Only an Illusion of Peace

Chapter 6

 "Benji Croneyx," Isaiah repeated. "Age twelve."

Some of the kids and adults in the crowd started yelling things. Things targeting Isaiah, some even sounded like death threats towards him.

A boy with messy blond hair walked out of the crowd and toward the stand. He stood there with fear and hopelessness in his eyes. His arms were folded and his eyes were wide as he tilted his head to the ground.

Isaiah pulled out another slip of paper and read it aloud.

"Maila Vardgas. Age eight."

This time there were even more shouts. There was also a mother that started hugging a little girl. The mother didn't let go of the little girl. Two guards came up to the mother and daughter. One guard grabbed the mom and pulled her away, while the other guard grabbed the little girl and brought her up to the stage. The guard set her down next to the boy. The girl grabbed onto the young boy, not wanting to let go.

"What's going on?" I asked a woman that was standing next to me, holding her own kid.

The woman shushed me, but it clearly looked like she didn't want to explain it at all.

I turned away from her and back to Jett.

"Do you have any idea what's going on here?" I asked him, but he had no idea. Not a single thought.

"Wait, I think I might have one idea," Jett told me, "When I was younger, I was obsessed with reading. I would read books about everything. Each region, every continent, all sorts of magic, and every creature. While I was reading about Yoterra, I read about some annual traditions that take place here. One of them was a ceremony that also worked as a sacrifice to keep some sort of creature out in the desert happy. But I doubt it's this. There hasn't been any writings of that ceremony for years."

I fold my arms over each other. "Yeah, I doubt it. But... it's still possible." There was still something tugging at me in the back of my mind.

Another piece of paper was pulled out of the jar.

"Josie Krate. Age 15."

Another girl walked up to the stage. She didn't show any emotion unlike the other two children. She stood behind the two kids and put her arm around the little girl.

Isaiah stopped pulling out papers and started speaking again, his voice bellowing out into the crowd.

"I am truly sorry for this predicament that we are stuck in, and I hope you all will forgive me," Isaiah started to mumble and frown, looking nervous. His head snapped back up and a smile became plastered on his face. "We will be sending these brave warriors out tomorrow. You may prepare them however you want tonight."

Isaiah bowed his head and walked away from the podium. Two guards escorted him down the stairs. When he made it down, his smile disappeared and he rubbed his jaw.

Swarms of people, mainly interviewers as well as a few angry people in the mix, started seeking words from Isaiah. He pushed right past them and made his way into a room cut off from the rest of the ball.

The doors closed on the citizens and they were left outside, waiting for Isaiah to come out. A few guards stationed themselves in front of the door and shoved the people away. The people slowly started disappearing and the ballroom was soon emptied.

There were only a few people left, and that included me and Jett. I was curious about what was going on, but I didn't press anyone on the topic. Everyone seemed to not want to talk about it. Which was weird, because everyone on the streets were always extremely talkative.