Chapter 101 - War Refugees

<---Chapter 100 - Village|Table of Contents|Chapter 102 - Insurgency--->

A week later...

Lisa awoke once again to the never-ending sound of flapping cloth, the hot morning gusts billowing through the half-patched tent as she lay on a thin mat that was synonymous with the rough uneven ground that jabbed into her back. Her eyes could barely open, a stinging sensation from the dust and soot trying to get their way in combined with the exhaustion of yesterday swirling in her mind. The air of the tent was stuffy and humid, filled with the exhalations and sweat of thirty other refugees from various other towns or villages like Lisa, all struggling awake again.

A sudden clarity infused her mind as she realized what she was supposed to do, her body sharply twisting around to check on a boy laying right next to her, the boy's body wrapped in pus-stained bandages, some fluids already seeping beyond the edges of the cloth onto the ground, pooling. Lisa hurriedly reached for a small leather bag near her mat, taking out a fresh roll of cloth.

She gingerly removed the bandage, the boy groaning as his burn scabs were melded with the cloth, Lisa slowly peeling away the cloth bit by bit. The extent of the burn was horrific, encompassing more than a third of his body, the boy having been caught right in the middle of the fire that struck the village last week. As Lisa twirled up the old pus-stained cloth, preparing to discard it, the boy clasped Lisa's arm tightly, his voice exasperated and weaker than ever. "Lisa... just...."

"I'm not giving up on you, Selas. Not now, not ever. I'm the village chief's daughter and I will take care of you. Now you do your best to rest as much as you can, okay? Once I get back from work, I'll have a potion ready for you." Lisa asserted with a calm confident voice, patting the boy's head gently, moving on to replace all of his bandages, flipping his body over. She grimaced at the burn marks all over the boy's back, the sense of desperation getting even stronger in her veins while preparing to leave the tent.

Already in the short ten minutes that Lisa took to care for the boy, most of the tent had been emptied out, leaving only a few left, mostly those from Lisa's village who were still unable to acclimatize to the new life in the refugee camps, having been split up among the various tents.

"Marah, can you watch over Selas? I'm going out to try to find a job." Lisa asked a elderly lady from the same village while she put on her workboots.

"Of course, dear. Of course..." The elderly lady had just woken up, but she already held a grim expression, one of that showed hope rapidly declining.

"Today I'll get a potion for Selas, and we should be able to stay alive for longer." Lisa comforted Marah, before leaving the tent proper out into the blazing daylight and the crowded din of rows upon rows upon rows of makeshift tents that seemed to stretch out towards the horizon indefinitely, thousands of refugees like her fighting to survive in the high density and fast-paced race to earn a living wage. It was a stark contrast from the freedom of the village, Lisa now being a single cog in the machine.

Despite her external confidence, deep down Lisa only had worries after worries, not even sure if they would have enough water to last another week. Yet she buckled down, knowing that if she had time to worry, she had time to do something about it. She covered her head with a ragged piece of cloth, keeping her face hidden from the other refugees loitering about, some who stared her down as she made her way through the throng of people shambling to and fro, their mass only adding to the intense heat. With every tree and grass in the vicinity eradicated, there was hardly any shade to rest or take comfort in, something completely alien to the village-born Lisa.

As she left the tents, the environment began to change slightly, the usual broken fabric and flimsy supports now replaced with corrugated metal plates along with pieces of slag casted out from the factories used as foundations for rickety stalls and shops, sellers calling out prices and their wares while weak children lingered on the streets, begging for help or merely starving to death under the callous gazes of other equally starving refugees.

Lisa too couldn't afford the time to help each and every malnourished kid that she stepped past, knowing that other villagers were waiting for her, being one of the few remaining able-bodied ones. She quickened her steps, ignoring her exhaustion and focused putting one foot in front of the other, nothing else.

