Chapter 6 –

For the next couple of days, Shinju kept her word and didn't go back to that "history" class anymore. She also never hear Zina in her room and assumed she was off with her boyfriend all of the time. It was a good thing she had a lot of experience from home on not having friends and being by herself, but in Anshon, she could still go out in her back yard and be right in the middle of nature. At home, she also had the liberty to waterbend wherever she wanted even if it was only for fun and relaxation.

She was also never truly alone at home like she was now. She always had Shai to goof around with when they weren't at school and she absolutely treasured all of her time she spent with her mother, whether it was doing chores around the farm or just bonding. Shinju was also missing Intan and how sometimes she would let her hang out with her friends when they came over. She knew that her friends would never want to hang out with Shinju on their own and that Intan had to make them be nice to her and include her. Shinju guessed that she never really thought before how much her sister really looked out for her like that.

And of course the pain still ached over losing her father even after a year. Like Shinju realized before, she always felt less despair over his loss at home when she was under the Qing Mountains, but even the mountains of Republic City weren't living up to the job. They couldn't possibly make up for everything else she hated about the city.

It was also just the simple fact that they weren't the Qing Mountains. They didn't hold the same value or the same majesty.

It was hard though to look at the mountains of Republic City and not be struck with astonishment, but no one else in the city seemed to notice them when she walked to the same teashop everyday. Like the university's golden temple, people went about their fast paced lives and didn't stop to appreciate the things that were beautiful in their world. And everywhere she went, Shinju found everyone on edge about the Equalists and all of the antibending feelings. After a week of being in the city and being directly exposed to the issue, it still didn't make any sense to her.

It was finally the first weekend of the semester and the first week Shinju could cross off her countdown till she went home for a break. Even on the school nights, students were all out drinking and throwing parties all night long and her insomnia was getting worse, but now that the weekend was here, the festivities were at their climax. It probably wasn't helping that Shinju would now go out for a second helping of caffeine at night just to get out of her room more.

All of the other market stores were closed and dark along the street, but many of the apartments above were lit up and full of life. Zina was probably at one of these parties with Zeno, but because of their no speaking terms, she didn't invite Shinju to any. She would have loved to go, but there was no point dwelling on something that wasn't going to be a reality anytime soon.

The teashop was the only place on the ground level that was open and there was actually quite a scene of people there for a weekend night. There was live music which is probably what attracted the people there tonight. After waiting in a much smaller line for her green tea, Shinju decided to sit a while and listen. It beat being alone in her dorm room and she never really got to hear much music before at home.

Shinju wasn't keeping track of time because she was so hypnotized and in such serenity enjoying the sounds. After a while, a woman came up to the small stage in the corner of the teashop accompanied by only a single string player. The melody he started to play from his instrument was slow and smooth, yet it had a certain swing to it and made you feel cheerful. The singer then started to add her poetry to the music.

I lost my heart in Republic City,

The most booming city in bloom,

Where at night all the world's aglow.

I left my love,

At ol' air isle,

When I was soaring above the sky,

I see its light from my window.

Guys leave with their dolls,

As day fades and night falls,

Gentle and refined as a polished pearl.

But the city at night,

Is why my heart took flight,

And now I'm the city's gal.

I lost my heart in Republic City,

The most booming city in bloom,

I see its light from my window.

When the audience was done applauding her, everyone got up out of their seats and headed for the door. Shinju was panicking over the fact that she had stayed out till closing time and looked at her father's pocket watch. It was past midnight and she still wasn't too comfortable with the city to be out that late alone. Many couples tried to linger around the shop and continue to talk to each other, but were soon shooed outside where they could decide to either go their separate ways or head back to the same place together. Shinju didn't have this problem and started to make her way back to the campus alone.

She was getting more and more upset with herself about not paying attention to the time and staying out so late. At least here she wouldn't have a worried mother to come home and explain herself to like she personally never had the experience of doing before, but definitely witnessed it played out between Miia and Intan before. Another positive thing that Shinju brought herself to appreciate was that last song that was played in the teashop. Although she still hated Republic City and she never had any previous experiences with romance to relate to, Shinju couldn't help but admit how much she loved the song.

It kept playing itself on repeat in her head as she walked down the street that was now empty and completely dark except for the street lamps. Shinju was too enwrapped in her own simple bliss to notice Professor Proteus across the street in an alleyway with three other individuals who were dressed in dark green jumpsuits and wearing masked helmets. The professor then pointed Shinju out on the opposite sidewalk to the uniformed figures.

"That's her. That the student who's been spreading ideas around about benders' rights," he continued to hold a pompous tone in everything he was saying.

The people in the masks didn't have much care in what the professor had to say and immediately began to stealth their way behind Shinju. They started to close in on her, but she finally received her signal that something was wrong when the slight sound of pebbles crunching under feet interrupted her repetition of the song. Shinju's heart started to pound and she suddenly felt herself being pulled backwards by the waist. She wasn't being grabbed by hands, but by some sort of chain. Shinju let out short shriek that was muted by a dirty rag being tied around her mouth.

