The Fire Inside

Amoret

The door of the trailer opened with a bang. Mor jumped from her position, as did the kids around her. They had all been trying to sleep in the confining area, but there was no room to move, let alone relax. The room reeked of children who haven't been clean in a long time.

A bright light flashed before their eyes as a middle-aged man stuck his head into the small space. Chains shifted as the kids pressed themselves to the walls.

"It's alright," the voice said soothingly. "It's alright. You're safe."

A few more lights shone in as the men counted the kids. Seventeen in total, thirteen girls and four boys. The man in charge took a step into the dark room on the road. He turned to the girl closest to him. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

Eyes filled with tears, the girl mumbled: "1324685."

"Your name," he reiterated softly. "Do you have a name?"

She said the number again.

Mor's knees gave out and she hit the floor from the lack of strength in her legs and the stiffness from sitting too long. Her movement caught the eye of the man.

"Hey," he beckoned to her. "What's your name?"

Mor answered in a quiet tone "1719428."

He took another step in as another man followed behind him. "Hey guys, everything's gonna be okay."

As more soldiers filled the trailer, the kids found themselves out of room to squirm away, and small whimpers and noises of shifting chains filled the space. "Hey," a soldier beckoned to Mor. "Here, can I help you out of those chains?"

Similarly, men beckoned to each of them. Still, each of these kids was so frightened that they folded into themselves.

Outside, a soldier looked through the front of the vehicle attached to the trailer and found a set of keys. He hurried to the trailer in the back, shouting to the general "I found the keys!"

"Perfect," he grabbed them quickly and turned to the boy he was in front of. "Williamson, look for files in the front." The soldier scurried off to check. "Hey buddy," he touched 1249683's shoulder and he flinched. The general quickly withdrew his hand. "How about we get those chains off you?"

1249683 held his arms out and the general got to work, trying the keys to figure out which one was for the chains on his wrists. Soon, the chains dropped on the ground, as well as the ones on his ankles. He was the first out of the trailer and into the fresh air.

Mor's chains dropped to the ground and they didn't touch her but led her to the door. She avoided eye contact and jumped out of the trailer, breathing deeply without the smell of rotting wood.

In the moonlight, the soldiers could see the state of the kids much better. Their clothes were itchy, gray or brown, and ragged. The soldiers could easily see the kids' ribs. Mor couldn't remember the last time she ate, and while she'd long since grown used to the effects of hunger, the look had only gotten worse. All of them looked thin and frightened, bowing their heads in a reflex, knowledge drilled into them since childhood.

"Sir, I found the files."

"Perfect," the general grabbed the files from his hand. Inside, each child had a set of papers, pictures, and numbers included. Shutting the files, he looked to the seventeen kids and spoke to them at once. "Okay, guys, can you follow me to the tanks? We can get you all into new clothes. Are you hungry?"

They didn't move, didn't say anything. They knew better.

"It's okay, I'm sure you all are tired and cold, I'm positive you're safe."

0937289 followed, then the rest knew it was safe enough to follow him. When one knew, the others could feel it beckoning to them too.

The kids were split up into four different tanks. Mor was put into a tank with two other girls and 0937289. The four of them were accompanied by six soldiers who gave them new clothes. They were baggy and camo, but they were warm and covered their bodies. Mor hugged herself tightly in the corner, huddled together with the other three. They avoided eye contact until a soldier gave each of them bread and hot soup. It wasn't much, mainly only one of their own rations, but Mor and the other kids were starving, shooting their hands out to grab the food.

Each of them ate their food and kept to themselves, not daring to sleep. Being so close to the soldiers, their nerves were on fire.

Soon, despite their efforts, lack of proper rest, and being in an area that seemed more comforting to them than in their past, Mor and the others fell asleep quickly.

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