[Join the Versian Armed Knights today!] A arctech loudspeaker blared over the shuffling crowd of refugges, a light-thrower displaying onto a large black wall a faded glorious advertisement of soldiers marching in step and saluting in presidential parades. [Defend our home and our identity against those who wish to crush it! New recruits will receive fifteen tenars upon enlistment. No equipment? Harrison Industries will provide all fresh joiners with equipment, free of charge!]

Right below the advertisment was a sergeant already handling a long queue of refugees, many of them young boys and girls pushed to the edge by the harrowing conditions in the camp. Lisa didn't blame them - anyone who saw how much power the military wielded in the camp would have had half the mind to sign up. Fifteen tenars, can I even earn that much in two weeks?

It took Lisa more than fifteen minutes to reach her destination: a square of sorts, where foremans screamed at the top of their lungs for openings that refugees clamored for, their voices carrying over the rumbling of military arctech wagons distributing supplies and children weaving through the crowd.

[Two spots left at Harrison Industries' Ocra Division! Free lodging, free meals, five tenars a week! Depart immediately! Must be able to lift a log!] A foreman shouted, even as he was already being swarmed by dozens of refugees.

"Me! Me! Pick me, please!" Desperate pleas and struggling cries could be heard in response, every refugee wanting to get out of the camp, a common occurrence nearly every hour of the week, each of them hoping to be selected.

[You! And you! Yes, you with the torn sleeves! Come on, wagon ain't gonna wait forever!]

"Oh THANK THE GODDESS! THANK THE-" The selected refugee was immediately pounced on by the others around, punches and kicks thrown at him on the ground while someone stuck a wrapped glass shard into his throat, carving right into his vocal cords and leaving him voiceless and twitching to death.

"HEY, HEY, HEY! Break it up!" The nearby Versian soldiers immediately moved in, dispersing the crowd and trying to snatch those who attacked the man, arresting them. But even as the attackers were dragged away, they had no regret, instead smiling to themselves and giving a thumbs up to the glass shard's wielder

[Looks like we got one spot left! You!] The foreman shouted into his arctech loudspeaker pointed to the man still holding the bloodied glass shard. [You look like you have some drive in you. Get in the wagon!]

Lisa sighed at the sight, and was about to ignore the commotion until she noticed who was the other worker selected by the foreman. She abandoned her original goal, hurriedly running to catch up with the worker and forcibly turning him around, revealing him to be the same violent villager who had punched the sergeant. "Wez, you can't be serious! What are you doing, weren't you supposed to protect-"

"Protect what? Protect the village? What village?" Wez grabbed Lisa's arm by the wrist and tossed her aside, his strength far beyond her as Lisa toppled to the ground. "I told you to stay behind and defend what we owned, but look at us now. Scavenging and scrambling for bits and pieces. Where is the village to protect?"

Lisa coughed while struggling to get to her feet, fueled by rage. "You were born in the village, same as me. We grew up together, all of us, and here you are ditching us! Selas is still suffering from the burns because of what you did! "

"What did I do, other than try to protect the land our ancestors had?! You're the one who gave up, and listened to that smartass Jakub. Look where that got us!" Wez motioned with his hands around at the swirling dust bowl kicked up by thousands of feet mingling and running in the square. "And he and his wife left us for better lands in Tenar, ditching us! I don't hold any obligations to help a group who didn't listen to me."

[HEY YOU! IF YOU AIN'T COMING I'LL GET SOMEONE ELSE!] The foreman roared.

"Farwell, Lisa." Wez turned and left towards a waiting arctech wagon, Lisa only able to watch as the original bonds of the village crumbled. Her mind began to ran wild as she calculated the loss of Wez, leaving only ten able-bodied villagers of adulthood that could potentially do work. With him gone, that's one less ration card to... Lisa caught herself mid-thought, realizing that she had reduced the villagers to mere numbers and statistics. What have I become? Where is Jakub? Did he lie to us? Did he-

"BITCH! Get the fuck out of the way! You're holding up the whole road!" A wagon driver roared, frightening Lisa out of the street and into the side corners, where equally dismayed fresh refugees curled up into balls, crying their hearts out at the immense despair that they had been plunged into. Lisa nearly wanted to do the same, but knew that unlike Wez, she could not just ditch the others without it weighing on her conscience.

