Silence

"She's like ... twelve," the coordinator said. "Just follow the instructions, watch, and learn," Jeremy responded, handing them the last of the paperwork. When the semi arrived, Amara was already in position at the abandoned rescue, dark eyes turned up at the corners in a masked smile. "I'll go around and then in, like last time," she said quietly to the volunteers. "Please don't load anybody into the truck until I get back." They all nodded, and Patrice whispered to Jeremy that the barking and yowling had stopped as soon as Amara began speaking; he nodded. And off she went, a tiny slip of a young woman, pushing back the chain link gate and walking into a situation they had been told would be nothing short of horrific. "There is water, food, grass, and love for you in the world," Amara told the ones who still lived. "There is release and bliss to rest in," she told ones who did not. "For all that you have suffered, I ask for your forgiveness and beg you to trust just one more time." "Is she okay?" Patrice asked, concerned. "The place is completely silent." "There is a level of empathy that takes the place of words and becomes a kind of telepathy," Jeremy said evenly, "and we are in the presence of that." Patrice drew breath to comment further, but Jeremy shook his head "no". When Amara came around the corner, the rest of the Army drew a collective breath, ready to begin.