~Chapter 7~

I was only half-surprised to wake up the next morning, feeling the sun's warmth...hold on. This wasn't the sun's warmth. What...what was this? Something was wrapped around me, like a blanket. I didn't dare move. What if a man had seen me last night and I'd been too exhausted to wake up as he took me to his place? What if, right now, I was in his bed?

Nonetheless, at least I had warmth.

"Toph, are you awake?" a very low, soft, and feminine voice asked.

I didn't answer. I didn't know what to think, let alone say. Where exactly was I? Wait...a feminine voice...coupled with a blanket. Oh no! I was back at that place where the men had branded me! Had they decided they wanted me back? I had to get out!

I rocked myself back and forth, finding it useless. I wiggled, and that was useless. I only had one weapon left: my voice. I screamed to the top of my lungs and quickly heard groans and the shuffle of feet.

"Please!" I begged the voice. "Please, just let me go! I won't tell anyone about the mark! O-Or I'll tell everyone about the mark, if you want me to! You know, for publicity and stuff!" I felt warm tears running down my cheeks but didn't care if anyone saw them. I didn't even care that they were there. All I wanted to do right now was appeal to the voices' better nature, if they had a better nature. I really hoped they had a better nature.

"See? She's clearly delusional," one voice said matter-of-factly.

I stayed quiet, experience having taught me a valuable lesson in listening.

"I don't think so. She didn't get these bruises by herself," the first voice retaliated.

I struggled to get out of the blanket while the conversation continued on about me. I was already weakened by hunger, but now I had to get through an expertly wrapped blanket, which held me down quite nicely. Needless to say, I couldn't break free.

I felt a hand touch my cheek, and involuntarily yanked my head to the side, whimpering and hoping they would see me as no threat to their business. I expected the touch to hurt me, but it was surprisingly gentle.

"I'm sorry, Toph, I didn't mean to scare you... I was only trying to help..." the female's voice mumbled.

Despite the warm blanket, my whole body was shaking uncontrollably. This strange girl hadn't just scared me, she'd terrified me. I took moderately deep breaths but cringed in pain when I felt the gash in my side reopen. I resisted the urge to yelp, but I couldn't stop crying. The blanket was wrapped around me so tightly that it stung like crazy, for lack of a better expression, when the gash had split again.

"Hey, Katara, what's that red stuff on the blanket? Some kind of medicine?" the second voice asked the first voice.

There was a short silence, followed shortly after by a panicked atmosphere.

"No! Sokka, watch Toph; make sure she doesn't run away again. I'll be right back," the first voice said.

Funny, it almost sounded like they were trying to help me...but I still didn't get my hopes up. For all I knew, this was a staged act.

I heard rushed footsteps and the very next thing I knew, I was being freed from the evil that was the blanket. Now all I had to do was wait patiently for my chance to run.

The girl told everyone to get out before lifting up my shirt. I heard her sniffle a few times as she rubbed the gash with what I assumed was a wet cloth. I didn't know whether she was crying or if she had a cold. She rolled me over on my side at one point so that she could get better access to the injury. Then I was being rubbed with something else. This something stung fiercely. I hated it and attempted to get up and run.

I made it up off the floor, but by the time I actually got moving, the girl had tackled me and pinned me down, soon back to progressing in her work on my bleeding gash. I despised every last moment of what she was doing. How dare she! Who did this girl think she was? Burning my side like this... I had to admit, this burning sensation was much different from the branding iron.

I shuddered as that memory came back to me. It was the worst memory of my life. I didn't know whether I'd live or die, and then all I knew for those few seconds was pain and nothing else.

"I know it hurts, Toph. But this medicine will help your side to heal. Doesn't that sound nice?" the voice cooed in a soothingly calm tone.

"What do you want with me?" I asked, this time genuinely curious. "I'm blind; I can't help you. Your boss said so himself."

"Boss?" the calm voice said. "I don't have a boss, Toph, and neither do you. Did something happen?"

Another steady stream of teary raindrops poured out as I moved my hand up to neck, tracing the mark left by the branding iron. It had become a bit of a habit that I practiced when extremely upset. "He's your boss, not mine. You tell me what happened!"

The girl tenderly removed my hand from my neck and placed it in front of me. "What's on your neck?"

"I don't even know!" I sobbed. I'd thought it was a picture of something but I couldn't see. Maybe it was just a symbol. I had no way of knowing.

I felt a hand that didn't belong to me lift my hair, which had become matted and tangled over time, to reveal the base of my neck. I heard a horrified gasp. No, this girl couldn't belong to the men who had branded me. If she had, she'd have expected the mark to be there.

"Katara, are you okay? We heard y-" a boy's voice stopped short; I was sure he was seeing the mark on my neck.

"Hey, Sokka, what's wrong? Is everything okay?" another voice, male, asked from somewhere outside wherever I was.

"Aang, come look at this," the boy's voice, the one who called himself Sokka, said.

I heard a fluid movement and extremely light footsteps. Another gasp was heard.

