The Fire Inside

Amoret

 After a four-day ride, the tanks finally reached the inner circle of Mirabel city. The kids hadn't moved since they got on the tanks, frightened that if they left their corner they would be punished, as they were always taught. They hadn't stopped on the ride more than four times, even though the soldiers had asked. Mor's limbs felt stiff and her neck cracked when she turned her head.

The soldiers had grown hungry, but they continued to give the kids their rations and split the remaining ones, knowing they were more hungry than the soldiers would ever be. Though there were no windows they could see, the kids heard the roar of people outside and curled together more.

When the tanks stopped, one of the soldiers came up to them. "Hey guys," he beckoned. "We're here. We're gonna take you to a hospital, okay? They'll make sure to fix your wounds. Do you guys have any questions?"

They said nothing.

"Okay, then." He unlatched the door and sunlight poured in, making Mor put up her hands to shield her eyes. The soldiers got out first then helped the kids out. Outside, moveable fences stopped people from coming too close. At first, they cowered, thinking they were being yelled at by a crowd, but as they heard the cheers, they realized people were happy, not angry. By the four tanks, each group of soldiers stood with the kids, looking on to see the crowd stretch miles long, holding posters and cheering. Mor couldn't read, so she read the people's expressions instead. They smiled and whooped for the kids, but the soldiers got their attention over the noise.

"Come on, guys," the soldiers urged them towards the door. "Let's hurry inside."

Not used to the noise and fearful of what was going on, Mor followed along with the other kids to the large building almost directly in front of them. All seventeen of them hurried inside the door, where the roar of people was muffled behind the glass and metal.

Inside wasn't as busy. Eighteen nurses were waiting there for them. One of the soldiers by Mor went up and greeted one of the nurses, who smiled warmly at him. "These them?" she asked.

"Yes. Seventeen in all. Four boys and thirteen girls." He gestured behind him to all of them.

"Thank you, Lieutenant." She held out a hand to gesture over to a room on the side. "There are provisions in that room for your men."

"Thank you." He turned to the kids who crowded around each other in the center of the room. "Okay, guys. This is where we leave you. I promise the nurses will take very good care of you. Everything's gonna be okay." Then they left out the other door.

"Hey, guys," the nurse the soldier spoke with greeted the kids. "The lieutenant is right. Everything's okay now. Here in the Kingdom of Rosse, you are legally free. No one can keep you captive. If you are comfortable following us, we have food for each of you upstairs. We have a nurse to take care of each of you, as well as proper clothes and a bed for you all."

To keep them calm, each kid was paired with a nurse of the same gender. Mor watched as the nurse called out the names of other nurses to pair them with a kid and a number, then an adult came up towards every child. She wrapped her arms around herself, her breathing picking up. Pretty soon, a reassuring woman walked up to Mor. She smiled a comforting smile and kept a respectful distance. "Hi. My name is Elise. What's yours?"

"1719428."

Since Mor was short, Elise kneeled to be eye level with her. "That's kind of complicated. Do you have a nickname I can call you? You can pick any name you want."

Mor looked around and saw the other kids deep in thought. She wondered if they had been asked the same question. She turned back to Elise, drawing a blank. She'd only ever been called one other name in her whole life, and he only named her that so he could call her the nickname he chose. Still, it was the name she ended up murmuring.