Here's chapter 9. Not Much else to say other than enjoy!

Breaking and Entering

Once again, everything is gloomy, dark, and cloudy. It's as if the whole universe has pulled a blanket of despair over my eyes in its continued attempts to conspire against me. The weather itself is chilly and wet just like it always is now, but it fits perfectly for the moods we are all in. I'm sick of it all.

The four of us rode in silence for what must be hours at this point, but I paid no attention to the passing time. My mind is too focused on the image of Shen being murdered in cold blood. He was the only true friend I've had after the world came to an end, and he was killed by women who I had once put my trust in. The universe truly does have it out for me.

I wipe the tears away from my eyes with the coat of my sleeve and looked to the road ahead of us. Kumi had taken the initiative to steer the ostrich horse for a while. I suppose she might feel bad about the whole thing. I glance to my left to see another ostrich horse riding alongside us. Amaya is steering it. A cold and almost lifeless expression is on her face but her eyes are filled with a sadness that is impossible to miss. Izumi has her arms wrapped around her mother's stomach and her face is buried into the older woman's back. Her eyes are closed but I can easily make out the tears trailing down her cheeks.

I let out a trembling sigh before averting my gaze.

We rode for a long time after that. The sun slowly rose into the sky and the morning turned into the afternoon. Not long after that, Kumi finally speaks.

"How much farther until we reach that siheyuan that Shen mentioned?"

I let out a barely audible grunt before reaching into my coat pocket and pulling out the map the old man gave us. I slowly unfold it and look it over.

"It looks like it's just a few more kilometers down the trail," I reply. "It will be on our right."

"Okay, thanks," Kumi says with relief.

"Yeah no problem."

After about another half hour, we finally reach the old and abandoned estate. After passing through the outer gate, we tie the ostrich horses to a decrepit and ancient looking tree. Kumi, understandably, is weary of the empty house though. She decides to scout out the empty building to make sure everything is all clear while I stay behind to watch Izumi and her mother. I make no objections to the plan. After another 30 minutes of waiting, Kumi reemerges from the house and assures us that it's completely abandoned. It's only at this point that everyone finally relaxes. All of us have been tense and on edge ever since leaving Shen's home early this morning.

The girls decide to head inside to get comfortable while we wait for whoever Shen bartered with to come and pick us up. I opt to stay with the ostrich horses instead. As I watch them go inside, I sit down in the grass. It's only now that I realize how dry and dead the lawn is. The brown foliage practically crunches beneath me as I make myself comfortable. I shake my head in contempt and lean my back against the tree. I do my best to not think about the events of the past week. It's all been one complete mess after another and there is no sign of it letting up anytime soon. I let out a deep sigh before closing my eyes.

Death.

The smell of it was strong.

It was in my nose, penetrating my senses, and overriding any other sensation in my mind.

All around me corpses lay. They were in various states of decay and many were consumed by fire.

They ranged from all ages, both men and women. We spared no one in this battle.

Except for the few who were willing to surrender to us.

I look to see them corralled into a circle. They were on their knees and begging us for their lives, but their voices are muffled by the black sacks we had placed over their heads. Multiple women, who were dressed in green and donning white and red face paint, looked down upon them. Their hands rested on the hilts of their swords and waiting for the order to be given.

I was a part of this and I felt sick to my stomach.

I look to see Suki standing beside me. She didn't acknowledge my presence. The look in her eyes is devoid of the care and compassion that once filled them in the years prior. I first noticed the change about a year and a half ago.

There was an earthquake. It was followed by a tsunami. The waved washed over Kyoshi Island. And everything was destroyed. No survivors had been recovered. We didn't receive the news until a month later thanks to the closed boarders of the city.

That was when things began to spiral out of control.

Now here we stand. No longer protectors, but conquerors.

The cries of the prisoners filled my ears now. I look back to see them still protesting and shouting at us. The warriors stood around them unfazed.

"Do it," Suki speaks.

No hesitation. The swords of the Kyohshi warriors are drawn. The prisoners are struck down without mercy.

In that moment, I know that their screams of agony will haunt me for the rest of my life. I avert my gaze.

The world is too far gone now. There is no hope. There is nothing left to fight for in this world.

When my eyes open again, it takes me more than a few moments to regain my bearings.

That dream again.