As she turned around to look in the square, she suddenly noticed a few people staring at her openly with disgust, before realizing that her face was no longer hidden. Scrambling to wrap her head around with the same ragged cloth once more, Lisa moved to her original goal, back at the center of the square.

Amdist the frantic chaos, She desperately sprinted from job board to foreman, trying to get a job within the camp itself. Many of the openings required posting outside of the camp or beyond Ocra, her options being limited. Soon she spotted a familar foreman, one that she had worked with before. Shoving her way to the front of the crowd gathering in front of his makeshift stage, she waved her hands frantically, trying to get his attention. "Mister Hikub, it's me! it's me!"

"HALF A TENAR FOR A HAULER! HALF A TENAR - oh hello, dear, you're a bit late today. The job you had yesterday is gone now." Hikub spotted Lisa, lifting his tinted small circular glasses to get a better look.

Lisa's heart faltered for a bit, but she did not give up yet. "It doesn't matter what job, as long as I can earn."

A wide grin sprouted on Hikub's face, his colorful robe heaving as he laughed. "That's the spirit, girl! If you really want to earn, I have someone looking for a wife!"

"...Huh?"

"Don't worry too much, the suitor obviously would want a dinner date first, of course, and even if you don't pass his requirements, you'll still be paid."

"Uhm... I rather not."

The grin immediately evaporated from Hikub's face, his demeanour returning to the same haughty uncaring mood. "Well then, out of our beautiful yet short friendship, I do have something for you. Take this token and tell the lady in flowers at Section 6A I sent you. One tenar a day."

A wooden token was sent sailing through the air, Lisa lunging out and grabbing it in her sweaty hands before others around her could react. She quickly scrambled out of the crowd , covering her face once more and disappearing into the ever increasing waves of refugees trying to get a job, brushing against others forcibly while a few tried to search for her, intent on snatching that job away.

She had no time to linger on Wez's departure any longer, focusing on what she could do now. She slunk past groups of famished kids harassing others for food, patrols of Versian soldiers snatching whatever snacks were available, as well as wealthy merchants organizing the next trade route, profiting off the desperation of the refugees as they hired them by the dozens off to a job beyond.

Section 6A was near the gates, filled to brim with Versian inspectors checking each and every wagon coming into the camp, traders hauling goods to and fro from deeper within Versia while temporary haulers waited for their next job, earning a mere pittance as they carried sacks far beyond their capabilities. The lady in flowers... Lise glanced around the messy street lined with excretions, dirt and a few stray animals before she noticed her new employer, a well-dressed lady with a dress seemingly made out of petals of varying colours, as though the flowers themselves had grown around her. If Lisa didn't know any better she might have mistaken her for a forest spirit instead if it were not for the lady smoking on an ornamental Euria pipe, blue smoke puffs circling and drifting around in a haze.

Lisa marched up confidently, handing the lady the wooden token from Hikub on outstretched palms. The lady barely budged, instead motioning with her hand towards two other girls. "Join them. You'll get paid at dinnertime. I only have one rule: no talking. Ever. Got it?"

"Yes, of course, thank you, thank you!" Lisa bowed multiple times, but the lady was hardly interested in her anymore, instead seemingly gazing off into the streets, seemingly looking for something. Lisa didn't care, quickly moving over to the two girls who were sat on the side of the street, weaving what looked like a sack. She was about to open her mouth to ask for guidance, when one of the girls raised her forefinger to her mouth, her eyes not leaving the sack on her thighs.

