Luke

There were hardly any of us, upon learning of where the mercenaries were, that didn't desire swift and decisive vengeance. After this last week, after so much pain and suffering, now finding those who had been the source of it all, those who had preyed on the sick and dying, we finally had the perfect outlet for that built-up anger and frustration.

It was too dark to continue cleaning the bodies that day. We knew we'd continue tomorrow eventually. Already with an outbreak of cholera, we had to get the streets clear as quickly as possibly lest another epidemic begin.

Zare and I had found a quiet spot near the edge of the square, away from where the sick were being tended to, trying to find some sense of peace and quiet after what had felt to be a week, but rather, had just been a single day of moving the dead.

I pulled down the mask covering my face, followed by my gloves from my hand, tossing them aside as Zare did the same. My clothes were stained in blood, that of the people we'd been moving to a pile for them to be mass buried.

We'd considered burning them, but feared that the smoke might give us some unwanted attention. More than we had already, apparently.

The two of us had been silent the entire day, neither of us still ready to talk about Hana or the events of the day before, or, well, anything else for that matter. An eerie quiet had followed us throughout the entire day that now, I think, it was starting to get to us.

I removed my flask of water from my side, uncapping the lid and consuming its contents. Lake water. We had cleared the well, and new water had been reached, but notwithstanding, I doubted anybody here would be willing to drink from it any time soon. A new well would likely have to be built. Assuming, of course, there was any hope left for this town after today. I myself had my doubts. When I was done with the water, I wiped the brim with my thumb as opposed to my blood-stained clothes, figuring I knew well and good which was cleaner, and offered her what was left of mine, knowing she'd run out earlier in the day.

Her head turned to me for a small moment before she took it, upturning the contents into her mouth, emptying the flash before handing it back to me with a nod of thanks.

I laid it down by my side, not having the energy to buckle it back to myself just yet.

The day couldn't end soon enough. I felt my eyes growing heavier, completely content with just falling asleep right now. What was the point of falling asleep back at camp anyway? Here was just fine.

I wasn't sure if I had actually managed to fall asleep, but I found my attention suddenly snapped into focus. It was still night outside, but through blurred eyes, I still managed to make out the figure of Zek in front of me, holding out a hand to help me up.

It took me a few seconds to take it, spending the brief intermission regaining a sense of my surroundings. Longer than it should take. If this had been Ba Sing Se, those seconds of inaction could have gotten me killed. Still could at any moment. I've been out of combat for too long.

"What's going on?" I asked, this the second time in the last week he's woken me up from sleep. I feared the circumstances of this interruption would be similar to last time. Another disease? Were we attacked? I looked back to where I'd been asleep against the wall, looking for Zare's form. It wasn't. Fair enough.

I'd missed Zek's answer and asked him to repeat himself. "Gordez found one of the Rhino's mercenaries on patrol. Hiding in the forest. He's interrogating him now. We're gathering people to hit their camp once we know where it is. You in?"

"Of course I'm in." There was no question to it. We knew where they were. We were getting payback.

"Good. We're going to gather more from here. See how many more we can get."

"So we'll be doing this tonight?"

"Can't risk them realizing their buddy's gone missing. Can't afford to waste any time."

"Where's the prisoner being kept?"

"To the west of the wall. Gordez will take care of it and get the information we need. Right now, I need you to help me gather more people.

Gordez is interrogating the prisoner. Getting information out of him. I knew what that would likely entail. And I knew with scum like this, a little more than kind words would be needed to extract what we needed. I'd be of better use out there than in here. I was no good at rallying people. Last time I had, I'd gotten everybody I'd ever known on the streets killed. I was no good at leading people. Hurting people, however. That, I had experience with.

"Alright," I lied. "I'm going to wash up and get some water. I'll be right there."

Zek nodded. Sorry, Zek.

My path diverged there from Zek's as I proceeded through the western quadrant of the city, not bothering to fill my water, wash myself, or grab a bite. I didn't need it. There was a small, early taste of retribution waiting outside. That would be just fine for now.

Zare and I hadn't yet cleared the western side of the city, and so bodies still littered the streets as I passed through. If there was any doubt before of what I intended to do, it was swiftly swept away as cold, dead eyes watched me from the pavement, burnt corpses frozen in time with screams of terror plastered onto their faces, begging to be saved, begging for their suffering to end.