I had been trying my hardest for years to rid my memory of it, but it was futile. Nothing can erase the past.

I lean back against the tree and allow the dream to fade back into the recesses of my mind.

The sun is slightly lower in the sky meaning that it's closer to the late afternoon now. I glance around to see both ostrich horses seated on the ground and sound asleep. I let out a sigh before rubbing my eyes and standing to my feet. After briefly ensuring that I have all my belongings, boomerang included, I stroll my way into the house.

I am completely unprepared for the smell that is inside. A mold and mildew mixture assaults my nose, forcing me to cover it with my sleeve. The floor of the house is covered with puddles, and vines are stretched across the walls and windows. Seemingly every corner of the room is filled with cobwebs. I take a brief second to look around this run-down interior before moving on through the back door that leads to the court yard.

As I step through the entry way, I notice Izumi sitting cross-legged in the center of the lawn and meditating. Kumi is laying beside the young girl with her eyes closed and Amaya is seated on a stone bench that overlooks the whole yard. I lightly shrug my shoulders and make my way to the empty seat on the bench beside the Fire Nation woman.

Upon seeing me approach her, Amaya looks my way and gives me a reassuring smile.

"Did you have a good nap?" she asks me.

"Yeah, more or less," I reply before taking a seat beside her.

For a long minute, we sat in silence and gazed upon the two young girls in the courtyard. Kumi is clearly asleep, her chest rising and falling in a slow and rhythmic fashion. Izumi on the other hand, sat upright in an almost stiff posture. It's clear she's trying hard to focus on the mediation, but based on the way the girl is carrying herself, I can tell that she is struggling. Regardless, there is not one sound aside from the occasional chirp of a distant bird.

If it wasn't for the circumstances that led us into this situation, I would almost call the scene before us peaceful.

"You know, I was only 21 years old when the plague first appeared?" Amaya suddenly spoke up and interrupting the quiet.

"Oh yeah?" I answer with mild interest.

She nods her head.

"For a long time, the soldiers in our village thought they could keep it contained if they kept the sick ones locked away. For a while I suppose it worked. My brother was one of those sick ones."

She pauses and looks down to her feet. I glance towards her and notice the sadness beginning to fill up her eyes.

"But then it started to spread anyway, and everyone started to panic. The soldiers began to burn down all the houses with sick people still inside."

"Typical," I muttered to myself.

"I wasn't brave enough to try and stop them. I was afraid that if I stood up, my daughter would get roped into things and then the soldiers would discover what she was. They would have used her for their own purposes," she pauses her story again and looks up to meet my gaze. I can see the guilt practically spilling out of her eyes.

"Look," I said to her with a sigh. "You did what you had to do to keep your daughter safe. I know I'm certainly not qualified to judge your actions."

"My sister On Ji was brave though," Amaya answers. Her voice wavers as she speaks "She stepped in and tried to save our brother."

"What happened to her," I ask. But a part of me already knows the answer.

Amaya simply shakes her head.

"We left with nothing but the clothes on our back," she continues. "I had hoped Ba Sing Se would be a better place to raise my daughter but…"

The fact that she is trying to steer the conversation away from my question doesn't go unnoticed by me, but I let it slide.

"Well, hope is something we all cling to," I say with a more pessimistic tone than I intend. "We use it to try and make ourselves feel better, but it doesn't always work out."

I let the morbid implications of my words settle between us, and for a while, we sit on the bench in silence again. My mind slowly drifts back to my reoccurring nightmares. The nightmares that are basically a continuous recollection of past events. For a long time, there really was no hope for the world, and the things that people did to each other during that time definitely reflect that. Even I didn't escape that time period with my innocence intact, and I will be forced to live with my decisions until the day that I die.

But now? Even despite recent events, I can still feel a tiny spark of hope reemerging within me. And it's all because of this little girl named Izumi. The Avatar reincarnated. I suppose it will have to do for now.

"Look, we're gonna get you and your daughter out of this city," I say to her. "I guess you shouldn't give up on that hope at least."

Amaya lets out a short, quavering sigh as if all the tension in her body is finally being released.

"Yeah, I can't lose hope," she nods her head and wipes the tears from her eyes. "Thank you."

