Author note: I realize these last few chapters are short. Reason would be that something this length fits well into my evening and allows more frequent updates. Likely most of the audience, I assume it's more than three (please leave a review if you haven't already, it's great motivation), has clued in to what has happened, or will by the end of this chapter. Same disclaimer as all the other chapters. Hellboy is not mine, never been to China, only have google and a few nasty dreams to go on. Happy reading!

Running

Yin sat at Huangs side, her eyes on the water before her. It had not been so long ago that she had been married to Shing, a handsome and strong farmer, who bought her fine clothes and fathered her two healthy sons. She stared into the water, the fish swimming under her mangled and deformed feet. Feet that kept her from her family. She cried invisible tears as memories filled her mind.

Screams woke Fang Yin from her restful sleep, she violently grasped Shings' arm, waking him. Fang Yin sat upright in the bed, her pregnant belly slowing her from keeping up with her husband as he ran out to investigate. As she awaited his return the orange glow of flame appeared outside her window, accompanied by the thundering of cannons. Yin pulled herself from the bed, stumbling into her shoes and dress.

"Ho! Chen!" she shouted. "Get Ho and Chen!"

Yin could see the flickering silhouette of her brave husband pass by with the two young boys, two and eight, in his arms. The orange light revealed the screaming faces of her children, now melting into the roar of their burning home. Yin stepped forward, careful not to trip on the rumpled bedclothes.

"Shing!"

"I'm here. I won't leave you!"

Shing took Yins hand and guided her into the street where the charging horses of Liams' army followed flaming arrows. Tears streamed down her face as she watched her neighbors fall to the invaders beside her. Shing pulled at her arm, forcing her along. She tripped and stumbled behind him, Ho and Chen's screams blocking out her husbands words; Shings lips moved noiselessly.

Yin struggled to run, to keep up with her fleeing husband and children. When they reached the edge of the village, Yin tripped and fell, losing her left shoe on the forest floor. She stumbled as screamed in agony as her loving husband dragged her over the rough branches and underbrush.

Suddenly, Shing stopped and scooped Yin into his arms with their youngest child. Chen raced ahead as his father faltered behind under the extra weight. Yin could feel his breathing increase, his chest heaving painfully for air.

"Leave me, Shing. I will wait for you."

"I will not leave the mother of my sons." Shing continued to run through the bush, losing speed with each step. Yin could feel the hoof beats getting closer, she could hear the shouts of the attackers echoing through the trees. Her heart broke.

"Look after Chen and Ho." Yin cried into Shings ear. "We will all die if you don't. If not for me, for our children."

Shing collapsed on the ground, exhausted, in an orchard. Yin crawled from his arms and shouted at him.

"Go! Now!" Defiance would drive him away, protect them all. To face dishonour and save her children seemed the best option. Shing now obeyed. He ran.

Yin crawled through the bushes, hiding herself among the peony bushes, her heart pounding into her throat, chocking her. Her hands covered her mouth, for fear it would leap out her mouth. The steady beat of her heart soon overlapped with the pounding of horse's hooves.

She cowered to the ground motionless as the invaders rode by, their forms outlined by the eerie glow of torches. The air became foul with dust and smoke, causing her to wretch and cough. She drew her sleeve across her nose as she backed away steadily, her bandaged foot touching cold water. Quickly, Yin lowered herself into the water and away from the choking smoke, dust and death.

Standing on her knees in the water, only Yins' nose remained in the cold smoky air. The vibration from cannons and galloping horses continued throughout the night. Yin closed her eyes and imagined her sons, her husband and her family. The thought that they somehow survived kept her awake.

Yin pulled herself out of the pond the following morning, the fish having awaken her from her dream. She replaced her shoe, which sat near the waters' edge, and sat on a stone bench near the shore. Two of her friends from the village, Huang and Yan Yan, sat in the reeds, their faces wet and disheveled. They soon joined her on the bench.

There were no words to comfort them as they sat on the bench, staring into the water. Consumed by their hunger, they plucked red apples from the tree above their heads, tossing the cores into the water for the fish. Huang cried endlessly, her husband having fought the night before, defending her from Liam. Yan Yan sighed, her husband had died in her arms.

Yin stared at the fish, their golden and white bodies graceful in the water. How long had she been waiting? Where had her unborn child gone to? She lowered her hands to her lap and lowered her head, praying to her ancestors for help. Did it even matter anymore?

Then there was the red man Huang identified as her beloved Feng. He did not belong here, he was a messenger. She began to arrange her hair with her friends, the entire while thinking about the visitor, the first since that night. He had the answers, she knew it. Only he could bring Shing back into her arms.

to be continued...