Kio Alone, Part 1
Air sits heavy within my lungs. I exhale what feels like fire, unnerving me slightly. I take a deeper breath and let the world rest around me as I take myself away from where I sit. The bumps and nudges of the train floor edges a man onto my shoulder. He stares at me without so much as a ‘sorry.’ And why would he be as hundreds of us are carted off to parts unknown while our homes and memories lie in ruin- or soon will be, behind us. Possibly even my mother…
I feel heat burning within me again. The worried chattered of the people sardined around me irks me like a buzzing insect. I give up trying to meditate and stand up just in time to be elbowed by the same old man. I snap.
“Get the hell off me! Give me some goddamn space!”
The train car goes silent. All of them staring at me, their eyes burn into my skull. The man, recoiled and visibly distraught, whimpers behind his wrinkled hands. I can’t breathe. Without notice, a beam can be heard in the distance followed by the sound of destruction and debris. The train car is sent into a full panic again. The old man doesn’t move nor avert his fearful gaze from me.
A door sits not too far from me leading to the outside of the cart. I shove my way through the chaos and throw the door open. Cool air courses through my body, escaping the hot and stuffy cart interior. I lean over the rail as I let my body readjust. The train tracks below me jet by. How did this happen? Everything was fine only days ago and now the city is in complete chaos.
I see a ladder out of the corner of my eye. My mother would scold me for even considering climbing on top of a moving train, but I need to see if maybe… there’s some chance that the city is fine- that mom is safe. I edge up the ladder, my body still tense from the shock of the past hour. Air starts to rush past me and blow through my short, black hair. As I approach the top I see a woman across the roof. I stop midway of getting up, debating on climbing back down and forgetting about it, but she’s seen me. I stumble for something to say to distract from the fact that I’m awkwardly standing on this ladder with my head popped up like that absurd whack-a-mole game my sister used to have me play with her back at the local coin arcade. A hole in the pit of my stomach forms as imagine her with my mother back there in fear. I push the thought away.
“Rough day, huh?” I immediately regret the words as they leave my mouth because she scoffs. Embarrassing warmth fills my cheeks.
“That’s putting it lightly.” She says roughly, barely audible over the air roaring by us. I feebly climb the rest of the ladder and crawl over to her in an attempt to not fall off the moving train. She’s dressed in blue garment, a sort of robe with gray boots and a large water satchel to match. Her tribe’s insignia is tatted on her inner right arm. I ease myself into a sitting position and look out at the horizon. Republic City can be seen miles away, the sun setting behind it as the glow paints the sky a pastel orange. It would be beautiful any other day, but unfortunately today isn’t any other day.
Looking further to the left a huge human-like figure towers over the bridge making its way further into the city. It raises its mechanical arm as a revving is heard. A large laser is fired as the buildings it hits collapse on top of themselves. I get goosebumps at the thought of how deadly close it is to the train station we left from.
“Can you believe it?” She pauses shaking her head,” I knew she was crazy, but this?” I look at her, a glint in her eyes brings out the blue pools she considers pupils. I stumble over my words.
“Err, who?” I say causing her to tilt her head towards me. Or maybe in my general direction.
“The reason we’re all here on the god forsaken train.” She reaches into her garb pulling out a small box. “Kuvira.” She grabs cigarette from the box and holds it up to me. I stare blankly at it. I haven’t seen many cigarettes in my life. My father smoked one once but that was a long time ago before he left. I shake my head at the cigarette, probably a little faster than a normal person would. If we weren’t on a speeding train heading away from a crumbling Republic City I’d probably worry about how awkward I’ve been so far.
“Can I get a light?” She asks almost sternly. I pat my clothes as if searching for a lighter.
“I don’t have, uh, seems like-” I stop mid-sentence as she gives me this look lost somewhere between sarcasm and impatience. I realize what she means as I look down at my fire nation-like clothes I have on and then back up at her.
“Oh! I thought you- I mean, I didn’t know you knew-” I shut up immediately. I’d be annoyed with myself too if I were her. I take my right hand and bring it up to the edge of her cigarette. Without hesitation I do a type of upwards snap. A gentle flame leaves my hand. I bring my other hand up to cover the flame which blows violently in the passing wind. The cigarette lights as she takes it back, inhaling it strongly. Her brown hair, golden in the light flows eagerly as wind passes through it. We sit in silence for a moment as she smokes, some of the smoke billowing past my face. I hold my breath between her drags.
“So what’s your name?” She asks staring down, not entirely involved in her question.
“Kio. Yours?” I retort. She takes another drag before answering, “Hye Kim, but everyone-” she pauses briefly, “well, before today everyone I knew called me Kim. Not so sure where ‘they’ are.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say. She smirks.
“Where you s’pose they’re taking us?” She asks, probably not expecting an answer. I do a half shrug only to realize she isn’t looking at me.