Before I can even begin to form a reply, the sound of a whistle rings out from the front of the house. For a split second, panic nearly springs out from me. Kumi leaps up instantly with her hand on the hilt of her sword and an alarmed expression plastered all over her face. Izumi jumps, startled at the sudden movement beside her.

We all quickly suppress our fear though at the realization that it's probably just our rendezvous party. Still, it doesn't hurt to be cautious.

"Girls, lets go!" Amaya shouts out to them.

Izumi jumps to her feet and quickly follows the young warrior over to us. Within seconds, we pack up all of our things and make our way to the front of the house, but just before we reach the doorway, I hold up my hand to stop them.

"Wait here."

They all nod in agreement. I give them a reassuring look before stepping through the entry way and to the outside. For a moment, the sun blinds my vision, but I can make out the form of a large stagecoach being drawn by four massive ostrich horses waiting before me. I let out a resigned sigh and begin to walk towards the vehicle.

"Stop where you are!" a voice from inside the coach shouts at me. It's the voice of a woman.

Against my better judgement, I take another step forward.

"I'm looking for the cactus juice smugglers," I say.

Suddenly, the door to the coach swings open and a woman leans out with her face wrapped in a surprisingly ornate, green scarf. Without hesitation, she levels a bow and arrow towards me. My whole body stiffens at the sight.

"Hands above your head!" she shouts to me, her voice muffled by the scarf.

Well, maybe announcing that I'm looking for criminals isn't the smartest thing in the world to do.

"Uh, okay sure. Whatever you say." Those are the only words I can come up with as I slowly raise my hands over my head.

I knew this was a terrible idea.

"Who sent you?"

"Shen," I answer quickly. "He said you could help us."

A long, tense and awkward minute passes between us. I can feel the nervous sweats beginning to drip down my face. My mind quickly leaps to my three traveling companions who I assume are still hidden inside the house, but I don't dare to look back to confirm their location. I silently pray that Kumi doesn't try and do anything stupid and intervene in the standoff between me and the woman with a bow and arrow aimed at my face.

Another long second passes and the woman jumps down from the carriage and slowly walks towards me. Her weapon is still pointed in my direction. She stops within three feet of me and her eyes, which I notice are a light green hazel mixture, narrow as if she can see right through me.

"Sokka!" I hear Izumi cry out from behind me. But her mother jumps in.

"No stay here!" Amaya seemingly stops whatever action her daughter was attempting to do.

At the sound of the commotion behind me, the woman averts her stare and looks past my shoulder before quickly darting her eyes back to me.

"I recognize you," she says.

Well, great. Being recognized is definitely very bad.

Before I can even begin to form another thought, the woman lowers her weapon and pulls the scarf away from her face. It takes me far longer than I care to admit to recognize who she is.

"Wow, your life definitely took a sharp left turn and into a pile of shit Sokka," she says with an amused tone of voice.

"Jin?" I lower my hands in complete and utter shock. "What are you doing here?"

The earth kingdom woman suddenly breaks down into a fit of laughter. I can't help but feel my pride becoming slightly wounded at the display. My memory drifts back to our first meeting on the city train just a few days ago. I remember how we shared an entire bottle of sake, had a lively conversation about politics on our way to the outer rim, and being surprised at how much we had in common. It feels as though an entire lifetime has passed since then. It must be divine intervention that has caused our paths to cross once again.

After a few moments Jin begins to compose herself before leveling a sly grin in my direction.

"You wouldn't happen to have another bottle of that sake do you," she asks me. "That was some good shit."

Great. Another sarcastic, alcoholic is just what I need in my life right now.

"Sorry, I'm fresh out."

"Oh," her grin vanishes. "Bummer. Well, come on then."

She spins on her heel and strolls back towards the carriage. I turn back towards the house just in time to see my traveling companions emerging through the doorway. All three of them have looks of confusion on their faces. I shrug my shoulders in annoyance before turning back around and making my way towards the carriage.

Later…

"You know, it was Shen's idea to start smuggling cactus juice into Lake Laogai," Jin says out loud to us from her driver seat on the front of the stagecoach "That man has some seriously massive balls."

"Well, I never saw them personally," I reply.

Jin snorts with laughter.

Currently, I'm crammed inside the coach beside Kumi and across from Izumi and her mother. The interior of the vehicle is also filled with a large assortment of wares, jars and bottles of what I assume to be cactus juice, forcing the four of us to sit in extremely close proximity to each other. It's incredibly uncomfortable. At least the windows don't have bars on them.

