Okay...
Here I come...
The gate of Alamay-Doydu (Аламай-Дойду)...
From the tales I heard from my orphanage...
It was built to protect the people within from the outside. They said that the terrifying beasts are lurking in the snow...
But can we really believe that?...
And even then...
Humans are way worse than any beast.
"Hey, trespassing is prohibited! Hey! Guards!"
I won't go back to that hole...
I won't be called a heinous witch...
The pale white flame that radiates cold...
Is nothing but a curse...
...
...
...
Tch, dragging me out of the important conference to catch some fugitive outside borders... And I was about to clinch that offer to expand the global rights for non-magicians...
While as an ambassador, I'm allowed to roam freely beyond them - how can they not allow my division to deal with this sort of stuff?... As if I'm the one who even tries to do any work.
Tch, and in that blizzard - you can hardly see anything... With such distance, it would be like searching for needle in a haystack. I've been driving for 30 minutes now on 120km/h speed.
Coordinates... X:3789m, Y:4891m
I'm getting close now...
I better demand that I get paid extra for this--Damn it.
The tracker died.
Shit.
I'll throw that bastard in the jail for thAAAaaaT---!!
A bump?!
I almost crash landed like this! What the hell?!
Wait let me... Dear god...!
A ginger child?!
God damn it! Why is there a child?! Is this the fugitive in question?!
Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!
Pulse is still here... Thank god... Come on, get in here...
"Enforcer speaking. Target captured. Returning to office. Prepare first-aid kits, blankets and heaters in my office. Situation's critical. Over."
God... What is this girl doing here?... Did she try to escape the Alama?... This is so stupid...
Checking her pulse again, I noticed a certain mark on her neck.
A mark of the orphanage "Ogonyok (Огонёк)"...
That can't be good.
Hauling through the snow, we approach the gate. Given that my little swallow in unmistakable, they open the gates immediately - and not bothering with explanations, I drive past the guards. I would be damned if I let a child die in my hands.
"Hello Pol--"
"Out of my way! Office! Now!"
My office subordinates open my office immediately and upon entering, I immediately lock the door and shut the blinders. I would rather not have them pester me with questions for now.
Getting her out of clothes was more difficult than I expected, as they were frozen solid. It's a miracle that the child is still alive in spite of this. I can still feel some subtle heat radiating from the body and that ever-so faint pulse. I must not mess this up.
Okay coat's done... Yep, the uniform checks out at well... Need to remove that as well... How long has she been like this?... She did go pretty far away from the gate... At this point she's only in her underwear, all covered in bruises.
And now for the last - the gloves... They seem to be stuck to the skin... If I make a cut here... And there... Dear god.
What am I looking at?
The hands... They're all burnt off. I can even see bones poking through the burned flesh.
If I was any normal person, I would've puked at the sight. Who did this to her?
Ginger hair (which even has unusual black spots), burnt hands, the fact that she got far away from the border... Something is seriously wrong with that child.
Tucking her under the blankets on the guest couch and turning the heater on, I sat behind my machine and submitted a request to access the orphanage's database. Given my position - they should grant me access immediately: as denial of request might enforce a thorough investigation on our end.
Hah... The only thing I can do now is sit and wait. I doubt she'll come back to consciousness any time soon.
That child...
Is an oddity incarnation.