Chapter Text
She was exhausted.
The air felt much too light and none seemed to make it into her lungs but she kept going. Her legs were burning and her body felt heavy. The small hand clutched tightly in hers was the only thing keeping her going. She had to keep running. She had to get them out of this and to safety. The small sounds of her little brother gasping for air urged her to go faster. She was half tempted to pick him up and run but knew she wasn't strong enough to get very fair that way. As they weaved through the trees and foliage her anger simmered beneath the ever-present fear. She cursed those strange people for storming into her house, driving her to grab her brother a flee with only small packs and the clothes on their backs.
When they had first knocked on her door there were only three of them. Tall, intimidating men towered over her mother as she confusedly greeted them. She had hesitantly invited them inside under the impression they had important business with her, sending her children upstairs. Her little brother looked at the men with blank eyes but Mari could see the cautious fear swimming behind his vacant gaze. She held him tightly as she ascended the stairs and hid away in their shared room. Her heart thundering in her chest she looked down at her brother who looked back with curiosity in his dark eyes. Mari had an inkling of what brought them there. Sunny had watched silently as she paced around the room, shoving things inside her school bag. He had knelt to collect her abandoned books and looked up at her just as a shout resounded from downstairs. It had been a challenge getting Sunny to climb out their bedroom window, Mari injuring her knee on the way down but they had made it.
A shout from behind them snapped Mari out of her thoughts and brought her back to the present. Right, they had more pressing matters to deal with right now. She could worry and why this was happening after they had made it out safely. Sunny was silent behind her, his hand a steady weight in Mari's own. She carried on. Soon the foliage began to thin around them and Mari could see the end of the treeline ahead of them. Just as a relieved smile broke out on her face her body fell forward, giving her barely any time to catch herself as she slammed into the forest floor. Her knee screamed at her as it collided harshly with the ground, not quite healed from her fall off their roof back home. Knee pain aside, the wind was knocked out of her roughly and left her gasping harshly for air. She looked up from behind her hair and met her little brother's fearful gaze.
"They're here for me, aren't they?" Sunny asked quietly, face a careful blank mask. Mari bit her lip and looked back at the door, imagining the men talking their mother into giving Sunny over to them. When Mari looked back at the small boy his head was lowered and his shoulders shook slightly. "I'm sorry," He mumbled in his normal monotone but Mari was good at reading her brother and could clearly hear the fear and grief in his voice. It felt like a knife through her heart.
"Sunny, I need you to listen very closely," She spoke through clenched teeth, her knee throbbing in tune with her rapid heartbeat. Sunny's lower lip wobbled as he stared at his sister, hanging off of every word she said. "I'm only going to slow you down so I need you to run until you get to the road," She instructed. Sunny opened his mouth to protest but Mari didn't give him time to do so. "Don't stop for anything. Keep running until you get a car's attention and then get them to help you. Get to the city and find somewhere to lay low until I come to find you,"
"How do I know you'll come back?" Sunny whispered. His eyes were glistening in the limited light within the dark forest. Mari fought through the pain biting her leg and smiled as best as she could, hoping to reassure the boy.
"Have I ever lied to you, Sunny?" She retorted as her smile softened in the presence of her brother's fear. He shook his head weakly and Mari chuckled. "Well, you don't expect me to start now, right?" He nodded again and Mari's smile widened. "You're so brave, little brother," She murmured. Sunny looked like he wanted to protest but stayed silent as his face crumpled. Mari tensed as the sounds from the men following them got closer, she peered over her shoulder seeing their flashlights cut through the low branches. She looked back at Sunny and gestured with her hand for him to leave. He hesitated, taking a small step backward with his eyes still on his sister.
"I promise I'll find you," She proclaimed firmly, pushing herself to her feet.
"I won't let them take you away," She promised, kneeling in front of where her brother was sitting on his bed. She took his smaller hand into her own and squeezed it in an attempt to further reassure him.
Sunny bit his lip, eyes misting over as he finally turned away and began running away from Mari and the men that had nearly caught up to them. Mari watched him go before turning around. She steeled herself as the footsteps came closer and several men emerged from the bushed around her. Two men made way for another as he smoothly walked towards Mari before standing in front of her with his hands folded behind his back. His face held a gentle expression but his eyes looked to be made of steel. The young girl shivered under his piercing gaze but stood her ground.
"You're quite the slippery one," The man commented with a small laugh. The sound was so fake that Mari had to hold herself back from actively showing her disgust. "Though it seems this game of tag has come to its end," He continued, leaning down with a smirk on his face. Mari clenched her fists tightly and held his gaze.