"He's going to piss himself with laughter when I tell him about this!" Jin speaks again. "That old man has a real thing for destiny, and paths lining up, and all that other crap."

"Yeah, I'm sure he would have gotten a real kick out of all this," I say before I can stop myself. Luckily, she doesn't notice how I just referred to him in the past tense.

"You know what though," she continues unabated. "He makes finest cactus juice in all the land!"

She yells out that last sentence in an over the top, sing song voice. Surprisingly, a brief smile appears on my face at her adoration of the old man's illegal contraband.

"I can't exactly argue with that," I say. My words draw a response from Izumi, who is now eyeing me with frustration.

"Am I really the only person who hasn't tried this stuff?" she says with an annoyed sigh. She reaches down and picks up a bottle of the juice and examines it with curiosity.

"Izumi! Not now!" Amaya scolds her, causing Izumi's posture to deflate and set the bottle back down. I can hear Kumi chuckling at the whole exchange beside me.

"Hey, don't worry girl," Jin says back to us. "There'll be plenty of that inside the camp, trust me."

Those words fail to lift the girl's spirits. In fact, the mere mention of the camp we are headed to causes the atmosphere inside the coach to grow more tense.

"You know, usually there's people trying to get out of the Lake Laogai camp, not in," Jin continues speaking to us with an amused tone of voice. "I don't know why in the name of the spirits green earth you want to get in, but I don't care. In fact, I don't give a flying monkey feather's ass!"

She steals another look back at us with one more sly grin on her face. I just sigh and shake my head, hoping to dissuade her from continuing this line of conversation. Her personality, while definitely entertaining is spurts, is now beginning to wear outit's welcome. I guess our dire circumstances aren't really doing my attitude any favors.

Thankfully, silence passes between us for a good hour after that. In the first fifteen minutes of that hour, my right foot begins to fall asleep thanks to it being wedged between Kumi's sword and a large brown pot. After half an hour, I can't take it anymore and pry my foot free, causing Kumi to shift uncomfortably in her seat. After forty-five minutes, my other foot begins to fall asleep.

"Alright everyone, this is it," Jin pulls on the reigns and slows the stagecoach to a stop after another half hour had passed. She looks back at us before speaking. "Begin Operation Stupid Insanity Smuggle!"

The four of us inside the coach glance around at each other in confusion and several awkward seconds pass.

"What?" Izumi speaks with her typical, puzzled raised eyebrow look.

"Don't tell me Shen didn't mention this?" Jin replies.

"Uh, no?" I finally speak up.

Jin lets out a frustrated sigh. "Just get inside the big brown pots." She says while pointing to one of the ceramic containers in question.

I realize she is referring to one of the same pots that had pinned my foot for nearly the entire duration of this journey.

"The guards are going to inspect me at the checkpoint and I can't be seen with people inside with my cargo. That's bad for business!"

Great. I should have known this would happen.

The four of us, resigned to our fate, scramble around inside the coach to claim our own pot. Each one is large enough to fit one person. Luckily, there are exactly four pots in the coach with us.

Shen, I swear if I die because of this plan, I will hunt you down in the spirit world.

I reach for the pot near my feet, unscrew the lid and look inside to see it completely empty. Thankfully the opening seems to be large enough for me to fit through.

"Hey, you're gonna have to lose that sword," I hear Jin speak up again.

I look up to see Kumi staring back at her with a pleading look on her face.

"I'm sorry, but when the guards see you walking through the gates of the camp with that on your waist then you'll be arrested on the spot."

Kumi looks hesitantly down to her sword, clearly unwilling to part with what is obviously her most prized possession.

"She's right Kumi," I say to her. "We don't have a choice."

"What about your boomerang?" she asks me.

I mentally stumble for a moment at this dispute.

"Boomerang?" Jin says.

"My boomerang is easy to conceal," I say. "Your sword is way too big to hide."

"Fine," she finally relents at my words, and with one solemn motion, she unstraps her sword sheath and sets it aside.

Satisfied, I squeeze my way into the pot. After several seconds, I hear Jin speak up.

"I'm really sorry about this guys, but this is just temporary." Her voice is muffled thanks to the stupid pottery death trap I'm currently jammed inside of.

