Braya : The Lost Guardian

Alone

The drive was long, Braya wasn't sure where they were taking her. She sat in the back of the van taking in all her surroundings, trying to figure out her escape. Finally, when the van stopped, the men grabbed Braya and lead her towards the mountains. Based on what she could see, it looked like they had made it to the Earth Kingdom territory. Braya noticed wherever they had taken her it was deserted. The only bit of human life she could see in all directions was right in front of her. In the direction they were leading her there was a large, gated area that contained planes, cars, and a small building that looked like a ticket booth you would find at a carnival. As they got closer Braya couldn't figure out where they could be taking her. There was nothing but transportation and a small building. They approached the man in the small building and gave him credentials. He allowed them through after unlocking the door behind him.

The door looked as though it led to nowhere, but after opening it Braya realized it led to an underground tunnel. Being pushed by the men, she followed them through the tunnels, that seemed to go on for days. They reached an open room that was rather large. A group of about one hundred men stood inside watching the man in the middle. He was the same one who had put a knife to Su's neck. He looked at her and smiled. "Welcome to your new home," the man said.

"This isn't my home," Braya replied.

"I would say it is your new home. This will be the last place you either grow or die in," The man said to Braya. "Before you start asking all the same questions the other non-benders asked, let me introduce you to your new life. My name is Gang. I am your new master, and you will do as I wish. That is if you're the Guardian I've been looking for. If you are not the Guardian, then don't worry, you won't live long."

"The Guardian died a long time ago. They haven't been seen in years," Braya shouted.

"Ah yes, you see I read a journal a long time ago from one of the Guardians. I found while reading it, if a Guardian doesn't use their powers for a long time, it becomes dormant. I am here to bring it to the surface so I can use the power. We will be the strongest army in the nations. I will own this world."

"You're insane. You won't get away with this. Even if I was the Guardian, I would never fight your battles," Braya said with gritted teeth.

"We will see about that. It's amazing how the human mind will turn on us when it's conditioned to obey someone else. I guess we will just have to find out," Gang said. He turned to leave the room. "Take her to her room."

They grabbed Braya and led her out of the room. Following the tunnels again, they passed other prisoner chambers where she could hear people moaning from pain. They stopped in front of a solid metal door. "Inside," one of the men pushed Braya. She walked inside the cell and they closed the door behind her. It was cold, damp, and empty. There was nothing but the sound of water dripping from the ceiling onto the floor. she did a quick scan of the room, trying to see if there was any weakness she could use to escape. There was nothing. She took a seat on the floor and thought about her family in Republic City. She wondered if they had all made it out okay or if they had to continue fighting after she was captured.

Braya sat alone in her cell for hours. She was hungry, thirsty, and exhausted. She laid her head against the wall attempting to rest. As she started to close her eyes the door started to open. Gang walked in with three other men and closed the door behind him. "Before we start our process, I feel it important to give you my condolences. I am very sorry for your loss, Braya is your name, right?" He said smiling at Braya.

"What are you talking about," Braya said confused.

"Well, my men just informed me that the people you fought with in Republic City, were actually your family. The bald man with the pretty dress, what was his name?" He looked at his guard to his right. "Tenzin, sir." He looked back to Braya. "Ah, Tenzin that's right. Unfortunately, he did not make it." Braya sat frozen to the floor.

"What do you mean he didn't make it. What happened to him?" Braya screamed.

"I guess he tried to follow you or something like that. Well, long story short my men ended his life. So sorry about that." Braya stood up and ran towards Gang. She could feel that icy feeling in her stomach again that she felt whenever she was upset. She swung on Gang, but the other three men jumped in to help him. She used her training with Master Huong to take one man out at a time. She was dominating the men in hand-to-hand combat, but once they started using their bending also Braya started to struggle. She couldn't get near Gang who was her main target. She wanted nothing more than to kill him for what he said about Tenzin.

CRACK

Braya felt a rock slam to the back of her head. She fell to the ground feeling disoriented. "Braya, you will learn that I am your master. You will serve me. How intense your training is daily will be based off decisions you make. Think hard about that." Gang opened the door, and on his way out, turned to his men and said "Start." The three men approached Braya. All at once they started repetitively kicking her while she was on the ground. Each man took turns hitting her in different areas weakening her body. Braya tried to get up but each time she would start to, she would receive a blow to the face from a rock. She tried to defend herself, but each hit sent her closer and closer to blacking out. She could feel the darkness blinding her now, she couldn't take anymore.

Braya woke up alone in the cell. When she tried to move, she realized all the energy in her body was gone. She could feel broken bones all over her body and a liquid underneath her. She moved her hand towards her face to see what she was laying in and to her horror realized it was blood. Braya wanted to move out of the blood, but she couldn't. Her body was weak and painful, so she laid there for hours. Braya wasn't sure how long she had been laying in the same spot but the next thing she heard was the door open again.

An older lady came walking in and kneeled next to Braya. She didn't say anything to Braya, instead she put her hands on Braya's body. The pain she was feeling was starting to lessen. She realized the lady in the room was a healer. Braya was thankful for the little bit of comfort but as soon as the healing had started, it stopped. The healer stood up and left the room. Braya was still in a lot of pain but was now able to get up and move out of the puddle of blood. She sat in the corner of the room realizing that the lady wanted to heal her just enough to keep her alive. What was she going to do? She couldn't go through that every night. She had to find a way out. Suddenly the information about Tenzin came to her again. She couldn't believe her baby brother, the future of airbenders, was dead. She lifted her legs to her chest and sobbed into her knees. She needed to get home to her family.