Bane of the Elements

28

Nasima didn't know if she should be grateful or scared when they finally reached Avinea. It meant many things for them, at least one of them was that they were finally out of the desert. But the mountains weren't much better.

They steered off the road a mile or so from the town gates. The city was booming, sound and smell spreading as though the creatures had never existed. They really had protected themselves.

"Alright, now is the time for disguise." Rio said, beginning to rub dirt on her face, as if that would make her any dirtier than she already was.

"What are you doing?" Nasima asked, disgusted. She was not up for rubbing dirt on her face. She had slept in the dirt the past few nights but that didn't mean she would rub it on her face purposely.

Rio seemed annoyed, "I'm making myself look like a victim."

"Well I'm not doing that." Nasima said, gesturing to Rio.

"Good," She smiled, a rare feature to see in Rio. "Because you're not going to be the victim. You're going to be the gatherer."

Having to dress as a human trafficker was not something Nasima would have thought she'd be doing when she first embarked on this mission. In fact it was not something she thought she'd be doing when she woke up this morning, but they had insisted.

It would be strange to see victims walking amongst themselves but if they had a gatherer, not so much. At least that's what Rio said. With Nasima's commanding look and refusal to get dirtier than she already was, she was the perfect fit for the gatherer.

They approached the gates on foot. Nasima was more unsure of herself than ever. She wasn't sure she could play the part, not like Rio was. Unfortunately, there was no room for mistakes here. If there was a time for her to be cocky, it was now.

She mustered up all her courage and stopped in front of the city gates. "Oi!" She called out.

Above the gates two men appeared, rifles in hand. They looked down on them, analyzing them. They saw exactly what they wanted to. A gatherer, holding three ropes attached to the necks of her "goats". They wouldn't question a thing. "Whats your business here?" One of the men asked, though he already knew.

"My goats and I wish for solace from the desert. Would you deny us such?" She questioned, batting her lashes though she knew they wouldn't be able to see it from there.

The men looked between each other, wondering if they should let her in. Still, they wouldn't deny business. They nodded, shouting orders to the openers below. Finally, the gates began to move. They creaked loudly, the chains struggling to pull the concrete doors open.

When they finally opened enough, a group of guards had come to search the girls. They had abandoned their packs a few miles back, and with it most of their weapons. The soldiers could search, but they wouldn't find anything.

When the guard was finished searching, he backed away. "Documentation on your goats." He ordered his hand out to deliver them into.

She scoffed, "You see the state of us? I lost those papers a long way back, a group of crooks took them off me."

He looked at her skeptically, eyeing her and her crew. She quirked her brow, as if daring him to turn them away. Finally, he shouted. "Clear!". She nodded her head as a thank you, before he escorted them inside the gates. "Welcome to Avinea."

Nasima entered through the gates, tugging lightly on the ropes behind her. She heard a disgruntled grunt from Rio, but ignored it. She couldn't be seen caring for the girls, they were nothing to her at this moment, at least not to who she was supposed to be.