In the next instant, she screws the lid on my jar tightly shut.

Later…

Never, in my entire life, have I been in such a physically uncomfortable position. First of all, the circulation in my feet is cut off once again because of the tight quarters of the pot. Second, I can feel the temperature beginning to rise and my heavy coat is only making it worse. Also, I'm pretty sure I'm running out of air. Nevertheless, I tough it out. The only alternative is revealing myself to the inspection team and risk being recognized, and subsequently, being publicly executed in the palace courtyard. That's the last thing I need right now.

A while ago, we had come to a stop at what I assume to be the checkpoint at the entrance of the Lake Laogai Refugee Camp. I can hear the distant voice of Jin exchanging words with some of the guards, and every once in a while, the door to the coach would open and someone would step inside to rummage through the cargo. Every time this happened, my whole body would tense up, fully expecting someone to open the wrong pot and then ruining all of our terrible plans. Thankfully, this doesn't happen. No doubt, the crass farmer woman is flexing her entrepreneurial skills and dealing cactus juice to whomever is willing to pay up.

Do you really have to be doing this now? I'm pretty sure I'm suffocating in this pot.

After what feels like an eternity, the stagecoach finally starts moving again, I let out a long and drawn out sigh of relief. So far, the plan is working out okay. I just hope our luck holds up. Eventually, the stagecoach pulls to a stop once again. Hopefully for good this time.

"Okay," I hear Jin speak. "Let me get you guys out of those pots."

I can hear her climb into the coach and clambering over her cargo to reach the container I'm currently inside of. After several seconds, I hear the lid unscrewing, quickly followed by sunlight shinning down onto my face.

"Thank the spirits!" I gasp for air as I climb out of the pot. "For a while, I was convinced you were trying to kill us!"

Jin chuckles at my remark and then replies with a tone of voice that's practically dripping in sarcasm. "Oh yeah because getting discovered with four dead bodies in my cargo would be so much easier to explain."

Fair enough.

I climb over to the pot that Kumi is inside of while Jin works on opening the other two pots. I unscrew the lid and Kumi climbs out of the pot short of breath and panting for fresh air.

"Thank you," she says to me haphazardly. I nod my head in understanding at her plight.

"You sure took your sweet time," I hear Izumi's voice ring out through ragged breaths.

"Oh please," Jin responds without hesitation. "Clearly you survived…"

I tune out the exchange and look out the window of the coach, taking care to not be seen. The sight before me is far more shocking than I expect. We are currently positioned under an overhang with a large assortment of other cargo vehicles. But, a mere fifty meters away, there are massive lines of people from all ages, genders and cultures being ferried into these massive, coal powered, bus like vehicles with bars in the windows.

Many refugees are crying and holding their loved ones tight, while others are staring ahead with hollow and defeated eyes. All of them clearly filled with dread at the future that was before them. There are also massive cages filled with people clinging to the chain-link barrier and begging to the guards for mercy. The soldiers and guards are ignoring their pleas.

"I can't believe we're really are doing this," I mutter to myself.

"Yep," Jin replies. "Which is why I'm sayin' you people must have gone mentally insane to want to come here."

At those words, the atmosphere inside the coach suddenly becomes much more grim. The monumental risk we are taking just now beginning to set in.

"Okay, from here you guys should be able to sneak into the lines and mingle with the rest of the refugees," Jin speaks up. "The guards don't usually pay much attention to my ride once it passes through the inspection."

"Usually?" I reply. "That's reassuring."

"Alright, smartass," Jin pauses for a moment before speaking again. "Once you make it through, look for a statue of a platypus bear. There will be a man there named Kenji. Don't worry, he's a cool dude."

"What makes you so sure about that?" Kumi replies for the first time.

"I've known him for years. Plus, I told him he would be getting paid a lot of money. That man will do practically anything for a few extra coins in his pouch. He will make your accommodations for the night."

I glance to each of my four traveling companions to see all of them showing looks of uncertainty. No doubt I have the same expression on my face as well. Jin looks back to the guards and scans them to ensure no one is watching. After several seconds, she signals.

"Okay go!" she says to us while opening the door to the stagecoach.

The four of us don't even bother to hesitate. In an instant, we jump from the coach and make a beeline for the closest line of refugees. I don't know if it's pure luck, or divine intervention, but we manage to sneak into the lines without being spotted.