I couldn't do either.

But I could avenge them.

Gordez's position was lit by a small campfire not far from the western gate. I could make out the vague silhouettes of others as I approached. I suppressed a small grimace that rose to my face as I came to understand that my abilities wouldn't be put to use here.

Perhaps it was for the best. My fire would have been too quick for him anyway.

My approach had been unexpected, and accordingly, the others shot into alert at my arrival, weapons raised, among them Gehor's hammer and Gordez's broadsword. "Luke?" he questioned upon seeing me. "What are you doing here?"

I made no response immediately to his question, my eyes drawn to the man tied to the trunk of a tree. He was conscious, his head also turned to me, likely having been hoping I was an ally of his. The hopeful eyes of his bearded face quickly sunk into the same desperation and fear that I'm sure they had been only moments before. Good. So you understand. "Zek said you caught a mercenary. Figured I'd lend a hand."

"We have it under control," Gordez said. "I'm sure you'd be more use-"

"I've spent the last week digging through the bodies of people killed because of assholes like this. I'm staying."

He wouldn't talk me out of it. He was smart enough to see that.

I knew what he was thinking. I knew where his mind was likely going. Back to that day almost a year ago, outside the inner wall of Ba Sing Se, a burning village, civilians screaming in their final moments as they died by my flames.

Or maybe that was only where my mind was going. It didn't matter. I was staying. And he saw that too. He nodded, his attention turning back to the prisoner. "Today's your unlucky day. This kid's even more dangerous than I am, and he's spent the last week cleaning up your mess. I don't think he's particularly happy to see you."

The man's face turned to me again as he sized me up and down, attempting to put on a brave face. "This little runt? I've killed people twice his height before. Then again, that doesn't say much given the size of this little shit."

Apparently, it was a fitting moment to introduce myself. I'd have burned half his body had we not been surrounded by outsiders, so I merely, in one fluid motion, brought my leg atop where his knee was bent in a sitting position, and brought my foot down upon it, turning his leg at an angle it was naturally supposed to be at.

There was no intelligible response that emerged from his lips as he screamed once upon the breaking of his leg, and I reared away, momentarily satisfied. "You little fuck!"

Gordez, for only the briefest of moments, turned his head towards me, but knowing he couldn't afford to show doubt right now, he turned back to the prisoner, saying, "shut up!" followed by planting a hand on top of the man's head and hitting it against the trunk behind him. "There'll be more of that coming if you don't answer our questions."

"He broke my leg! You broke my fucking leg!"

"He can break a lot more if you'd like. Or instead you can talk to me."

"You fuckers! I already told you everything!"

"You haven't told us anything. You told us the Rhinos left."

"They DID leave. The ones who burnt the town our gone. We weren't responsible for that."

"How convenient then that it's not the Rhinos we're after, but your friends."

"Why?! Why us?! We're not responsible for what happened!"

"Don't lie!" yelled one of the other people attending our little entourage. I didn't recognize him, but clearly enough, he recognized the prisoner. "I remember you! You swore to protect us, but you opened the gates! You led them right to us! Let them sack your hometown!"

"They would have done it anyway! Yes, alright? We did open the gates. They told us they'd let us leave with our families if we did. We were only trying to survive!"

And poisoning the city, harassing us when we tried to fetch water, killing the sick and dying? That was also your way of surviving?!

I said none of that, however, but the fire burned brighter inside of me. I wished the others hadn't been here. To have been able to watch him writhe in pain as red fires danced around his body would have been more a pleasure than anything I could have asked for in this moment.

"Bullshit!" The civilian cried again. "You had no family! You were only out for yourself!"

"I was scared! That's all we did!" He continued. "I'm sorry. We didn't have a choice!"

He didn't know we knew. How stupid did he think we were?

Gordez sighed. He didn't believe him either. Right? He sheathed his sword, walking closer to the fire, picking up a waterskin that had been left unattended, and returned to the prisoner. What? "Here," Gordez said, raising the skin to the man's lips, allowing him to drink. What are you doing? The man lifted his head at an angle, bidding for more to be poured into his throat. Gordez obliged, water spilling around the man's lips as he greedily sucked in its content until the skin appeared half empty and the prisoner seemed half ready to puke out the contents.