“I don’t know, all I know is I’m finding my mother when all this is over.” I say as the empty feeling in me returns.
“Look kid, we’re all looking for someone. Don’t feel like you’re any different than the rest of us.” She says sharply, looking away from me. I shut up. We sit in silence again. She takes one last drag before flicking her cigarette into the bustling tracks below us.
She sighs sharply, “I didn’t mean it that way, don’t go gettin’ all hurt.” I scratch the back of my head as I look back on Republic City. Kuvira’s mech continues firing at something not seen from this far away. With every fire of its cannon my heart sinks further and further down as my worries about my mom and sister grow. Did they get on another train? There were thousands of people trying to get on a train out of the city. I look back at Kim, she sits quietly with her arms resting on her knees. I feel empathetic for her for a moment.
“Who did you lose?” I inquire, not entirely sure if I’ll get a response. She doesn’t look up.
“My younger brother. We were separated before we got to the train station. I don’t know if he’s alright of if that monster Kuvira has him lying dead in a ditch.” She stops abruptly, possibly taking in her own words. I lean in a bit closer to her to offer some sort of assurance as I say, “If it means anything, Kim, I’ll make sure you are reunited with your brother.”
She actually looks at me for a moment. Her face is soft beneath the stress she bears now. A tiny smile wipes over her face as her eyes squint a bit. She can’t be much older than I am.
“Thanks, Kio. That’s actually pretty n-” A loud crack fills the sky as metal crunches ahead of them. They lurch forwards as the train screeches to a halt. They jump up and sprint to the front of the train. Four mech suits stand in front of debris now covering the its path. The passengers all exit to see what’s going on. Approaching the train are the mechs. A megaphone from one of them turns on.
“You are now all under Earth Kingdom control. Surrender yourself to the Great Uniter and no harm will come to any of you.” The mech waits as some of the patrons start to come peacefully. Kim comes forwards from the top of the train.
“I’ll never bow to Kuvira’s tyrannic rule and I sure as hell won’t let you manipulate these innocent people and turn them into your slaves!” Kim stands tall, one hand on her satchel. The people stop, unsure of what to do.
“Stand down, citizen, or we will use for-” A shard of ice flies past the mech’s head. Kim, intimidating to no extent, has three more shards ready to fire at them. The mechs stand for a moment, taken back. The air falls silent.
“YEEEEAH!!” One of the train riders bellows followed by a crowd of people screaming battle cries. Fire, water, and earth fly between the parties as Kim jumps down to join. She is fierce and something comes over me as I launch myself into the crowd of people fighting.
I feel heat burning within me again. The worried chattered of the people sardined around me irks me like a buzzing insect. I give up trying to meditate and stand up just in time to be elbowed by the same old man. I snap.
“Get the hell off me! Give me some goddamn space!”
The train car goes silent. All of them staring at me, their eyes burn into my skull. The man, recoiled and visibly distraught, whimpers behind his wrinkled hands. I can’t breathe. Without notice, a beam can be heard in the distance followed by the sound of destruction and debris. The train car is sent into a full panic again. The old man doesn’t move nor avert his fearful gaze from me.
A door sits not too far from me leading to the outside of the cart. I shove my way through the chaos and throw the door open. Cool air courses through my body, escaping the hot and stuffy cart interior. I lean over the rail as I let my body readjust. The train tracks below me jet by. How did this happen? Everything was fine only days ago and now the city is in complete chaos.
I see a ladder out of the corner of my eye. My mother would scold me for even considering climbing on top of a moving train, but I need to see if maybe… there’s some chance that the city is fine- that mom is safe. I edge up the ladder, my body still tense from the shock of the past hour. Air starts to rush past me and blow through my short, black hair. As I approach the top I see a woman across the roof. I stop midway of getting up, debating on climbing back down and forgetting about it, but she’s seen me. I stumble for something to say to distract from the fact that I’m awkwardly standing on this ladder with my head popped up like that absurd whack-a-mole game my sister used to have me play with her back at the local coin arcade. A hole in the pit of my stomach forms as imagine her with my mother back there in fear. I push the thought away.
“Rough day, huh?” I immediately regret the words as they leave my mouth because she scoffs. Embarrassing warmth fills my cheeks.
“That’s putting it lightly.” She says roughly, barely audible over the air roaring by us. I feebly climb the rest of the ladder and crawl over to her in an attempt to not fall off the moving train. She’s dressed in blue garment, a sort of robe with gray boots and a large water satchel to match. Her tribe’s insignia is tatted on her inner right arm. I ease myself into a sitting position and look out at the horizon. Republic City can be seen miles away, the sun setting behind it as the glow paints the sky a pastel orange. It would be beautiful any other day, but unfortunately today isn’t any other day.