"Okay stay close," I say before grabbing Kumi's hand. "Grab Amaya, we can't get separated."

She nods nervously before grabbing the Fire Nation woman's hand. Ayama pulls her daughter closely against her chest and began marching her forward. The young girl's eyes were wide with fear, and I do my best to give her a reassuring nod before following in step with the rest of the refugees. Several Dai Li agents move through the line and begin to separate people in different directions.

Okay, that's not good!

I avert my gaze to the ground and guide our way to the nearest Dai Li bus before one of them can spot us. As I approach the vehicle, I pause and take a quick look back to ensure if everyone is doing okay. Kumi is looking to the ground and hiding her face while Amaya and Izumi are looking at me with fear. I let out a deep sigh before stepping up into the bus.

Immediately, the musty smell of sweat and body odor assault my senses. It takes everything in me to not reel backwards in disgust. Instead, I power through and begin looking for a place to sit. Nearly every seat in the bus is already taken by the refugees. Many of them look as though they haven't bathe themselves in years. The desperation in their eyes as they watch us passing by their seats is clearly evident. I move by one man on the right who is weeping and muttering to himself. Tears are streaming down his face, and his hair is messy and unkempt.

"Take a seat now!" one of the Dai Li in the bus shouts to us and causing everyone to flinch in their seats.

We pick up our pace and I take a seat near the window. Kumi sits down next to me. Across the aisle, Amaya and Izumi take their own seats.

"This may have been a really bad idea," Kumi mutters as quietly as she can to me.

"You mean it's just now occurring to you that getting intentionally arrested by the Dai Li might not have been a good idea?" I say back to her.

She doesn't reply.

After several minutes of tense waiting, the Dai Li finally close the door to the bus. One of them sits down in the driver's seat, puts the gear into drive, and then hits the gas. The vehicle lurches forward more violently than I expect. I catch myself on the seat in front of me and glance out the window to see the security checkpoint slowly disappearing into the distance.

No way we can turn back now.

Later…

Nearly an hour passes as we make our way down the road to the camp. The bus is going fast enough that the chilly, late fall wind is blowing through the bars of the windows and causing a great deal of discomfort. On either side of us, vast empty fields that once contained the abundant farmlands of the outer rim stretch before us. Out in the distance, I can see several plumes of smoke rising into the air. The sources of these is unknown to me and I don't really pay them much mind. Instead, my gaze is glued to the horizon where I can clearly make out the structure of the outer wall. The last and final barrier to the outside world finally seems to be within reach. Unfortunately, actually getting to the wall may the hardest obstacle we have faced so far.

I have a bad feeling that the worst is yet to come.

Suddenly, I see movement from the corner of my eye. I turn to see two dark specs floating in the sky and slowly approaching our position. As the forms grow larger, my mind lights up in recognition of what I'm seeing. Earth Kingdom airships. More technology stolen from the Fire Nation. They proved to be too slow and unwieldy to be used in battle practically. However, they are most certainly effective in shows of force. Nothing terrifies a foot solider more than these massive behemoths blotting out the sun over their heads. The fact that the Earth Kingdom has deployed these airships, can only mean something bad is about to go down.

Soon, they are close enough to the bus that I can hear the distinct thumping sound of their rotors. Kumi, upon hearing the sound herself, turns to look out the window.

"Wow," she says in awe.

As they pass over us, I can now clearly make out the insignia of the Earth Kingdom military.

"Yeah," I say. "The fact that those things have been activated is not a good sign."

Kumi's silence at my words speaks volumes, and my mind drifts back to several nights ago when we were fleeing the Kyoshi hideout and Izumi mentioned overhearing plans for an uprising.

We need to get out of this city as soon as possible.

"Hey," I say to Kumi. "What time are we supposed to meet the White Lotus outside the wall?"

"I… don't know," she says. "I… wasn't told that information."

"What?" I reply.

"Hold on," Kumi takes a quick look around to ensure that the Dai Li aren't looking before leaning across the aisle to Amaya and relaying my question to her.

After a moment of hesitation, Amaya looks to me and speaks.

"Sunset tomorrow."

I nod and try to lean closer to her without pushing Kumi out of the way.

"Okay, so how do we know that Noriko and her band of psychotic warriors haven't already intercepted them?"

