"But who's taken her?" Nila tried to ask, only to bite her tongue when she saw the exhaustion on Beam's face. She'd realized it over and over, just how much of a toll the responsibility was taking on the young boy, yet again and again she made the same mistake.
The other children were beginning to wake up around them, though they were weak, and many could hardly move. Some looked as though a strong gust of wind would blow them away. Fear was the one thing they all shared. Even as the soldiers attempted to reassure them, even as Nila joined them in that task, they never truly calmed down.
"Our fifteen minutes are up," Beam noted. He had no clock, but his conscientiousness would not allow him to run late on a promise that he had made.
"Judas, you and two soldiers begin carrying the children out of here. Focus merely on getting them above ground – the villagers will take care of the rest," Beam said.
