly. Almost all the grass is gone. The dirty air did that. The few spots of grass that are left are loose and don't make good hand-holds. I quickly make my way up, knowing that I am a lot faster than her. The wind swirls dust off the hillside, probably slapping it in Mar's face. I feel for a hand-hold, taking a little rest. My fingers clasp something hard and steady. I haul myself up with it and find another close by. But as soon as I grasp that one my grip slips on the first. Whatever it is peeks out of the sand, white and brown. Suddenly, I realize with a bit of shock that it is an arm, not a skeleton yet. As a reflex, I let go, cringing. So this is the purging on Gulyen --- bloody murder. I believe that they deserved every bit of it. Gulyen was a place of scum.
    I drop the arm and watch it roll down the hill. Mar used to talk to and get to know the people in the village. She called them her friends and she loved going out there again and again to learn more. I really think it's funny now how the same girl who didn't want to go to school was happy to learn. Her closest friend of all had been the baker, so I had figured I'd teach her a lesson using him. She had complained one day of starving. I had guessed she would since I hadn't stolen much lately. We had been living on scraps I could find. I had figured now would be the best time to fully teach her how to steal. The bread had just been baked and was sitting on the cart, steaming. I had told Mar time and time again that these people were not her friends --- that I was her only friend. She had nodded her head, then continued to o out and talk to them. Now, after this, she would learn. I had seen the brightness in her eyes when she saw the hot bread. The baker had gone into the building to bring out another few. I had urged Mar to take at least half a loaf for us. Without argument, she had run around the corner to do so. Soon, I had heard sounds of crashing and yelling, "Thief!" being the main word. I had peeked my head around the corner to see Mar running away from the baker, a whole loaf sticking partly out of her collar. As soon as her foot had showed around the corner I had taken off, hoping she would follow.
    I won't go into the details of how we got away. What you do need to know is that she cried that night --- she cried hard. She had found out the coldness of the world. Mar had no longer went out into the village for anything but stealing. This is when she had adopted her motto: "Weakness is not an option." But still, the world's coldness hadn't affected her. Some would see that as a strength, but without coldness right back you can get hurt.

    This memory comes back to me as I watch that arm roll down the hill toward Mar. She probably knew a lot of the people in the village, or at least on this side. I start back on my work of getting up the hill. I feel through the sand for another bone and find a rib. It stays stuck in the sand, probably attached to something, so I grab on with both hands. Swinging, I launch my legs up and stick my feet deeply into the sand. If I can get up, I should be able to walk the rest of the way. I take one glance down just out of instinct and see Mar racing up the hill on all fours, maybe trying to impress me. The way she climbs is horrible and nothing compared to my skill. Abandoning my first idea, I swing my feet back down and grasp the next bone. The impact of my swinging sends a sheet of sand rolling down, so I am able to see the next few bones. I jump from hand-hold to hand-hold, knowing that Mar has no chance of beating me. I laugh quietly at her childishness. Trying to be a showoff…
    I glance down again just to watch her mess up, but I see she's gained on me. That doesn't matter. Her climbing is more speed than skill. She's only making a mess of herself. I'm using the skills of our trade, though.
    I'm almost to the top: just three more hand-holds, I guess, and I could jump up. I only see one, though. I take another glance down. She's right behind me, trying to follow my movements but doing even worse than before. I'll show her how it's done… I jump to the one I see, grabbing with both hands. Right then, something shifts, sending a wave of sand tumbling down. I cough up the dust and blink my eyes, finally seeing that it's a leg I'm holding on to. The leg falls out, but so does half a skeleton with it. I let go, speeding up the rest of the hill as the rest of the body slips out, bringing a whole tangle of bone and skin with it. Mar catches up to me as the pile of bones rolls down the hill. We both climb onto the beginning stones of the village and watch the tumble of bodies crash at the bottom.
    "This many?" Mar suddenly whispers. "What did Gulyen ever do to deserve this?" Her face is blank: there is not one emotion to be seen on her face or heard in her voice.
    "Everything." I mumble before turning and walking into the village.



    After an hour of scouting, we find many supplies and spoils. But Mar can't get her mind off the fact that we don't find any survivors. We walk into our old corner and "house" we had from childhood before we had moved a few months before leaving. "Should we camp here? Just to be like old times?" Mar asks, setting a few spoils down.
    "Old times are old times, Mar." I growl, quickening my pace as I begin to walk the other way. She quickly catches up, stuffing her few spoils into her outfit.
    "You were happier this morning," she states under her breath.
    I've never known Mar to complain about anything except me. I've raised her, taught her how to live, dragged her with me on everything; yet she still finds something that's wrong with me. Maybe it's a girl thing.
    I ignore her comment and keep going, staring at the ground, staring at the ground as I sort my thoughts. If we keep moving, we can make it to the other half of the city by dark. The sun's already most of the way through the sky. We had rarely been to the other half. Gulyen is, or was, a large city. That may have been why it was one of the first to be destroyed. This half, what we had called the village, was ours. I find it funny that we had always stayed in this one part of the city, and yet we had never been caught. It's one of the few things I find to laugh about in Gulyen.
    Up ahead are ruins that aren't so bad off. There are even whole buildings. This village road may have just been stolen from instead of destroyed. The small group only taken instead of killed must have lived here. I can't see anything special about the houses except that the shadows up ahead look like they're moving strangely. I keep going, though. It's nothing to think too much about. Fear is an emotion, too, and almost as bad as hope. My thoughts trail off into nothing as I walk forward.
    "Survivors!" Mar suddenly yells, running ahead. I finally pay attention to my surroundings and see a person step out of the shadows, then another.