Right, no talking. Lisa plopped down next to the girl, observing what the girl was doing, which seemed to be simply patching up holes in the sacks with newer fabric. There were nearly a thousand empty sacks piled up near each of the girls along with an additional sewing kit. Grabbing the needle expertly, she began to copy what the girls were doing, soon getting into the groove of it. Weirdly enough, the sacks each had uniform holes, though they were all seemingly at random.

Her niggling question on the origin of the holes were soon answered, as she watched three inspectors climb into the back of a trader's wagon, taking out what looked like an inspecting rod and piercing the sack from the top, extracting a sample of grain from the very center of the sack. The inspectors were thorough, checking each and every sack that the trader had till they were satisfied. "Alright, you're clear. Move along."

Those inspected sacks were then passed to Lisa and the two girls, who repaired it while the trader paid the lady in flowers for the haulers and sack repair. Lisa's curiosity was temporarily satisfied, until the lady herself handed one of the girls a crate of small vials, their color dark yellow, clearly a potion ingredient. None of the haulers or girls under the employ of the lady said a word, simply moving about their jobs. Lisa watched the girl sow a single vial into the fabric of the sack, masking it with a newer fabric like a hidden pocket, while another group of boys slotted the vials into wooden crates, similarly hiding it as well.

The repaired sacks and crates returned to the trader, the trader paying the lady extra without exchanging a single word, far from the eyes of the inspector who were far too busy checking on the next trader wagon. Lisa had an inkling what was happening, but kept mum as she continued her work, moving along as her eyes never stopped wandering. Where is she getting the vials from? Lisa contemplated stealing the vials, knowing that it must be valuable. Yet the stable income was more important than whatever other thoughts she had, the image of Selas still suffering back in the tent continuously reminding her of what she needed to do.

As evening neared, the lady suddenly tapped Lisa on the back, handing her one tenar as promised by Hikub. "Come back tomorrow. You don't need that token." The lady simply stated as if it was apparent, leaving Lisa overjoyed at finally having a potential stable job. She bowed to the lady with great respect, before leaving happily while stowing the sliver coin away in her pockets, making sure to hide it from anyone else looking at her.

Lisa rushed to a run-down shack, the wooden boards rotting from moisture as mold and mushrooms festered on it while the tattered fabric covering the entrance was stained in blood. Ignoring the dipilidated state of the shop, she entered, being immediately surrounded by three armed men, each wielding a makeshift handheld weapon and glaring her down. They too were refugees, but clearly well-fed and well-trained to beat anyone who tried to rob the shop.

"I'm Lisa, I came here before, two days ago, to ask for a healing potion." Lisa raised her arms in a surrender, with one of the armed guards patting her down, his rough hands slightly grazing across her chest without apology. She bore the shame with a stern expression as she was checked for weapons.

Earning the armed guard grunt of approval, Lisa pushed past them, running up to a fat old man who languished on a reclining chair behind a wooden display cabinet, sleeping with his face covered by a newspaper. "I'm here to buy a healing potion!" Lisa rasped her fingers against the dark polished wood, jolting the old man awake with a scare.

"Who- ah... it's you again." The old man yawned, stretching his arms. "Finally got enough for the next dose?"

"Here, four tenars." Lisa proudly displayed four sliver coins in her hands, only to earn the old man's chuckle.

"I'm sorry, but it's six tenars now."

"What?! You said it was four tenars two days ago, and I already bought one for four!"

"That was a first time discount." The old man picked up the same dark yellow vial from a shelf behind him, swirling it about. "These things don't come cheap, and they are much harder to come across nowadays."

"I...." Lisa's confident demeanour melted away, her voice faltering as she struggled to find a way to convince him. "Please, my friends are suffering."

"I know. So I got a better deal for you. Two healing potions for one day's ration allowance."

Lisa nearly rejected the offer, but the healing potion was necessary to help the burn victims of the village heal. Yet it meant that she would not be able to eat nor drink for an entire day tomorrow, making it even tougher on her.

"Time's ticking, my shop isn't open forever. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow the deal might be differ-"

"I'll do it. Here." Lisa was about to hand over her ration card when the old man shook his head.

