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Shizune is quiet.
Not because she wants to be, but because her sounds of fear are smothered by Mito’s hand. Mito has always been braver than Shizune. That’s not to say that Shizune isn’t brave, she just...wasn’t expecting giant monsters to be waiting behind the gate.
She wasn’t expecting to stare at the corpse of a child she was raised beside.
Mito holds her too tight and she doesn’t even notice. She can’t take her eyes off of the gray, shriveled shell that used to be a child full of life. A child with a heartbeat, with blood flowing through their veins. They barely look like a person anymore. More like a doll, or a raisin.
Shizune likes medicine. She wanted to be a doctor, wanted to grow old with the family that adopted her and save lives.
Now reality is smacking her clean across the face.
There are no adoptions, just death. The gates close behind you and you die, swallowed by a beast. Their lives are cut short before they have any real opportunity to begin. Shizune doesn’t want to die. She still wants to be a doctor that helps people. She’s only eleven, and there’s nothing in the world she loves more than her family.
Her family, who is actually cattle.
Her mother, the one raising them as livestock.
Shizune huddles against Mito’s side and tries to regulate her breathing. The redhead has yet to move her gaze from the monsters as they walk away, her dark eyes pinned to their backs. Mito is strong. Mito is capable. Mito has never once shied away from danger, whether it be a fire, a snake, or a tall tree.
If anyone can save them, Shizune bets it would be her. It just has to be.
They stay still until the monsters are far enough away that their gigantic steps barely rattle the floors. They can’t stay longer, lest they get trapped behind the gate with no hope of return. Mito pulls her from under the truck with strong, young hands and they run.
They run so hard and fast that Shizune can’t even feel the ground beneath her feet, or see the world around her shrouded in shades of night. She’s just running, no destination in mind but away, all her focus on a redheaded figure just inches ahead of her.
Mito is good at leading. She’s a spitfire and a half with energy to spare and a whip-like tongue. She’s always questioning everything and anything, even when it makes Mother sigh. Especially then. It is not so farfetched to say that Mito has never been satisfied with the orphanage. She’s always wanted more. Always talked about more. Always strived for more. She’d stare at the walls around their compound for hours, just thinking. She’d get as close to the gates as possible before being dragged away.
Mito is curious.
Mito is dangerous.
Shizune is sure that their mother keeps a very, very close eye on her.
“It’s okay.” Mito calls back, barely heard over their rushing feet. “It’s okay, Shizune.”
How? She wants to reply, but she can’t bring herself to speak. Doesn’t have it in her. Running is taking all of her stamina. You can’t promise that.
But Mito has a look of fire in her eyes, the cogs of her brain moving at whirlwind speed. She is smart, and she is brave. She is the kind of girl to rally the world and turn it on its head. Whether they live or die remains to be seen. But even through the haze of her fear, Shizune knows this: Her best chance of survival is at Mito’s side.