"W-Why...? How...?" the new voice fumbled in disbelief.

I was tired of people pitying me.

"Toph, where'd you get that?" the new voice asked.

"I...I don't know. I was captured, then two men...no, three men...pinned down my arms and legs so I couldn't move. Then I felt this searing heat, like a hundred firebenders were shooting lighting right at the same spot on my neck. After that, I had this mark," I answered truthfully.

"Why didn't you call out for help? Why didn't you scream or something?" 'Sokka' frustratedly asked, as if he were angry with me.

"I'm sorry! I tried!" I said quickly, new tears coming to replace the old ones.

"What do you mean you tried?" Finally, the calm and trustworthy voice was back.

"I-I mean..." I tried to bring back all the events that happened, one after another. "Uh...well...first they blindfolded me. I remember two men dragging me somewhere, but I don't know where. Then...then a third man came in. I remember having a rag stuffed in my mouth, and when the pain came I did try to scream. And then another man came in and said nobody would pay for me because I was blind. But...I don't even remember how I got out of that place."

"What does that mean? 'Nobody will pay for you'?" the first voice quoted.

I shook my head in confusion. "I don't know if I remember..."

"Toph, you have to try!" 'Sokka' yelled.

I flinched and wondered what was so special about the mark on my neck. "I...I... Uhm... I-I don't know... I just heard him say that nobody would pay for me, but the other guy argued back with him, saying that I was only pretending to be blind. Then the one man described my eyes and said I was definitely blind. Then...that's right, then they threw me out."

"So they didn't say anything important? You didn't notice anything strange?"

"I-I remember two really big men. They were the guys who threw me out. While I was in there...I remember that I kept quiet because they still had the brand near me. I could feel its warmth."

"Is that all? You don't remember anything el-OOF! Eeey..."

"Sokka, knock it off!" the feminine voice chastised. "She can't help it if she doesn't know every little detail."

I saw this as an opening to escape, and turning to the direction the feminine voice came from, asked, "Can I please go now?"

There was a very strange silence. I could sense many emotions mixed together. Perhaps I shouldn't have asked that particular question...

"You mean...you really still don't know where you're at?" the female's voice asked, concern lacing her tones.

I shook my head and hoped they would let me leave soon. I still had to find food for the baby.

"I told you...she doesn't recognize us," 'Sokka' said.

The girl must've ignored the comment and kept focusing on me, because she asked me, "Don't you remember who we are?"

Again, I shook my head. I liked this girl, but this 'Sokka' impersonator was unfriendly.

"But we've said our names right in front of you. I'm Katara, that's Sokka, and that's Aang."

"She's delusiona-OW!" 'Sokka' whined.

"I ran away from Katara, Sokka, and Aang a long time ago. If they ever did search for me, they've given up by now. So posing as Katara won't help you anymore. I mean, it worked for awhile...but let's face it, you guys aren't my friends," I replied, carefully choosing each word.

"Wait...why would anyone say they were me?" the new voice asked curiously.

"Well, it's clear now that you don't mean any harm. But let's just say others meant alot of it. Other imposters would give me strange drinks, and for the first few days, I actually believed they were Aang or Sokka, so I took the drink. But every time after I drank whatever that stuff was, I passed out. When I woke up, I had memories so hazy that I couldn't even remember what happened. It's really hard to explain..."

"Why didn't you just fight or run?"

"Well...I tried to. After a few days, I caught onto their little charade. But whenever I fought it and struggled, they forced the drink down my throat. I kept trying to cough it back up, but I would always end up swallowing a little bit of it. And after a while of useless fighting, I would pass out and wake up the same way I did when I took it willingly."

"And...this drink...what was it made of again?"

"I don't know. It tasted weird. That's all I know about it."

'Sokka' spoke up this time. "So you don't think we're your friends because so many people have said that they were us?"

I flipped onto my back and sat up, careful of my gash. "Yeah. Of course, you could at least tell me your real names. And...if it's not too much to ask, do you have any food with you? I'm a little hungry."

"Toph, don't you at least recognize our voices?" the new voice asked. "As my earthbending teacher, I would imagine you'd remember mine, if no one else's."

"I've never met you before," I said, my final answer. "Well, until now."

Another quietness filled the air, making me feel uncomfortable. "Maybe you have me confused with another blind earthbender named Toph?"

"Toph, it's really us. That night that you ran away, we kept looking for you in the forest. We didn't think you would ever make it to a village on your own. Aang here suggested we keep looking through the wilderness," 'Sokka' explained.

I shrugged my shoulders. "First of all, the act isn't fooling anyone. Secondly, Aang is probably in an Earth Kingdom city by now. Probably somewhere like...Omashu? No, no...maybe Ba Sing Se. Well, I guess it doesn't really matter where he is. He's most likely gone off to find a new earthbending teacher."

"What will it take to convince you that we're Team Avatar?" 'Sokka' screeched.

"Seriously, Toph, I haven't gone looking for a new teacher," the new voice, 'Aang', agreed.

