The ground met me harshly, and I let out a sharp breath as we met. We had been captured. The battles seemed to blur together in my mind, and I couldn't recall how we had ended up in this situation. My armor was gone, my clothes were ripped and blood-stained, but my body was generally alright. I wasn't bleeding to death as we lay there, as so many of my comrades likely were to be doing at this very moment. My mother was somewhere along the long line of prostrate bodies that I was also a part of. I couldn't see well, but it seemed that we had all been thrown down to the earth, forming a long line of all the surviving troops. My eyes were perpendicular to the ground and I could see the short black hair of someone. It was caked with blood and dirt. Was it Tsuri? Perhaps Takami...I heard a shallow, pained breathing to my right. Straining, I managed to drag my face through the dirt so that I was facing the other direction.

My God...Shin...it was Shin. His eyes were closed, through lack of energy, or through pain, or through both, I could not tell. His armor was cracked, many broken pieces simply gone, the exposed cloth and flesh was torn and cut. The beautiful white battle uniform that had adorned his body this morning was slowly soaking up the blood running from his many wounds. My heart wrenched. It's a terrible feeling, when your heart does that. You can't seem to breathe properly, as if your chest cavity suddenly changes shape dramatically. Your eyes burn, and your blood pumps faster, oozing out of your wounds. Shin's breathing was so faint, if only my hands weren't bound behind my back, I could reach out to him, try to nudge his nose and mouth out of the dirt.

I wispered, "Shin."

"Not a fucking body here WORTH being raped!!" A gruff, heavy voice bitched over our heads. My heart fluttered, worried, I knew if he made it over here- "Heh," he laughed above me, I could almost smell his hot breath, "here we are! You're a lovely sight, ha ha ha!" He kicked my head, just softly enough that I didn't die or pass out. It hurt. I didn't cringe.

"Shin," I wispered, squinting my eyes, trying to clear them from the warm salty sea that seemed to have formed in front of my vision, "Sh-" my voice choked.

"Oh, ho, ho, and who is this? Your BOYFRIEND?!" the man leaned over and put his porky face right next to mine, blocking my view of Shin. His breath was as foul as I had imagined, a mixture of sulfur and decay. He bent himself back up and nonchalantly kicked at Shin's limp figure.

"No!" I screamed. It was frustrating to scream without the extra energy to move and back up your fury. The salty sea overflowed from my eyes, "I'll do whatever you want," I pleaded with shame in my voice. Surely Shin would be hearing these words, he was a powerful warrior and wouldn't pass out before dying, "I'll do anything...just please...please-" my voice cracked pathetically, "don't hurt him anymore, please..." I felt cold steel touch the wrist of my hand before the tension of the ropes binding them was released.

The man standing above me grumbled to himself, "Better find some rubbers, I don't want any of yer fucking Northerner diseases...Simms, keep an eye on this bitch, make sure she don't get away." I felt the air move around me as the heavy-set bastard walked away and a lighter figure silently came to stand guard in front of me. I don't know how, but I knew this guard wasn't an evil person. I wouldn't have to fear him. I dragged my newly freed, weak hand across the gap separating Shin and me. He was in such bad shape that they hadn't even bothered to tie him up. Walking my fingers one by one, I found his palm and settled my hand upon his. His breath wavered, still shallow as ever, it had just seemed to skip a beat. I gathered what power I could and contracted the muscles in my fingers, wrapping them around his powerful hand. In that moment, I felt a twinge. Not in myself; Shin seemed to use what energy he had to twitch his fingers. I knew he was aware. My nose seemed to have started dripping and I felt no shame in drawing in a huge breath, clearing my nasal passages of the mucus. My lungs shuddered mournfully as I exhaled. The quiet moment between us was shattered as a large black boot almost angrily kicked our hands apart, "Oh, deary, I'm sure that dint hurt him," the gruff voice coaxed me.

My stiff form was lifted by the arms and I was turned and pushed into a room that was not more than three yards away. In my peripheral vision, I could see the general line of soldiers that lay across the enemy camp. It was a long line. For a moment this lifted my spirits more than ever before, it meant that, at least when we were taken prisoner, many of us were still alive. But my spirits fell just as fast, for I realized that even if they had been alive when they were captured, none of us had recieved any medical attention since then. Surely there were already many dead laying among us. Among them, I should say, for now I was not among anyone. I was layed down onto a plie of military blankets, surprisingly gently. The door was slid shut, except for a thin ray of light so that the military man could put on his precious condoms. The Westerners have always had a huge superstition about we Northerners; more than likely he was putting on two or three condoms at once. I gave up on holding back and sobbed openly when his fat body layed upon me. Consensual rape? I wondered with a sick humor in my mind if this was a real term, for if it were not, I would be sending a letter to the person who decided such things, demanding that it be approved.