"What do you even want with us?" She demanded. Part of her knew they were really after Sunny and only her by association but that didn't stop the small fear to rise now and then. The man straightened himself once more, fixing the collar of his shirt and straightening his tie. Mari noticed how he seemed awfully clean despite having been chasing two kids through the woods a few minutes ago. He'd probably just sent his lackeys after them and leisurely followed. Typical entitled men.
"You're a smart girl," His smirk grew into a sinister smile as he leaned down once more, getting a little too close for Mari's comfort. Mari stepped back as he leaned into her face. "You should be able to figure out what we're after. I mean, you fled so quickly before we even made a move up those stairs," Mari felt like her heart was in her throat and struggled to keep it together the longer the man spoke to her. She didn't like the way he looked at her like she was a lowly pathetic bug pinned under his biting gaze. She was afraid.
"We didn't do anything wrong so just let us go," She spoke again, voice wavering despite her best efforts to appear calm. The man laughed softly and shook his head.
"You're right. You didn't do anything wrong but this isn't about what you've done," He droned on like a teacher exasperatedly talking to a student who couldn't follow along with the instructions given. He stared at Mari as if waiting for her to pick up his hints and figure out what he meant. Her brain was too shot to think hard enough for this. She was tired and afraid and wanted nothing more than to go find her brother. She shook her head and stepped back further cradling her hands against her chest.
"I... I don't understand," She croaked. The man looked at her with something akin to pity in his eyes. If Mari was calmer she might've gotten annoyed by it but as it was she couldn't process many emotions at the moment.
"I'm sure you're well aware that this isn't about you," He answered. Mari's heart stuttered in her chest and her breath hitched. "You did such a good job protecting him. I should thank you for getting this far without incident. It wouldn't do to have him injured after all," He continued, looking past Mari wistfully. Mari's body was like a taut string and she finally snapped, moving away from the man. She glared back at him fiercely.
"I'm not letting you kidnap my brother," She snapped. The man blinked in surprise at her sudden reaction before the same patronizing smile spread across his lips again. Mari wasn't one to normally fall into violence but she wanted nothing more than to slap the smug grin off his face.
"Is it really kidnapping if one comes willingly?" He asked coyly causing Mari to freeze once more. Sunny wouldn't willingly go with someone he was scared of. No, she told him to run away so he should be far enough that they wouldn't even be able to use her against the young boy.
"He wouldn't do that,"
"Don't so sure, young lady," He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning his weight onto one leg. "Children are very persuasive,"
"He's long gone by now. You'll never find him," Mari continued to deny his words even as her heart thudded with fear in her chest. She had to believe Sunny listened to her and had run away.
"But I already have," The man purred and Mari's gut dropped. She shook her head and looked around at the men surrounding her. None of them were carrying her brother. They didn't have him. No, they couldn't have caught up to him while dealing with her. But-
Mari turned and bolted in the direction Sunny had run, not realizing no footsteps followed her. Her knee screamed at her but she hardly felt it under the raging fear flooding her veins. Her eyes burned from the wind and her oncoming tears that blurred her vision but she refused to let them hinder her. When she finally broke free from the treeline she ran along the road in the direction that led to the city.
"Sunny! Sunny, please!" She screamed into the night. No cars passed her and no one else was around to hear her pleas. She had to find her brother. She just had to. She had promised to keep him safe. She couldn't let him down like this. "Sunny!"
Her knee eventually gave out on her, causing her to fall with a broken sob. She clawed at the ground in front of her in an attempt to keep moving forward. She cried for her brother but no reply came. Eventually, she let her body sag to the ground and pressed her forehead into the dirt as her tears continued to flow. Mari felt broken beyond repair. Her body and mind felt exposed and raw. She screamed and sobbed into the night. Mourning her failure. Mourning the loss of her dearest baby brother.
Somewhere down the road, a woman held the hand of the young boy. She turned around as the sound of Mari's cries drifted along the wind. The boy stared at her with silent curiosity in his eyes as if to ask why she had stopped. She smiled and gestured to the car in front of them. Sunny looked at the open door nervously before steeling himself and slipping inside with the woman close behind him.
Mari allowed herself to cry before finally, her tears ran empty. She hiccuped softly as she slowly raised her head, eyes narrowingly dangerously as she glared at the horizon. The sun was rising but she couldn't feel its warmth. She felt cold and alone. But underneath her grief, a fire had started. Her fury burned within her. She refused to let this be the end. She refused to let those bastards think they won. They had let her go thinking she was weak and defensively. That was going to be the worse mistake they'd ever made. Mari would make sure of it.