EXCERPT
The guards led us along the dark, empty streets of the Village of the Strayed as an ice-cold drizzle sprayed us from above. They didn’t tell us where they were taking us or why, and we didn’t ask. We already knew the answers.
Neither Nari nor I resisted the relentless progression through the night. There was no screaming or kicking or biting or clawing. We just plodded forward compliantly, aware that any attempt to fight our silent captors would only make things worse. Or, at the very least—expedite the imminent torment awaiting us in the musty dungeons deep underground.
Nari’s soft sobbing behind me was the only sound I could hear over the beating of my heart and the stamping of heavy guard boots against the muddy surface beneath us. It took some time for the light rain to fully soak my short hair and glue it to my scalp, but once saturated, large drops of water began trickling down my forehead and into my swollen eyes. It didn’t hurt, but the sensation was strange and made me blink.
Considering the direness of our situation, I expected my chest to fill to the bursting point with uncontrollable panic at any moment. But it didn’t set in. Not yet at least. I knew it was just a matter of time before that horrible feeling returned to assert its rightful control over me. But at this precise moment, there was only one feeling consuming my existence—confusion. And as we passed the School of Juche, drawing closer to our inevitable destination, that feeling fueled a myriad of questions stampeding through the chaos in my mind.
What happened to Jun Ha?
Had the dark figure that entered the back of the truck been our father?
Why hadn’t Mina, Mrs. Choy, and Hana showed up at the meeting point?
And how in the Great General’s name did Sun Hee find out about our escape?
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Sounds really great
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