Looking further to the left a huge human-like figure towers over the bridge making its way further into the city. It raises its mechanical arm as a revving is heard. A large laser is fired as the buildings it hits collapse on top of themselves. I get goosebumps at the thought of how deadly close it is to the train station we left from.
“Can you believe it?” She pauses shaking her head,” I knew she was crazy, but this?” I look at her, a glint in her eyes brings out the blue pools she considers pupils. I stumble over my words.
“Err, who?” I say causing her to tilt her head towards me. Or maybe in my general direction.
“The reason we’re all here on the god forsaken train.” She reaches into her garb pulling out a small box. “Kuvira.” She grabs cigarette from the box and holds it up to me. I stare blankly at it. I haven’t seen many cigarettes in my life. My father smoked one once but that was a long time ago before he left. I shake my head at the cigarette, probably a little faster than a normal person would. If we weren’t on a speeding train heading away from a crumbling Republic City I’d probably worry about how awkward I’ve been so far.
“Can I get a light?” She asks almost sternly. I pat my clothes as if searching for a lighter.
“I don’t have, uh, seems like-” I stop mid-sentence as she gives me this look lost somewhere between sarcasm and impatience. I realize what she means as I look down at my fire nation-like clothes I have on and then back up at her.
“Oh! I thought you- I mean, I didn’t know you knew-” I shut up immediately. I’d be annoyed with myself too if I were her. I take my right hand and bring it up to the edge of her cigarette. Without hesitation I do a type of upwards snap. A gentle flame leaves my hand. I bring my other hand up to cover the flame which blows violently in the passing wind. The cigarette lights as she takes it back, inhaling it strongly. Her brown hair, golden in the light flows eagerly as wind passes through it. We sit in silence for a moment as she smokes, some of the smoke billowing past my face. I hold my breath between her drags.
“So what’s your name?” She asks staring down, not entirely involved in her question.
“Kio. Yours?” I retort. She takes another drag before answering, “Hye Kim, but everyone-” she pauses briefly, “well, before today everyone I knew called me Kim. Not so sure where ‘they’ are.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say. She smirks.
“Where you s’pose they’re taking us?” She asks, probably not expecting an answer. I do a half shrug only to realize she isn’t looking at me.
“I don’t know, all I know is I’m finding my mother when all this is over.” I say as the empty feeling in me returns.
“Look kid, we’re all looking for someone. Don’t feel like you’re any different than the rest of us.” She says sharply, looking away from me. I shut up. We sit in silence again. She takes one last drag before flicking her cigarette into the bustling tracks below us.
She sighs sharply, “I didn’t mean it that way, don’t go gettin’ all hurt.” I scratch the back of my head as I look back on Republic City. Kuvira’s mech continues firing at something not seen from this far away. With every fire of its cannon my heart sinks further and further down as my worries about my mom and sister grow. Did they get on another train? There were thousands of people trying to get on a train out of the city. I look back at Kim, she sits quietly with her arms resting on her knees. I feel empathetic for her for a moment.
“Who did you lose?” I inquire, not entirely sure if I’ll get a response. She doesn’t look up.
“My younger brother. We were separated before we got to the train station. I don’t know if he’s alright of if that monster Kuvira has him lying dead in a ditch.” She stops abruptly, possibly taking in her own words. I lean in a bit closer to her to offer some sort of assurance as I say, “If it means anything, Kim, I’ll make sure you are reunited with your brother.”
She actually looks at me for a moment. Her face is soft beneath the stress she bears now. A tiny smile wipes over her face as her eyes squint a bit. She can’t be much older than I am.
“Thanks, Kio. That’s actually pretty n-” A loud crack fills the sky as metal crunches ahead of them. They lurch forwards as the train screeches to a halt. They jump up and sprint to the front of the train. Four mech suits stand in front of debris now covering the its path. The passengers all exit to see what’s going on. Approaching the train are the mechs. A megaphone from one of them turns on.
“You are now all under Earth Kingdom control. Surrender yourself to the Great Uniter and no harm will come to any of you.” The mech waits as some of the patrons start to come peacefully. Kim comes forwards from the top of the train.
“I’ll never bow to Kuvira’s tyrannic rule and I sure as hell won’t let you manipulate these innocent people and turn them into your slaves!” Kim stands tall, one hand on her satchel. The people stop, unsure of what to do.
“Stand down, citizen, or we will use for-” A shard of ice flies past the mech’s head. Kim, intimidating to no extent, has three more shards ready to fire at them. The mechs stand for a moment, taken back. The air falls silent.
“YEEEEAH!!” One of the train riders bellows followed by a crowd of people screaming battle cries. Fire, water, and earth fly between the parties as Kim jumps down to join. She is fierce and something comes over me as I launch myself into the crowd of people fighting.