"No," Amaya replies in a hushed voice. "Noriko has no way of contacting the White Lotus, nor does anyone else."

"Huh… okay." I say, unable to fully process that last bit of her reply.

"What do you mean 'nor does anyone else?'" Kumi replies, beating me to the punch.

Amaya lets out a sigh and rubs the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Contact with the White Lotus is done by mirrors," she says after some consideration. "Suki was our mirror."

"What? What do you mean by mirrors?" I say.

"You know, mirrors," Amaya says to us. But after seeing that we are still confused by that term, she continues. "They contact one of our people, and that person contacts someone else, and so on until word eventually gets to Suki. She tells Noriko."

"You mean you never actually talked to one of them?" Kumi replies.

"No."

"Oh, don't tell me you never actually talked to one of them!" I say louder than I was intending. Luckily, nobody, even the Dai Li, bothers to pay us any attention.

"I'm sorry," is all Amaya says before turning back to Izumi.

I lean back in my seat and look to see Kumi's dismayed expression.

"This is bad," she says.

I nodded my head in agreement. I can feel a sickening sense of dread slowly building up from the pit of my stomach, and it's only getting worse the closer we get to the camp.

After another half hour or so, the bus slowly begins to slow down. I had been staring at my feet in contemplation for a while, but upon feeling the change in motion, I look up and out the windows. We have reached a massive metal wall and before us is a giant iron barred gate accompanied by a watch tower. A collection of Earth Kingdom soldiers and Dai Li agents are patrolling the perimeter with swords and other weapons. Above the gate is a sign with characters reading "Lake Laogai Refugee camp: Restricted." Off to the left, I can see a large contingent of Earth Kingdom tanks lined up in formation and giving the appearance that they are simply awaiting orders.

Slowly, the bus moves through the gate and we travel into the wall itself. The sun vanishes from view and the interior of the bus plunges into darkness. I feel a brief bout of fear rise up within me but I quickly suppress it. I can sense Kumi beside me tensing up. The sounds of panicked screams coming from outside our vehicle reach my ears and draw my gaze out the window.

What I see horrifies me to my very core.

I see buses lined up alongside us with numerous refugees being herded out of each one.

At one particular bus, several people try to flee in terror. Several soldiers are charge after them with weapons. In seconds, they strike down and killing all of them.

I then see a Dai Li agent that has several refugees bound up and lying face down in the dirt. He is beating on of them with a staff made of rock. A pool of read blood had formed beneath him.

"Oh no…" I hear Kumi breath beside me. She grasps my hand tightly and buries her head into her lap. I don't dare let go and continue to look out the window as the bus continues on.

The next thing I see is a line of cages with people trapped inside and begging for mercy. In front of the cages is a line of refuges on their knees with their arms cuffed behind their backs. Each one of them has a black sack placed over their head. The familiarity of this scene hits me like a bag of bricks to the face. I know what is about to happen here. I know because I have seen this before many years ago. These people are waiting to be executed.

Several Dai Li agents are standing guard over the soon to be dead refuges, their rock gloved hands clearly visible. Our bus pulls to a stop beside them.

"Oh shit," I say.

I knew this was a terrible idea. Sometimes, I really hate always being right.

"No! This can't be happening!" I hear a voice from up front yell out. It's coming from the ragged man who was crying in his seat earlier. "They're going to kill us all!"

"Wha- what is happening!?" Kumi speaks up, her voice panicked but barely audible.

"It's okay just stay down," I say to her.

I look across the aisle to see Izumi crying in fear, her faced buried in her hands. Amaya has her arms wrapped around the girl and is whispering something to her that I can't make out from here.

Suddenly, the door to the bus opens and several Dai Li agents storm their way inside. I hold my breath and look back to the floor in an effort to try and hide my face.

"Look up at me you piece of dirt," I hear one of the agents speak.

"N- no! I'm sorry," the crying man up front whimpers out.

"I said look up!"

"Please, don't do this!"

"Alright, out!"

I look up to see the agent dragging the man out of his seat and passing him to the next agent.

"No! No Please!"

I grit my teeth in disgust as I watch the Dai Li drag the man out of the bus and place a black sack over his head before pushing him down with the rest of the refuges. The first agent snorts in amusement before strolling his way down the bus towards us. I quickly avert my gaze and look down again.