"The ration card is obviously tied to your name and identity. You're going to pick it up now and get it back to me in two hours before sunset."

"But the queue now is-"

"If you don't want the healing potions, there are plenty of others I can sell my wares too." The old man grinned. "I don't need you, but you need me."

Lisa clenched her fist, but decided not to retort. There was no way she could fight against his armed guards as well, and she would be hunted down by the Versian soldiers if she tried to rob the shop. "Fine. Don't you dare change the deal again."

"That's up to me, not you. Better make a move, ration queue is getting longer."

She stormed out of the shop, leaving the old man smiling back in the potion store. The despair began to well up in her heart, but at least she still had a shot at survival. I can go one day without food, and for the water I'll just try to scavenge it...

Sprinting towards the ration distribution center nearby barely made the queue any shorter, Lisa finding herself stuck behind a line of nearly three hundred other refugees snaking into a large white tent guarded by soldiers - wailing babies, desperate mothers, famished and maimed men returning from work, their skin peeling from the intense heat they suffered in the day. Nobody had the energy or time to talk to anyone, but Lisa had no time to queue up. She carefully hid her face, walking up near the front of the queue where a clearly starving lady was struggling to remain standing on two feet.

"Two tenars, let me take your spot." Lisa offered the lady quietly, but the lady only glowered at her with bloodshot eyes, shaking her head vigorously. "Three tenars, please I need the rations faster."

"I've been in queue for more than four hours now!" The starving lady spat, her voice hoarse from the lack of water.

"Three tenars can buy you three meals!" Lisa urged.

"You think I'm an idiot? If others see you passing that much money to me, I'll be jumped!"

"Four tenars."

The lady didn't respond for a while, her gaunt face glancing around quickly before hurriedly motioning to Lisa with a taut palm. Lisa quickly handed the four sliver coins over, the lady immediately leaving the queue and letting her take her spot with no additional fuss, third from the front.

Ignoring the grumbles and stares aimed at her, Lisa waited with bated breath, as it came to her turn, facing three Versian soldiers manning a simple booth, behind which was stocked with the very same sacks of grain and crates she had repaired in the day, other refugees worker in the back packing them into smaller satchels.

"Ration card? Remove your hood, please." The soldier extended a hand, Lisa passing over her card, an empty flask and a small satchel before reluctantly removing the cloth covering her head. Immediately glares of disgust latched onto her from the soldiers, but they did not say anything, merely passing the satchels on to the refugees workers who began to pack grain and water into the satchel and flask respectively.

Lisa quickly wrapped her head again in cloth, the filled satchel and water handed back to her. However, as soon as she felt the weight of it, she knew that something was clearly wrong. "Uhm, sir... this doesn't seem to be the right ration size?"

"Hmm? We're reducing the rations sizes." The soldier in charge stated nonchalantly. "You're holding up the queue. Move."

"But I saw the man in front of me receive a full flask and satchel. This is only three-quarters-"

"If you're not going to move, this will be considered as obstruction. And know this - half-breeds aren't treated well in the labour camps." The soldier glared at Lisa.

A fiery rage began to well up in Lisa's chest at the clear mistreatment, but she could also feeling the angry stares of the refugees queuing up behind, clearly also wanting her to move away as soon as possible. Resigning to her fate, Lisa left the ration distribution center with only three-quarters of a ration, wondering if the old man at the potion store would be still willing to at least pass her one healing potion at the minimum. She had her doubts, but still she had to try, her pace picking up once again, moving towards the potion store.

However, as soon as she turned the corner, a blunt pipe slammed right into her forehead, the force sending her tumbling onto the ground, disorientating while her mouth was filled with the taste of dirt and soot. She tried to flail her arms to fend off whoever attacked her, her eyes finally noticing that it was the starving lady she had given 4 tenars too. Lisa struggled to get to her feet, but the concussion had her head ringing non-stop, allowing the starving lady to grab her flask of water.