I kept my mind racing, I thought of my mother, was she alright? She wouldn't die so easily. She may be wounded, but she had always been a strong warrior. Could I go back to Shin after this? Could I go back and be thrown down next to him upon the earth once I go back and face him once we recovered from our wounds? How could I face him? How could I? My mind wandered and mourned until I felt a draft; the man's sweaty body had finished and stood up. Once again I was pulled up by my arms, "Fix yer pants," I was commanded. I felt, as if from afar, my arms reaching down and mechanically dressing myself. The second I let my arms drop limply to my side, the man grabbed me forcefully and shoved me out the door. I was even more weak than before and I simply fell face-first just outside the building. The man called out to Simms in a satisfied voice and ordered him to drag me back to my original place. When the obedient soldier replied crisply, the stout, sweaty man turned and walked away. Blankly I felt Simms' thin hands wrap gently around my ravaged body and lift me up. He shifted my weight onto him, and helped me walk the remaining two yards back to the prisoner line. The soldier let me drop to my knees, and guided me the rest of the way down, so that I was once again face-down in the dirt. For a moment, he remained crouched next to me, and I saw his arm reach down to where my cut ropes lay and he picked them up.

In an almost theatrical voice, he called out to no one, "I guess we don't have any more rope! I'll have to check in the supply closets!" He crouched there for a second more, but I didn't look anywhere but into the little, pulverized grains of rock around me. I watched the small cloud of dust poof out every time I let out a shaky breath. The kind soldier stood up and walked away. I knew he wasn't going to get more rope. I thanked him so sincerely in my mind, and that was the last thought that crossed it. To anyone walking by, I would have seemed dead with the eyes open. The only give-away to my existence was the tiny poof of dust that kept appearing and disappearing, like a playful ghost, with every automated breath. I inhaled the dirt, but I didn't let out a single cough or wheeze, there was no energy and there was no desire.

My arm was twisted so that my hand lay backside to the earth just below my shoulder. It was an uncomfortable position, but compared to the pain that I felt elsewhere, it was nothing at all. For hours and days and years, all of eternity, in and out my minimal breaths came, appearing and disappearing the little ghost played, and yet nothing happened. I felt a strange warmth in my hand and suddenly everything was playing out in normal time. My mind began working again, and so did my lungs. I coughed violently, tasting mucus and dirt on my tongue before I swallowed it. I did my best to find a better breathing position, and as I did my mind raced through a series of serious questions and thoughts. We need to escape. Capture is not the end of our war, we have so much more to do, yet. What will these Westerners do with us? It seems so long since we were thrown down here, are we being left to die and rot out in the sun and rain and elements? We need to get free, to run, to fight. Wait, I am free, Shin is free, we only lack strength...

I felt my eyebrows knit and my hand flinched at the thought of our powerlessness. I was shocked out of my thoughts when I realized that my fingers didn't touch the skin of my palm when I contracted them. They touched something warm and smooth. For the first time, my eyes saw. They saw Shin looking right into their heart. Then I gasped inwardly, he was saying something to me, his eyes were open and his hand was in mine and he was saying something. Why aren't my ears working? Work ears, dammit! Forget the ears then, I concentrated on reading what his lips said to me.

-We'll run...let's run.-

My concentrated expression left me and a face of surprise took up the vacancy. I can't, can you? My lips didn't even mouth my thought, but Shin seemed to know exactly what I felt.

-You can, I will help you. I won't let you fail.-

Before I could even think about it, Shin was gripping my hand firmly and gently. He had so much strength now, where was it coming from? Strings of possibilities floated through my head as I watched him work. Was he saving it up until now? Maybe the Gods decided that we were worthy of help...He lifted his head ever so slightly, enough to see the yawning guardsmen at either end of the line. Had Shin faked the whole time so that they wouldn't bind him? I didn't move. He wouldn't have...let me go through that back then? Then I felt him wrap a muscled arm around my waist and he pulled me up as he stood. There was no noise. Were my ears still broken? It hurt so much to walk, but he carried most of my weight. We weren't heading to the exit we had been taken in through, where were we going? I felt a pang of fear, moreso than I had in all of the battles we had ever fought, even more than when we were captured. If we were caught...I didn't try to imagine the things that would be done to us. The bastard who raped me knew, he knew about us, and if we were caught...I told myself to stop. I forced my concentration on now. I realized what Shin was doing. We had made it to a horse stable and he had gingerly placed me on a bale of hay as he quickly and sliently saddled up a muscular red mare. He snuck around the stable, gathering up some supplies, horse feed bags filled with grains, I couldn't see what else he grabbed, but it was done quickly and before I knew it he was helping me into the saddle. Suddenly I felt so useless and weak. It was an odd moment to feel that way, but I couldn't help it. Memories welled up in my mind of riding around on our horses at home. Were we only ten? I almost let out another sob, but I bit my lip ever so hard. Focus on the now. Focus on the now. Now I felt the horse stamp its hoof indignantly as Shin lightly pulled his weight onto the horse. I felt the heat from his body as he sat behind me and saw his arms reach around me, grasping the reins. I bit my lip harder.