"Right..." I said sarcastically. "Where am I, anyway?"

I heard two sighs and one groan.

"You're back at the camp. We found you unconscious on the street," the voice that must've been 'Katara' replied.

"Camp...so is this a hospital or something? Does this mean there's food here?" My stomach seemed to agree with the question and growled.

I felt a little weight being pressing down on my leg, as if someone had set something on it. I reached out to feel the little object to find that it was a small fruit. I quickly grabbed it and bit into it. Its juice filled my mouth as soon as I did, and I'd never been so relieved to have something other than floor food in my mouth. I chewed slowly, savoring every last bite until it was gone.

I felt stuffed after I was done. At least now I had food in my belly. It would help my baby to grow.

"Thanks," I said gratefully. "It was good."

"You're welcome," 'Sokka' grunted.

I didn't know why or even if he was mad at me. I didn't know if I had done anything wrong, but...

"Listen, Toph, I want you to tell us what happened to make you collapse on the street. You know, the way you were when we found you," 'Katara' instructed.

I liked her alot. I'd do just about anything to repay her for the food she gave me. After all, being in debt to someone else just wasn't my style. "Nothing happened. I went to sleep."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I was really tired. These maniacs were chasing me and they kept calling my name. I wasn't ready to go through the same thing again, so I ran. I know it sounds cowardly...but it hurts when they do that, you know?"

I heard air swishing and the shuffle of feet. At least four feet were moving; that meant two people were leaving.

"What happened that day, Toph?" the feminine voice asked gently.

"Uh, same thing that happens almost every day, really. Except for those people who kept chasing me... Between you and I, I think those guys were sick in the head."

"What do you mean?"

I blinked, wondering if this really was a hospital, or maybe if this girl was just new. I figured she was just new. "Well, duh. Every day since I got to this village, men have been all over me! But I've had a little trouble finding food, so I got pretty weak. You don't have to worry about me, though. I'm a powerful earthbender."

"Men have been all over you...? What does that mean?"

I was really questioning just how much this girl knew... "It means they were literally all over me. I would get pinned against the ground or walls and they'd rape me. Don't worry, though; I'm already pregnant. They can't hurt me."

"Oh my God! Toph, are you okay?"

I felt arms wrap around me and squeeze me tightly, but not so tightly that I was choking.

"I'm fine. Lots of girls get raped out here. Actually, I suggest you leave. I thought I was tough enough to handle this place by myself."

"Toph, what exactly happened on the day we-...I mean, those guys tried to catch you?" she persisted.

"Do I really have to tell you?"

"Yes. Every detail would help."

I didn't know what it would help, but I trusted her. "I was trying to find some food, like usual, when this guy comes out of nowhere and said he was Aang. He grabbed my wrist, pulled me into an alley, and raped me. I tried to scream, but only because it hurt. It felt like my body was being torn in half..." I tried to mask my inner emotions with a smile. "He slapped me, and I forced myself to stop making any noise. After he was done, I felt tired and exhausted. I curled up into a ball and right when I was about to go to sleep, someone who claimed to be Sokka told me to stay put. I didn't know why he thought I would. Anyway, he said he'd be right back, as if he was going to get help. I was still tired and weak, and I didn't want to be raped again. So I got up and took off. Eventually, I heard the same guy say, 'She was here a minute ago!' or something like that. I kept moving and found another alley to rest in. I slept there and the next morning it rained. I drank some water and went to look for food again. At some point, I realized I had this gash in my side. I forgot if it was before the rain or after...but I'm sure that doesn't matter. I tried to find food again, but couldn't. I found my way to the nearest wall and fell asleep. Then I woke up here."

"Toph, why are you smiling? You were raped. That's bad! That's horrible!"

"I'm smiling, I guess...'cause I know I'm going to die in this waste of a village. I tried to live for my baby, but every day it gets harder and harder to move. Now I have this thing on my side... I just won't last much longer at this rate. I already know rape is bad. I've just grown used to it, is all," I answered. Tears were forming at the corners of my unseeing eyes, but I wasn't going to have a mental breakdown in front of my new friend.

The arms came snaking around me again before the girl said softly to me, "Get some rest, Toph."

I nodded and laid back down. I hadn't realized how incredibly tired I had gotten, and now that I'd eaten... I drifted off without another thought.

A/N

MUAHAHAHA! Another cliffie! Sorta... Anyways, I know nothing much happened in this chapter. This chapter was supposed to be more about the group understanding what happened to Toph while they were looking for her.

You guys are totally right. I should stop complaining about my review number. However, please understand that with your help, I'll learn and I'll get better. So I'm going to stop writing! ^.^ Great, huh? (XD I'm going to stop writing for reviews, not stop writing stories) Still, though, a little encouragement every now and then would be nice.

But I'd like to thank a few authors/reviewers for never giving up and keeping my spirits high. Thank you, Rocker4Life and TBei!

STORY HAS NOT ENDED YET. Next chapter is on its way.