Lisa summoned whatever conscious strength she had and clinged onto her satchel of grain as tight as she could, kicking the lady away. The lady didn't linger around, immediately sprinting off into the myriad of alleys with the stolen flask of water. "YOU!" Lisa roared in pain, but there was nothing she could do, still left groaning on the floor.

She gritted her teeth, her fists clenched tightly as she forced herself to stand, before stumbling towards the potion store, clear trickles of blood leaking down her forehead. Other refugees had clearly seen the attack, but no one lent a hand, not wanting to be involved. Some of them even began to follow Lisa, hoping to catch her off-guard if she ever let slip her guard.

Clutching her satchel to her body as tightly as she could, she made it back to the potion store, the armed guards astonished at the blood and dust coating Lisa from the sudden struggle. The old man on the other hand hardly raised an eyebrow even as Lisa tossed the grain satchel towards him.

"And the water?" The old man asked before noticing the weight of the satchel. "This is only half of the ration."

"Stolen." Lisa hardly had any energy left to speak, her breathing ragged as she tried to wipe some of the blood off with her head cloth.

The old man sighed, thinking about what to do next before finally deciding to hand Lisa a dark yellow potion. "Here. You only get one because-"

"It's half. I know." Lisa snatched the potion out of his hands, limping out of the store without another word. All of her hate and rage at her current scenario began to swirl in her mind non-stop, the throbbing blood thumping in her ears as the adrenaline began to build. When she finally returned to her allocated tent, she noticed that Selas had been left alone, the other villagers conspicuously missing. A fire began to burn in her soul, her fist clenched in anger until she heard Marah's distinctive voice coming out from another tent, followed by shouts and sounds of a struggle.

Lisa moved over as quick as she could, only to see the villagers along with Marah and other strangers holding down another burn victim, who was fighting as hard as he could to break free. "What's, what's going on?!" Lisa stared in confusion at the frothing mouth of the burn victim, as if he had gone feral. "I, I have a healing potion here!" She raised the potion she bought in the air, the potion suddenly spurring the burn victim to push even harder, biting and snapping at any arm holding him down.

Marah swivelled to look at her, but instead of an answer, Lisa only got angry stares as an unknown stranger approached her. "I heard you were the one who bought the healing potions for him two days ago."

"That's right." Lisa nodded with a slight mix of apprehension, afraid of what was about to come.

"Well, the potions are a dud. They have been diluted greatly and have been dosed with Euria Extract. He's undergoing withdrawal right now."

Lisa's heart plummeted. "Wh-what..? No, but, the old man told me it would take a few days to-"

"Healing potions should heal within minutes, not days. Anything else is a diluted form. Whoever sold you the potion is planning on you being a repeat customer."

Lisa's words were stuck in her throat for a while, as her mind frantically tried to find a way out, a way to reverse what she had done. "But I've spent more than four tenars and rations on it, I... you must be an alchemist as well, right? You must know how to fix this!"

"I... I was just a village alchemist, nothing special. But for what you're asking, It's not going to be cheap. I can make a healing potion from scratch but I'll need the raw ingredients. Poair Leaves, Griess Powder namely. I suspect with the demand in the refugee camp for such herbs, a single potion might cost about twenty denars."

The burn victim finally calmed down, while Lisa returned to her own tent, distraught at what she had just wasted, sitting next to the sleeping Selas. Twenty denars, that's twenty days! Her thoughts were interrupted by a groan from Selas, Lisa immediately bending over and checking his wounds. There were signs of slow regeneration, but it was far too slow, Selas' face still in agony at the jolting pain he felt from the scars.

"Lisa... did you get it...?" Selas asked, his voice laced with hope.

"I... I'm still working on it. You can count on me, just rest as much as you can. I... I'll handle it. We'll get you back to your usual self in no time." Lisa's wavering voice tried to comfort Selas, but her tears already began to leak from the corner of her eyes as she changed Selas's bandages once more.