"Fire Nation scum!"

I feel my stomach drop into my toes in panic upon hearing those words. I look up again to see the Dai Li agent standing over Amaya and Izumi with a hateful look in his eyes. Kumi looks up as well with fear written all over her face.

"Get out now!" the agent yells out.

"Please don't do this to us!" Amaya squeaks out. The terror in her voice evident for all to hear.

"We can do whatever we want to the likes of you!" the agent responds before snatching her arm and dragging her out of the seat.

"No!"

Everything happens so fast that I can barely process what is going on. In one instant, Amaya's hands light up. A ball of fire forming in her hands. The agent hardly has time to react before the Fire Nation woman thrust her arm forward and into the man's stomach. He doubles back in pain while clutching his abdomen.

"Their fire benders!" he yells out to his comrades. "Get them!"

In the next instant, three more agents barge into the vehicle and tackle Amaya to the ground.

"Mom!" Izumi yells out.

"Grab the girl!"

I sense movement beside me. Kumi jumps from her seat and reaches out to the young Avatar.

"Don't touch her!" she shouts.

She grasps Izumi's arm just as another agent grabs her other limb. He tries to pull her out of the seat but the two girls are resisting him. My initial shock that Amaya had actually been a fire bender the whole time wears off in an instant. Without thinking, I jump up from my seat and wrap my arms around Kumi's waist to try and anchor her down.

"Let go of me!" I hear Izumi yelling to the agent.

After several seconds of this tug of war, the agent finally relents.

"Fine," he spats out. "Keep the Fire Nation brat. You sympathizers disgust me."

He turns around just as the other agents are hoisting Amaya to her feet. I can easily make out the tears streaming down her face.

"Izumi!" she shouts. "Don't give up ho-"

Her words are cut off by the black sack being placed over her head. The three of us can do nothing but stand there in shock as we watch the agents drag her off the bus.

"Mom! No!" Izumi tries to jump forward but Kumi holds her back.

"There's nothing we can do," she says to the girl.

Izumi looks out the window to see the agents dragging her mother to row of the other refuges before forcing the woman to her knees. The tears begin to flow freely down her face as she breaks down. The girl collapses into her seat and grasps onto the bars of the windows.

"Mom!"

I notice that Izumi's grip around the bars tightens significantly, her mouth turning into a deep scowl. And then something happens that I sincerely thought I would never see again. Her eyes light up in a brilliant flash of white.

"We need to calm her down now!" I shout.

Kumi reacts instantly and pulls her into an embrace. I reach out and place a hand on her shoulder.

"She's okay," I say to her. I don't really believe my own words, but I hope it can provide some minimal comfort to her. "She's gonna be okay. They're just pulling her aside to ask her questions."

"Sokka's right," Kumi says in a pleading voice. "They'll release her into the camp when they're done. We'll see her tomorrow!"

Several tense moments pass. I can feel the stares of the other refuges on the bus boring into me, but I pay them no mind. Slowly but surely, Izumi's grip on the bars loosens. The glow in her eyes begins to fade before disappearing completely. I let out a deep breath that I didn't even realize I was holding.

Well, if there was any doubt left in my mind that this girl was the new Avatar, then it has been completely proven now.

We may have just averted a potential catastrophe. If the girl had gone into the Avatar state now, being completely untrained that she is, she may have killed everyone around her, including us.

We're also lucky that none of the Dai Li are on the bus with us. Otherwise, we would have been arrested for sure.

The bus suddenly lurches forward and we begin moving again. Izumi lets go of the bars and curls up into a ball in her seat, covering her face with her hands. Kumi keeps her arm around the girl and continues trying her best to comfort the young Avatar. Ignoring the stares of the other passengers around us, I look up and out the window one last time.

I honestly wished that I hadn't.

I see bodies lining the side of the road. Countless bodies stacked up in piles, more than I have ever seen before in my entire life. In that moment, I know for certain that Amaya will not be okay at all, and that we lied to Izumi. The truth of that hits me hard.

I let out a silent, thankful prayer that Izumi is no longer looking out the window.

This is actually the longest chapter that I've written so far. If I'm being honest with myself, I think it came out pretty okay.

From this point on, things begin to quickly escalate, so strap in!

Chapter 10 will be out just as quickly. I promise!