Be Brave

New World

**********WARNING**********

*SEVERE LANGUAGE*

Sunlight broke over the horizon and practically smacked Amara full in the face, waking her from her troubled dreams. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stood on rubbery legs.

Stepping out from behind the tree, she scanned her surroundings. No sign of the horsemen, but her suitcase was wide open a few yards away, and her clothes strewn about. Thankfully the latch wasn't broken and the only damage to her mediocre wardrobe was a few grass stains, nothing permanent. She gathered what had fallen out and threw it back in the case. She stood up straight, suitcase back in her stiff achy hand, and continued to move forward, following the hoof-prints laid out before her, reaffirming her path.

She finally made it to the town at the edge of the beach in only a few more hours. The first thing she noticed was the smell, it assaulted her senses before she actually saw anything. Smoke and fire, and bits of ash were flying everywhere.

It was almost burnt to the ground except for a few small buildings still ablaze and a very small few still left standing but covered in scorch marks, the embers slowly coming to an end. Amara treaded lightly, unsure of what to make of it all.

Everything confused her. Who did this? Why? But more importantly, is there anyone left unharmed? She walked cautiously through the ebbing flames and piles of ash, looking down at her feet and less at what was in front of her. She only heard the cries and harsh voices until it was too late, they had spotted her.

"HEY, YOU!!!" startled, Amara looked up to see several burly men surrounding a group of terrified looking people. They were all looking right at her.

Crap.

Several small children, covered in soot and dirt and some sand, were hugging closely to their mothers. Some of the women looked battered and weary, but it was nothing compared to the beating the men took. Not a single one of them had a blood-free face. Some you wouldn't be able to even recognize through the swelling and bruising.

Amara stood still, unsure of what to do; the man who yelled was slowly approaching her. Instinct was screaming at Amara to run so she dropped her suitcase and obeyed her gut. She ran as far away in the most opposite direction as possible. She pushed her tired body through the pain that her aching legs and side stiches were giving her, but there was nowhere for her to go.

Most of the buildings were either destroyed completely or a few charred beams from a structure long gone barely remained, empty skeletons of a town burned to ashes. And the rare ones still standing, Amara didn't think she could reach one in time to hide. She thought she ran far enough that they couldn't see and dove behind a massive pile of ash. Cowering low to the ground and wishing she were invisible and so scared she even contemplated digging a hole in the ash and debris and diving in head first.

It didn't take long for the man to catch up to her. Thinking quickly on her feet, Amara scooped up a handful of dirt and burnt remains and prepared herself for the worse.

A big muscle, bound man stepped around the pile Amara was hiding behind. She looked up at him and stood slowly as he cracked his knuckles and chuckled. She was shaking, quite visibly, which only made the man laugh at her more; the sound oddly reminded her of one the many books she had read, where the bad guy would cackle like a lunatic before revealing his gruesome plan to kill the hero; monologuing, she thought that's what it was called.

He stood a foot taller than her easily and just now he bent his head so that his ugly mug was being shoved in her face. He grinned, several missing teeth and what few others he still had were a gross color, flashed in front of Amara's face. His hot, grotesque breath blew directly into her nostrils, preventing her from smelling anything else less appalling, even the smell of smoke and hot ash would've been preferable.