He coughed, the beatings he'd sustained likely contributing to his dehydration, the sudden satiation of which was even too much for him to handle.

"Water tastes like shit," he said, spitting. This ungrateful fuck. "Hell's in this?"

"You tell us," Gordez replied. "It came from our well."

A chill went through my body as I came to realize what had just been done. Oh.

The man's eyes, and his proceeding actions betrayed his profession of innocence from only moments earlier.

His eyes widened, and the ropes binding his hands behind the tree twisted as he attempted to break his hands free to trigger his gag reflex and try to puke out what he'd just consumed to no avail. He keeled over, eyes facing the ground, coughing, attempting to force himself to throw up.

"What have you-what have you done!?"

It was back to Gordez now to ask the questions. "I'll ask again. Where is your camp?"

"You-you're sick! This is-You can't do this! This is wrong! This is heartless."

Gordez tossed the waterskin to the ground, clearly done with it, having no further need of it. The man had already drunken enough to kill him within the next 24 hours. In the next few hours, he'd begin suffering from stomach cramps. After that, he'd lose all control over his bowels, and he's begin evacuating on the spot. This would continue for the proceeding time, all liquid in his body passing directly through him, being lost despite his attempt to control it. Within 36 hours, likely 24, he'd be dead. It was a slow death. Not one I'd wish on anybody. But seeing as he already had it, I couldn't help but find myself guiltily deriving some sick pleasure from it.

At least it's not the innocent I'm reveling in the suffering of. Not like he had done.

Gordez had no response than to merely ask again, "Where is your camp?"

"What does it matter!? I'm dead anyway!"

"Because" Gordez answered coldly, sending another shiver through my spine as I saw a side of him that I'd never seen before. "You can die now, quick and easy, or you can die hours from now, drowning in your own shit."

The man gulped, only on air this time, realizing just how hopeless his predicament truly was. He was going to die here. The only thing he could do now was decide how quickly or slowly it was going to be.

"Well?" Gordez asked.

The man closed his eyes. He'd given up. "We're to the north. In the woods by the river."

"How far?"

"Like-uh, 3 miles, I think. More or less."

"How many of you are there?"

"37."

"Are any of them benders?"

"4 of them?"

"What do they bend?"

"They're earthbenders. Only earthbenders!"

"Are the Rhinos among you?"

"No! I told you this before!"

"Are you lying to me?"

"No. I swear to the spirits, I'm not.

Gordez went on a knee in front of the man, drawing his face real close to the prisoner. "The spirits can't hear you anymore. Only I can. And I'll know if you're lying. So tell me again everything you just said."

"We're camped in the north. In the woods by the river. 3 and a half miles away. 37 of us, myself included. 4 of them are earthbenders and the Rhinos are already gone. They left the minute the town went up in flames. Paid us to make sure it didn't recover!"

He was telling the truth. Somehow that made me all the angrier. He'd been a brave man up until today, perfectly proud of himself for preying on the weak, on those who couldn't fight back, turned coward the moment he faced resistance. He was pathetic, and so I felt no pity when Gordez turned the other direction out of the wood, his blade clean of blood.

"Wait," the man cried. "No! Don't go!" His wails fell on death ears as the others turned away, only the civilian staying a moment longer to spit on the man's face as he sat against the tree, bound to that location that would prove to be his eternal resting place. "You can't do this! You can't just leave me like this!"

I turned to face him before I could be the last one to leave. You're right. I approached the waterskin resting by the fire and picked it up by the string, placing it around his head like a necklace.

"You sick fucks! This is inhumane! This is wrong! This isn't human!"

His cries would have no effect on us. With the pained cries of those we'd watched die over the last week, his wallowing would be drowned out. The repentance of the guilty would not be heard above the cries of the innocent.

We left him there, the animal that he was. It's the punishment he deserves.

The others had already disappeared back into the city when Gordez pulled me aside as I left the small, wooded area, holding me still as the questions I had expected followed. "What the hell was that, Luke?!"

"That son of a bitch poisoned the people in this town! People who were dying, sick, and injured. And who the fuck are you trying to convince!? You just left him to die over the course of the next day and you're going to lecture me?!"

"It's not about that! You weren't supposed to be out here."