She grabbed at the rag at her face to try and jerk it off, but the attacker's force was too great. Shinju was scared for her teeth not to be punched in. She squirmed and wrestled to break free, but the attacker took their hand to her side and struck a point which made Shinju collapse. She didn't have any feeling below the waist and grew horrified.

Shinju had never experienced this degree of panic and helplessness before. It wasn't just the act of being kidnapped, but when she finally got a good look at her attacker, she was terrified to not see a human face to identify with. Shinju saw the face of a monster with lifeless spaces where eyes were suppose to be. This triggered her to shut down and she became limp in the kidnapper's hands.

The abductors took the unconscious Shinju to a small, black satomobile parked in the alleyway where Professor Proteus had watch the entire escapade like his favorite nickelodeon. He stood at attention when Shinju's attackers approached the car and shoved her in the back seat, in the hopes of receiving some sort of praise or recognition. But his dreams were dashed when the kidnappers completely ignored him and rode off.

They drove north and across the bridge leaving the main peninsula. Shinju regained her consciousness during the ride after countless bumps in the road causing the satomobile to jump and bounce her around. The roads off of the main peninsula were more unkempt and rougher than those in the main part of the city. Her fear slowly added hopelessness to itself. Shinju couldn't see outside the window and she didn't think it would make much of a difference because she knew little to none of the city to find any way back.

The satomobile eventually stopped at a warehouse in a heavily industrialized section of the upper city. Shinju's legs hadn't retained their feeling yet so her attackers had to drag her inside the warehouse. They then proceeded downstairs to what seemed like an office but with about a dozen jail cells in it. The kidnappers finally untied Shinju and threw her into the cell in the far corner.

She used all the strength she had left in her arms to prop herself up against the wall. Her voice was gone along with all her energy and was too terrified of what they would do if she started to just scream bloody murder. Considering the time of day and where she was, no one willing to help her would be able to hear her and she wouldn't blame anyone for not wanting to face these guys.

Two soldiers stayed to keep watch as the others left the room. After a while, Shinju gained enough strength to let out a few whimpers and then started to cry on the floor of the jail cell. This was a rare moment in which she'd rather be at the university. Her crying started to become an act less out of despair, but boredom because Shinji figured there wasn't much more she could do in her time being locked away.

Shinju opened her eyes and started to feel the cold of the metal floor on her cheek. She had eventually fallen asleep when she couldn't cry anymore and found herself lying on the steel ground of her jail cell. The reason she woke up was because she started to hear loud banging and yelling coming from outside the door of the office/prison.

She also realized she had gained feeling in her legs again but stumbled as she picked herself up off the floor. Shinju clambered over to her cell door as the door to the room burst open to see the helmets shoving five men into different jail cells as well. All of the men seemed were pretty old except the last one to come through the door.

The last person they had captured to enter the room was a teenage boy about her age. It was the boy with the emerald eyes she had met at the train station. This time though he didn't appear smooth and his eyes didn't glow the same way they had when she met him. They were filled with the same fear that Shinju experienced when she was first captured. The boy caught her glance and his eyes turned to enrage.

All of the men were putting up more of a fight than Shinju did which forced the masked people to use these electric rods to prod them into their cells. All of them were also untied once inside and then the boy started kicking the bars of his cell in anger and shouting at his kidnappers, "How low of you to capture a girl! Let her go!"

The masked kidnappers didn't say anything in response to the boy but came over to his cell with an electric rod stunned him until he collapsed to the floor.

"No!" Shinju couldn't help but vocalize her concern in a screech. She knew she would have to pay for the noise she had made and the helmet walked over to her cell and zolted her just the same.

"Hey, come on man, they're just kids. Let 'em go," the grey haired man wearing rich red robes tried to vouch for the two teenagers, "I hired the boy for some security work. He shouldn't have to suffer for me. It's just me you want anyways."

It seemed like the group of men knew who these captors were and had encountered them before. Shinju was still clueless as to what exactly was going on but was appreciative of the man trying to help, as hopeless as it was. The helmet then moved over to the man's cell and actually spoke to him, "Amon's orders were to capture you and any other benders you were with regardless of age. This girl is a separate case for spreading her thoughts of advocacy for benders' rights at Republic City University. She is a parasite at an institution where ideas spread like wildfire and she will turn the turn the young bender population at the school into a great obstacle for us in our mission for equality unless we do something about it now."

"So what do you plan on doing? Are you going to go to the university, round up all the bending students and lock them away?" the man's voice started to become enraged now, "My daughter is at the university and if you dare as touch one hair on her head I swearr-AHHHH!"

The helmet had had enough of the man's protesting and shocked him into silence as well. After holding on long enough to listen to the conversation, Shinju slipped into unconsciousness again and didn't wake till the following night.

The lyrics to Lost My Heart in Republic City are not mine. I got them from a song on SoundCloud that I found on Tumblr. Here's the link to the original post: .com/post/21120451801 you should download it and listen to it everyday like I do.

Thanks for all the reviews and favorites and I hope you continue to read!

Enjoy!