As Selas began to drift back to sleep, Lisa resolved herself, heading back out into the center of the refugee camp once more. Even at night, the central square was still filled to the brim with refugees, there being work to be done even at night. Trench diggers and logistical haulers were all recruited for the improvements on Ocra's fortifications, while soldiers off-duty searched for a fun night out. Lisa on the other hand, was searching for yet another lifeline out, the story of her days unchanging.

She found Hikub still at the same spot, handling job allocations and collecting a good commission for his efforts inside his own little converted wagon that was basically a permanent office with a quaint little table, guarded by two hired refugees. Hikub noticed the dishevled Lisa from afar, raising his eyebrows. "Didn't expect you to see you at night, dear. If you don't rest well before tomorrow, it would be tough for you to - you're bleeding."

"I'm here for that dinner date you mentioned. But I want thirty denars."

"Oh? Daring, are we?" Hikub smiled, his gloved hands clapsing each other as he rested against a table. "I'm sorry, but thirty is beyond what I can offer. Best I can do is twenty, hows that? Why do you need that much anyway?"

"Twenty denars, deal." Lisa ignored the prying question. "I need it now."

"Hmm, we'll need to doll you up a little though. We'll need to cover that mark of yours." Hikub rose from his chair, motioning for Lisa to follow him to a nearby shack, where the dense scent of Euria smoke hung low around the dim flickering arctech lantern, a luxury that many refugees did not have. Lisa glared warily at the obviously intoxicated men and woman lying on mats, smoking away as much as they could with dreamy smiles on their faces.

Lisa found herself attended to by two other girls, who stripped her and wiped the blood off her forehead, applying shoddy caked makeup and a simple dress, replacing her haggard look with a homely one. The bulk of the makeup was lathed onto her head after removing the cloth covering it. "Beautiful." Hikub approved. As soon as Lisa was ready, she found herself whisked away in a wagon, brought to an entirely different part of the refugee camp that she had never been to before. Drunkards and raucous laughter reigned supreme in the nightlife, each shack seemingly offering alcohol and Euria seeds to Versian soldiers and traders alike. The wagon soon lurched to a halt outside what seemed to be a pub of sorts, a ear-shattering din continously emitting from inside.

"Don't get cold feet dear. You need the money, so you do what you got to do." Hikub reminded as Lisa left the wagon with him, following him into the blinding lights beyond the doorway. Instead of a pub, it was a full blown gambling den, filled to the brim with soldiers risking their daily wages away in the hopes of striking it rich. Dice, cards, cups and coinflips were all played on various tables, joyous laughter or cries of defeat erupting everywhere all at once, disorientating Lisa while Hikub led her to a table.

"Officer, your requested date." Hikub bowed respectfully to a Versian officer still dressed in uniform, sipping on a glass of whiskey as he sat at a table of dice. The officer examined Lisa, looking her up and down, before nodding slightly. "She'll do." A pouch of money holding an unimaginable amount of tenars was passed to Hikub, a wide smile on his face as he left Lisa as quickly as he had arrived.

Lisa was about to shout after Hikub for her tenars, but Hikub had already disappeared into the crowd of gamblers. Already Lisa found herself cornered by the stares of Versian soldiers, all of whom glared at her, clearly indicating for her to sit down next to the officer. She gingerly sat down, the slightly drunk officer slinging his sweaty arms around her shoulders and dragging her closer. "High or low?"

"Sorry?"

"The dices. High or low?"

"Uhm... High?"

The officer tossed a larger golden coin, Lisa's eyes bulging at the money being tossed around on the table as the other sergeants and corporals also tossed equal amounts. That's... that's a hundred tenars! The table's dice dealer rolled the dice into a cup expertly, shaking it violently before slamming it onto the table, removing the cup to reveal a high number.