    "Mar---" I start to say, chasing after her. Stupid, childish girl! Trust is deadly. Without even knowing these people, she is rushing toward them. I shake my head and speed up. The people are coming closer. Mar is almost to them.
    And then, something horrible happens. I blink, and somehow, in that one moment, everything changes. He couldn't have been that close; when I open my eyes he has mar by the hair, picking her up off the ground. Something rushes through me. I don't know what it is, but it speeds me up.
    I am rushing toward the strangers, yelling wildly. Just when I start getting close, a huge weight slams into my chest. The world spins above me as I fall. I have been knocked down. I look up to see two all-white eyes staring down at me. A grin crosses the stranger's face.
    I wonder what is happening to Mar. Whatever it is that sped me up is now drained out of me. Even with it in me this creature took me down. I struggle, but the breath was knocked out of me by that hit. That creature pins me down, the grin now deadly. I call it a creature because his face doesn't look human at all. What I think is a laugh comes out of his mouth, but it just sounds like pure evil escaping. He leans down slowly.
    Suddenly, something flies down from the sky. There is a flash of something across the stranger, then he falls.
    Three more creatures run out from the shadows. Another stranger rains down on them as the first takes on another group. I only watch. Let them get themselves killed --- it will give us time to run away.
    Running away isn't fear: it's keeping yourself alive for a better cause.
    Mar has already been freed somehow, so she runs over to me. "C'mon!  Let's go!" I begin to tug her away.
    "But Cyeran… Survivors!" She pulls away, trying to go toward the creatures. I yank her back by the neck of her clothes. She fights against me, one of her childish fits.
    "Mar! Did you see them? They're not even human!" I whisper fiercely, picking her ups off the ground as she fights.
    "But the others are!" She kicks against me. Mar is so blind. I swear, the girl's foolish emotions are going to get her killed one day.
    "They tried to kill you. Do you really want to go up against their enemies?" I try to warn her, but she stubbornly breaks free. I grab her arm. "Let's go!" But when I turn around the strangers' faces greet me. I finally see that they're, in fact, human and maybe Mar's looked-for survivors, but I still don't trust them.
    The one on the left has a skinny face and light hair that partly covers his face. There is a sword in his hand, but he drops it to reach out to me. I jump back in disgust and give him an angry glare. Those eyes look as if they are deeper than we think. He's smart, but I don't trust him.
    I don't trust either of them.
    The girl on the right has a cold look on her face, like she wants to kill me but is holding back. I can't even see most of her eyes because of her dirty thick hair thrown everywhere around her head. She keeps her grip on her weapon. She knows something he doesn't.
    They both stare at us. The boy puts his hand down. They both have a bad look in their eyes. Without thinking, I slightly push Mar behind me. With a grin, the girl lunges. I jump back and shove Mar to the ground.
    Just then, the girl begins to laugh. "You jumped," she says laughing harder.
    I figure out then that she was never going to attack: she had tricked me. I growl in anger and help Mar off the ground. Her laughter finally stops when she sees my face.
    "It was a joke," she explains, serious, then checks to see if Mar is okay.
    "Don't worry. We're not as horrid creatures that almost pulverized you. It's a grand thing we arrived and came to your distress," the boy joins in.
    "What---?" Mar finally asks after a few seconds of waiting.
    "We're human, not those robots. We're not going to kill you. It's a good things we saved you or you would be dead," the girl explains like we're small children. She says this coldly and without interest.
    I hate her already.
    "I am Rueka, and this is Galaden." We're from a different city than you. We both met while we were traveling. We're not from the same city either." Rueka lets out all of this information quickly and harshly. At least now I know their names. They sound different and evil, just like the people. And there is something strange about the way they both talk. Galaden uses words we don't know; and Rueka makes different sounds with her letters. Her talking doesn't sound the same as ours.
    We both stay silent. Rueka turns violent. Her back is now straight, her hand on her weapon.
    "We saved your lives." she spits out. "The least you can do is thank us."
    The meaning confuses Mar. She doesn't know what "thank you" is. I have nothing to thank them for. We'd be better off alone. The only thing I could maybe thank them for was showing me that I need weapons, which I could have figured out myself. I don't like them. I want them to leave.
    Mar is still quiet. "Great. More company." I complain loudly, then push past them. It's enough having Mar; now I have these strangers with me.
    "Your welcome." Rueka mutters angrily as she begins to follow.
    I march straight ahead, not even turning to look at the buildings. The sooner we get out of this scum, the better. I even think about trying to lose the strangers in the city. But they're so fast…
    "The way you talk…" Mar starts to say, "it's so weird." She looks at the strangers, wide-eyed. She trusts them already: I can see it. I know when Mar is curious about something. She'd sit at these strangers' feet if they wanted her to. She's a stupid child…
    Rueka laughs. Her laugh makes me cringe. It's so harsh and heartless. "Well, Galaden always talks strangely with big words." She grins, expecting her answer to please Mar. I can tell it's not enough.
    "No…" Mar begins, looking confused. "Your voice…" I've never seen her think this much into something. Thinking gets her in trouble.
    "Oh!" Rueka laughs harder. I think the more she laughs, the angrier it makes me. "That is because I am from a different city." She's talking to Mar like a child again. And Galaden is from a different city than me. Different places have different ways to speak." She smiles. It's fake. I can see through it. A growl works its way quietly through my teeth. Rueka meets my eyes, her cold stare fighting with my own.
    I don't trust either of them. There's something about the girl… Still I follow them --- keeping an extra step closer to Mar.