"Didn't stop you though, did it? He got what he deserved. We both know that. Would've gladly given him a slower death if I could."

Gordez sighed, simply shaking his head. "He got what he deserved. Yes. Just…fuck, you-"

"I know, Gordez. But after this last week, it just feels good to see the right people suffering for a change."

Gordez nodded his head, understanding apparently where I was coming from. "I know. Just-"

"I know, Gordez," I said again. "I won't. We won't."

By the time we were back at the town square, a crowd had been assembled, not among the wounded, but separate from them, in the town's proper center rather than the small alcove that had been providing refuge for the town's residents.

Numerous people were gathered in front of Zek and Ka'lira, who stood rallying the others. I counted 23. We didn't have the numbers. But we had surprise on our side, and enough anger and hate between us to fuel us in spite of a lack of sleep and rest.

Zek's eyes met mine as we entered into the city. He failed to suppress the displeasure he clearly felt upon seeing me return with Gordez and the others who had been conducting the "interrogation." If one could even call it that. It was torture more than anything else. It should have felt guilty for what I'd done, but alas, the guilt didn't come. I think Zek was able to see the lack of remorse as I approached, and I had no doubt that he'd grill me over it later.

He'd been just as angry as the rest of us. He would've done the same in my stead.

Or maybe he wouldn't have. Who could really say anymore?

My eyes scanned over the crowd, finding Gehor and the civilian from earlier who'd stood witness at the prisoner's execution, or "pending execution" rather. He'd spend the next 24 hours dying. For fuck's sake.

As my eyes went over the crowd, I found myself surprised to make out Zare's figure among them. Her eyes, having caught the approach of us newcomers, drifted over to me, prompting her to detach herself from the rest of the crowd, moving over to me, as though she were surprised to me. From here, my path separated from Gordez's as he approached Zek, likely to share what he'd learned and assume control over the gathered militia.

"Where were you?"

"What are you doing here?"

The two answered had been asked at the same time, but she took it upon itself to answer first. "Heard your buddy Zek was gathering people to get payback against the mercenaries. Wasn't about to turn that down. How about you? Where were you?"

"Was questioning one of the mercenaries," I said, glossing over it, more interested still on what she was doing here. She doesn't know how to fight. Then again, neither were half of the people gathered here. Just civilians who had lost everything, looking for revenge to fill that void. "And no, but, why are you here? You don't know how to fight."

"I can handle myself. What do you mean "questioning?"

"The nuns didn't stop you?"

"They tried to. Didn't succeed. Now what do you mean by "questioning?"

"Gordez found one of their thugs scouting us out. Got the jump on and captured him. We were getting information out of him and getting rid of him."

"Getting rid of him," she repeated, not as a question, knowing very well what I was insinuating by that.

I nodded, figuring that was enough to end the discussion. "So," she said, moving on from that topic. "What did you learn?"

I turned my head towards the front of the crowd that was now forming into more of a semicircle around Gordez, Zek, and Ka'lira, their look towards me informing me that I ought to be among them. I gave Zare a slight nod as I departed, returning to the side of my comrades, gladdened to know that, despite the losses of the last week, none of us had been among them.

"Everyone!" came Gordez's voice. "We all know why we're here. This last week has been nothing but hell for all of us, some more than others. If you're here, it's because you're tired of being the victim. For the last week, a group of rogue mercenaries hired by the Rough Rhinos to ensure this village did not recover from their raid, have been tormenting us in raiding our convoys, attacking our people, and poisoning our water supplies. I know you all want revenge. You'll get your chance tonight. We know where they're hiding. There's more of them than there are of us, but we possess the element of surprise. They won't be expecting us at this hour, and much more, they won't be expecting us to put up any resistance. We have the chance to prove them wrong tonight. So if it's revenge you want, justice for those who have been made to suffer for no reason, then step forward now.

23 pairs of feet stepped forward, among them, Zare's. I couldn't help but feel a cold bead of sweat trickle down the back of my neck as I saw the anger in her eyes as she did so. Perhaps what scared me more than anything else was knowing that they were the same eyes I shared. We could preach about "justice" as much as we wanted. This wasn't about that. This was about revenge. This was about killing those who had wronged us. We all believed that nothing less would suffice.