"I know," I felt his warm breath on my ear as he whispered, "this will hurt to ride, but we must get out of here, Karin," My heart lept as much as the steed we rode upon as Shin kicked it into a full run right out of its stall. My name has always been my name, but it always seems that no one uses it. It feels so good in my lungs and heart and ribs when he calls my name, even if only as a rushed whipser. I felt the wind through my muddy, blood-caked, sweaty hair, and it seemed to blow away all of the bad. The cries and screams as idle enemy soliders noticed our escape (indeed one was so idle that the horse crushed him under its swift hooves) and as our own comrades noticed our devious plan, even the thought that all of those soldiers would be punished for being idle and for cheering us on simply vanished in the wind. The pain of the saddle on my violated body seemed nothing to the freedom of flying past guards and out the gates of the enemy fortress. For a moment I thought I heard the bellowing voice of the salacious officer, but that too was carried away. All I had was the wind pushing through me, and Shin's strong form keeping me from being carried off as well.

I closed my eyes and lost myself in the cool wind. I let my weight rest back on Shin's chest. But I didn't meet the strong body of a few minutes ago. In fact, I suddenly had to call upon some hidden strength of my own to grab Shin's arms as he seemed to fall backward in slow-motion. I caught all of his weight in my hands and strained terribly to pull him back up to lean against me. The horse, with its reins completely free, took off in an even faster and wilder run. "Shin!!" I screamed into the wind. There was no reply, not one I could hear anyway, not even vibrations of his voice through my bones. His face rested heavily on my back. The wind was no longer cool and releasing, but chill and terrible. I used up all of the energy I could muster and kept us atop the wild horse while pulling his limp arms tight around me. I untied my sash with one hand and somehow managed to retie it, this time including his hands so that he was secured to my body. My hands were free now, and I grasped frustratedly for the reins that whipped and danced in the breeze. When I finally gripped the leather straps, I pulled the horse into a more steady run, losing as little speed as possible. I knew there would be cavalrymen after us, but I also knew that Shin knew his horses and this red mare was, without a doubt, the strongest and swiftest that had been within that fortress. It had not been long enough for even the most lazy of pursuers to give up the chase, so I kept the mare running, taking elusive directions a times, just in case those in chase were only able to follow the horse's hoof prints. I didn't dare turn to look behind, for fear of losing Shin from my back.

The red mare ran, and she seemed to chase away the sun with every step. I was numb all over, but it felt that only a few precious minutes had passed by the time that the stars shone out fully. We needed to find a place to camp, even this magnificent beast would collapse and die without water and rest and food. Ah, there it was! A natural fortress of stone caught my eye and I pulled the horse sharply to the left. The mare's hooves clicked refreshingly on the smooth stone as I slowed her down to a trot. Within the center of the stone, I pulled her to a stop and just sat there. Keeping Shin tied to me while riding was much easier than it was going to be trying to pull him off the horse while getting myself out of the saddle as well. I pondered for a few minutes, and the red horse milled from left to right a bit, impatiently. Finally I decided, it wouldn't be easy or comfortable, but there was nothing else for it. Slowly, methodically, I untied my sash, releasing Shin's limp arms, and inch-by-inch I slid myself out from under his weight. Eventually, my toes touched the solid rock beneath us and I worked myself the rest of the way out. Shin's lifeless body lay almost doubled over the horse's back. I reached my arms around him to pull him off, but I was attacked. Not by soldiers, but by gravity. I fell forward, leaning all of my weight against the horse. We must have ridden for hours, and I felt the earth swaying warningly beneath me. If I didn't rest soon...I reached my arms up and with one huge heave, I pulled Shin's body down. He was heavier than I guessed and I took several steps backward, barely keeping my balance. I couldn't move any longer. I wanted to tie up the red mare so she wouldn't run, I wanted to dig through the packs laying across her back, maybe find a blanket or two, but it was futile. I took another couple steps back until my back hit solid stone. Gravity took over once more, and I slid chaotically down until my backside hit the ground with the force of both my and Shin's weight. It might have hurt, but nothing really hurt right now. I just needed to sleep. There was no energy left, and when I let my arms fall to my sides, the world also fell into pitch darkness.