Amara Bennett's Arc

Chapter 13 of 13

The scout's death sat in Amara's chest all morning. The guards would hold the chokepoint now. But she had learned one thing crawling in that mud: if she fell there, no one would take her place. The men fought beside her. They would not fight for each other without her. She needed a proven second, someone the whole camp would follow if she dropped. She found Jin-Ho in the bathhouse tunnel, washing blood from his knuckles in the stone basin. Steam curled up around him. The scar over his eye caught the lamplight. He was the obvious choice. Everyone already trusted him. "I want to name you my second," she said. "If I fall, you hold the gap." Jin-Ho shook the water from his hands. "No." The answer stopped her. "They follow you." "They follow me because I follow you." He dried his hands on his shirt. "Name me second and you prove their doubt. Small girl needs a big man behind her. Pick one of them." She hated that he was right. She walked the tunnels alone and thought about it. The young guard who took the killing shot was steady but green. The others were older, slower to trust her. She needed proof, not a guess. That afternoon she gathered the guards in the underground park. Green space spread under the carved arches, benches ringed a still pool. She set a test. Not a fight. A drill. She named the young guard to lead a mock defense of the chokepoint while she watched. The old herder brought his sick animal through mid-drill, a stitched creature part goat, part lamb, dragging its hooves. It blocked the passage. The young guard did not freeze. He called two men to clear the beast, held the rest at the mouth, and never left the line uncovered. He gave orders in a clear voice. The men obeyed him without looking to Amara. When the drill ended, she walked to him. "You held it. And they held for you." The guard wiped his brow. "I did what you showed me." "You did more." She raised her voice so all of them heard. "If I fall, he holds the gap. He speaks for me. You answer to him as you answer to me." The men were quiet. Then the oldest one nodded. Then another. No one challenged it. Jin-Ho watched from the arch and gave her a small nod. Amara had her second now. The chokepoint would hold whether she stood there or not. She let herself breathe. A runner came down the stairwell before dusk, still panting from the ridge. He had counted the tracks in the fresh snow above. Not one scout this time. A line of them, spread wide, sweeping the ground in a search pattern. The regime had stopped guessing. They were hunting the entrance now, and they were close.