Rain

Why are the children firing at me? Wait, dumb question. It's obviously because they think I'm a threat. The better question is why they're using fire magic. Perhaps it was them who...

"I'm not a threat! Don't shoot!"

I called out loud enough to be sure everyone heard me.

"A girl? I thought only men worked here!"

"Yeah, I've never seen a grownup girl here before!"

"Maybe she's here to help us?"

I listened as they discussed amongst themselves down in the basement. I could here the flames outside cackling away as they burned up the dry grass. If they stay here to long, there is a chance that the smoke will get too thick for them to breathe.

"May I come down to all of you?"

There was a few moments of silence as the kids thought quietly amongst themselves until finally, the boy who shot the fireball at me answered.

"Okay, you can come down, but do it slowly!"

"Okay."

Doing as he said, I came down slowly, my hands in the air where they could clearly be seen, so as not to alarm them.

When I reached the bottom step, I looked around the small little basement. The room would be cramped for just ten people, yet there were thirty four kids down here, shoulder to shoulder.

"Why are you wearing a mask?"

"Don't worry about that. What are you all doing down here?"

"We ran down here after the fighting started."

A girl in the far corner answered my questions inbetween sniffles. The girl that I had heard sobbing stood right next to her.

"Fighting? So your village was attacked?"

"Village?"

The boy who shot the fire ball asked the question. He only seemed to be about five years old, and he was surprisingly thin and bony. In fact, all of the children were. Don't tell me...

"This isn't a village! This place is a prison! We were all taken from our homes and brought here. Those men starved us, hurt us, and sold us!"

Damn, I guess I was right. This wasn't a village that was attacked by some raiders. This was a small prison where they trafficked kids. Those men are worse than monsters.

"Okay, I think I understand. Was it you that started the large fire outside?"

The boy, who seemed to be in charge of the large group despite there being plenty of older members, looked down slightly.

"Yes... I didn't mean to cause so many problems, but we had to get out of this place! They treated us like dirt and hurt everyone! Once I learned how to use my fire magic on my own, I started a fire in the grass to use as a distraction for all of us to try and escape. As we sneaked out though, we were spotted. We had to hide in the basement as they chased after us with weapons. They were going to hurt us again, so I... I... I hurt them first!"

"Tell me, what is your name?"

"Wyatt..."

"Wyatt, you did a good job."

That's a lot to take in, but I think I understand the situation. I need to get these kids somewhere safe, somewhere that isn't here.

"Okay, I'm going to help you all. Let's get out of here."

"But how? The fires outside are too hot for us to get away!"

A boy in the crowd of children spoke up, voicing the concerns that they all probably had, but I already knew how to get us all out of here.

"Don't worry about any of that, just follow me."

With that, I began to walk up the steps and out of the basement. At first, none of them moved, but after Wyatt started to follow me, the rest also came with.

"Wait in here while I deal with the fires outside real quick."

I stepped outside with the raging flames as the kids waited in the safety of the stone building. I then used my water magic and started a large downpour of rain. In mere moments, any flames within a ten kilometers radius were put out, allowing us relatively safe passage.

The kids watched from inside with awe sketched on their faces as I created a large rain storm in mere seconds. Once the flames were out, I cleared away the rain clouds as fast as I'd made them appear, creating a perfectly clear, blue sky.

"Woah..."

Yeah, I know what you mean.

"Okay everyone, let's get moving."

I zoomed out the map in the corner of my vision for a few seconds before finding the nearest city. It was only twelve kilometers away, so we should probably make it their by nightfall.

Knowing where we needed to go, I began to lead the way. The kids followed closely behind, grouped closely together. Some of the older kids were a carrying the younger ones. Maybe I should help.

I took two kids from the arms of the most tired looking children, and carried them both by my waste. One boy, and one girl. They were both only around four years old, and it was clear that their small little adrenaline rush was wearing off, as they were quickly falling asleep in my arms. In only two minutes, they had both passed out. At least the journey won't feel as long for them.

"Are you sure we're heading somewhere safe?"

One of the older girls voiced her concerns, asking a question that they all probably had on their minds.

"Yes, I'm certain we are going to a safe place for you all."