❝under their armor is a shining beacon of hope❞
A realm still suffering the aftermath of the original demon invasion. A world splintered from the core. A people frightened of the monsters that would one day rule their lands. A life ostracized from s...
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Avanth stared out the window of the transport bus for hours. He watched the land roll by and observed the landscape change from greenery to the blazing desert and back to city life. The world outside of the bus turned into a colorful blur as his eyes unfocused and he was taken to a private section in his subconscious.
At some point, Iaelie got up and stared blankly at the other inmates on the bus. Her unblinking eyes stared down the inmate across from her and she flashed her teeth, her chains snapping. Maybe an hour had passed by when Iaelie turned to him and started talking.
"What?" he asked. He forced his mind back into his body and turned to face Iaelie. His eyes unfocused for a second, but a blink cleared the fogginess.
"I never got your name," she said.
"Oh yeah. It's Avanth," he replied. He had based his name on his old nickname "Ava," which he hated.
Iaelie cocked her head to the side, "I've never heard that name before."
He shrugged, "I just named myself whatever." Iaelie didn't make any further comments except her, "Ah, creativity." She faced forward again and intently watched the bus walls.
Avanth turned to the other person beside him and asked, "Do you know where we're going?" The scraggly female beside him faced him with a slightly shocked expression. Her wide-set eyes were haunted, her hair matted with blood against her head.
"What am I doing here? Why am I moving?" shye asked, grabbing the seat in a panicked state. her already pale hands whitened as she gripped the plastic seats, the faint scars on her fingers stretching.
"What do you mean? We've been on this bus for an hour already," Avanth watched the female beside shake her head. Her wide eyes darted to the moving landscape through the window in front of him.
"No, an hour ago I was on the cotton fields," she corrected. Avanth frowned, "No, we've been on this bus for a while now."
"Uh, no. I was in the field." The female clenched the seat harder, her arms shaking with the effort. She shook his head hard, strands of loose hair whipping across her face.
"Before the bus, you were in the Ryhun, the holding facility. Remember?" Avanth scanned the female's face. Was she on something? Or what?
Her right eye was now twitching uncontrollably. Along with her constantly bouncing legs, she looked truly insane.
"Holding facility? What would I be arrested for? I'm going to tell the driver to take me back. My ma's going to need help on the fields soon," the female started to get up, but her handcuffs caught on the seat. "Why am I handcuffed?" She yanked on the chains and tried to lift her hands high enough for her to try to bite off the cuffs.
"Like I said, we're being moved to another jail or something." Avanth jangled his own handcuffs linked to the seat. The female's head snapped up at the clinking noise and bared her teeth.