Immediately, the officer had a wide grin on his face, collecting his winnings. "Get this lady a special drink, she might be my lucky star today. For your efforts, dear." The officer placed ten sliver coins in front of her, Lisa involuntarily gulping at what had just been offered to her. Maybe... maybe this isn't so bad after all.

A waiter served her and the officer a shot glass of whiskey, the officer raising it in a toast to the others. "Time to win the night!" He roared, his soldiers under his command cheering back in response. Lisa too raised her glass, drinking along with them. However, as soon as the whiskey hit her throat, she could already feel something was wrong with the drink.

Her vision began to fade in and out, as her muscles slowly became stiffer, her eyes noticing her veins starting to turn a little purple. She tried to scream in panic, but her vocal cords were sluggish, only letting out a groan to earn the officer's attention. "Are you okay, my lady? Do you need a rest?"

Lisa couldn't speak, the officer's face slightly worried as he tried to tap Lisa's pulse on her wrist. "Sorry boys, have to take care of the lady." Against her will, her body was dragged upstairs to a empty bedroom, the guarding soldiers hardly blinking at the sight of Lisa being carried by the officer. "No one comes in or out until I'm done."

"Yes, sir." The soldiers saluted, Lisa's heart panicking as she strained herself, trying to move even just her finger. Instead, she could not control her body, the officer dumping her onto a rickety bed while he began to strip his uniform and his belt that holstered his handgun, placing them on the ground, his eyes barely looking at her as anything more than a simple product to be used.

She tried to close her eyes, but she couldn't, only able to watch in horror as her dress as it was ripped apart forcibly, her mind spiralling into despair. Nearly everything in the refugee camp had worked against her, her own naivety exploited without her knowledge. Even though she could not shut her eyes, she began to accept her fate, preparing to watch what was to come.

Suddenly, a loud scream and gun pellets erupted from the corridor outside the room, resulting in more screams and shrieks erupting from the lower floor, the officer stopping mid-action. Without saying a word, the officer immediately grabbed the handgun from the belt on the ground, aiming it at the door. "Sergeant Moras?! What's going on out there?"

"Sir, someone is atta-" The sergeant's voice was cut out by the sound of scraping metal against bone, a loud thud indicating a body collapsing in the corridor. The officer's face paled as he gripped his handgun's handle tightly, aiming at the door.

Before he could react, the door was blasted off its hinge, kicked with such force that the door slammed right into him, the handgun sailing through the air while his body was sent tumbling onto the ground, his head crashing against the floor. The moment the officer tried to recover, a man was already ontop of him, the sole of his boots stomping down onto his arm and crushing the bone deeply, a scream of pain leaving the officer's mouth.

The officer tried to raise his other hand to push the man's foot off of his pinned arm, but the man instead wielded a makeshift stick up high, one laced with sharp glass shards trickling with blood. In a brutal downward swing he grated deep into the officer's arm, the officer yelling even harder. "ARGHHHH! YOU! Don't you know I am an Versian officer-"

But the man did not relent on his attack, slamming the modified stick down again and again onto the officer, his pleas and words slowly muffled by the blood gushing out from his wounds, smothering his mouth. Each violent blow tore and ripped out more of the officer's flesh, flaying him naked and disfiguring his face. Soon, the officer's hand collapsed to the floor, lifeless as the man continued pounding the dead body before finally being satisfied.

The man glanced at Lisa, Lisa immediately recoiling from the blood that covered his's demonic expression as he approached closer, checking Lisa's arms and the purple veins. Pulling out an arctech radio in his belt, the man began to speak with a familiar voice. "Sasha, I found her. I need a antidote ready when I get back."

Culo!? Since when he was this strong? Lisa wanted to scream with joy, but she could not move an inch. Culo smiled at her as he wrapped her up in the bedsheet, protecting her modesty while lifting her onto her shoulders, his

"Don't worry, Lisa. This time, I'll save the village."

<---Chapter 100 - Village|Table of Contents|Chapter 102 - Insurgency--->