Burning Phoenix - Saga 1

Luke’s vision began to wander as he lay on the pavement, his sight betraying him with every object that was far or close to him.

But as his vision was blurred, he still saw his friends carry on without him.

(Luke) Hey, wait! Come back!

Luke tried to run towards them, pushing whatever stamina and strength was left inside his body. The soon toxic air started to mess up his way of breathing, causing him to cough.

(Luke) Wait!

But the three boys still ran with their tails tucked between their legs, the fear of death the monster brings to the sky and earth causing insanity amongst the normalest of people.

Now alone, smoke was continuing to build up as the streets were filled with heavy flaming debris that the flaming monster threw.

Luke needed to run as far as he could, but the boys were way too far ahead.

(Luke’s thoughts) I could catch up … I could …

Pulling even more strength in his run towards his friends, he braced the heaviness and pain that he inhaled as he ran. Trying to reach whatever freedom or peace after this would be better said than done as who knows what will happen.

But the monster had other plans, because—

The monster threw more flaming shrapnel onto the rest of the city…

And Luke saw from his peripheral vision that another flaming ball of debris was coming his way.

Luckily, Luke saw a police station to take cover in, hoping that he could shelter from the incoming debris.

(Luke’s thoughts) Come on, please work legs…

Luke began to barely sprint towards the nearby police station to take cover from the raining debris, and he managed to barely barge into the building as the flaming debris hit the street in back of him.

The flaming smoke and dust caused the street to be unbreathable, meaning that Luke had no choice but to take a break from all the running. Luke looked all around him, seeing that some cabinets weren’t opened at all.

(Lukes’ thoughts) I thought this place could’ve been raided by now…

As Luke began questioning the lack of presence of people in the station, he smelt a foul smell coming from the back of the building.

(Luke’s thoughts) Why does it smell like a dead body?

Luke began to gag as the smell got worse and worse, and he heard the sounds of footsteps tapping the concrete floor from the jail cells. Where he stood, a strange man wearing a black cardboard box came out of the said jail cells.

This was the crazed man who was taken to the police station by the police officer that Luke saw in that crazy incident. Of course, the crazed man didn’t notice Luke at the time of the incident, but something was off about the man.

The man dragged a body with one hand, and the body had a blue uniform with a radio patch on the right of its body, which meant …

(Crazy Man) They should’ve listened. They should’ve listened!

The man continued to drag the police officer’s body, and it was obvious that blood was oozing from the cop's throat and chest…

(Crazy Man) I’m going to die! We’re all going to die!

And as the crazy man was feeling hopeless and insane as his craziness led him to dangerous outcomes, he noticed a 12-year-old boy with light brown hair.

(Crazy Man) Wait … wait …

The crazy man walked closer to Luke, still dragging the body of the dead cop in his right hand.

Luke, now scared that this man was not normal, was talking to him like normal. Luke’s body began to shiver at the fact that this man could potentially kill Luke at any second given the circumstances—

(Crazy Man) What's your name? Please! Tell me your name!

(Luke) … I-I-I-I-It’s L-L-L-Luke F-F-Fenix…

Frightened by what the cardboard box man would do, Luke waited for any action that the man might take. The more Luke studied him, the more insane and crazy the man looked, but in that single moment, the crazy man gave Luke a warm smile, as if he was at peace.

(Crazy Man) yes … Yes. Yes! A boy—no, a soldier—no … a hero! You’re the only one, the only one that could stop this. Yes, I see! You do put an end to all this conflict and climaxes. I can’t wait for the day that you, Luke Fenix, can finally—

The crazy man then took many steps back onto the secretary's desk, as if he knew that something bad was coming his way…

(Crazy Man) Start this Genesis…

The crazy man stretched out both his arms and closed his eyes, and in a twisted way, a sudden gush of flaming debris hit the roof of the police station, making a huge hole in the police station.

As soon as the man was at peace, his entire body was evaporated by the scorching heat of burning metal.

There was no sign or evidence of the crazy man being there, as if he wasn’t there to begin with.

Meanwhile, the shockwave of burning dust caused Luke to fall back out of the police station.

Feeling the impact of the burning gust, his throat began to burn even more, and his eyes screamed with irritation and agony from the bits of ash that got into his eyelids.

Begging for water and moisture, he laid on the ground, agonizing as the street was surprisingly empty as mostly everyone was running through the main street. His mouth tasting bitter, he coughed up as much dust as he could, trying to get all the gunk out from his lungs.

As he was back on the street, Luke was lucky that the previous incoming debris that struck managed to subside the lethal air, but Luke continued to cough in agony as he curled up like a ball.

(Luke’s thoughts) I just wanted to go outside the house for the first time! I just wanted to hangout with people for a change! I just wanted …

But as he was opening his eyes, he noticed that someone was coming out of the police station…

It was one of the cops that took the crazy man in, also the one that was killed by the man as well.

Yet something looked completely different from the way the cop looked. It walked normally yeah, and it looked as if it acted cognitively normal from a standpoint, meaning that it acted human.

Yet it didn’t look human … because it was way too pale for any human as if it was dead…

As the cop walked closer to Luke, it began to sort of hum with a low-pitched tone, looking downward, with Luke not seeing the cop's face at all.

And then it looked towards Luke—

In an instant, dreaded and unimaginable fear shook Luke, more than anything the fiery monster did…

From what Luke saw, the cop’s face … it had no eyes and no nose, its eye sockets filled with black tar that replaced fresh red blood.

Most scaringly, this creature started to run towards Luke, not limping at all.

But the creature was glitching… like a computer—

Then the cop spoke… with a voice filled with everlasting pain and agony.

(Cop???) Save us!

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(Solmonath 28, 56 / 3:59PM)

Even when a city is at the mercy of the devil’s hand, a mother’s love will not break…

Even when people scatter to save themselves, a mother’s purpose is to scatter with their cherished children.

Even when death seems to creep up on every corner…

Or if death itself takes hold of their cherished ch-—

(Mary’s thoughts) He’s alive! He’s alive! He’s alive! He’s not dying! He won’t die! He won’t—

A paranoid Mary ran through the debris-ridden streets that the fiery monster laid waste upon. Causing anyone to flee with utmost fear and sorrow.

But for Mary, she knew that whatever happened to her she wouldn't mind, but …

(Mary’s thoughts) He’s not dying! He’s not dying! He’s not dying! He’s not dying! He won’t die! He won’t die! Won’t die! Won’t die—

As Mary crazily eyed her surroundings as she ran through the crumbled streets and buildings that were mostly damaged by the boiling metal debris, she noticed that three boys were running in her direction.

(Mary’s thoughts) Are those boys? They look … they look like Luke’s age!

Mary then sprinted, with a tiny bit of hope that they might at least see a kid that looked like Luke. As she got closer, her eyes noticed a familiar boy with silver hair and a miner hat on the back of a gingery orange-haired kid.

(Mary’s thoughts) That’s Fred!

(Mary) Fred! Fred!

As Mary continued sprinting towards them, she waved her hands to signal them to get their attention.

Sadly, Fred appeared to be asleep, and Stan looked as if he was not willing to stop for anything. But for Gary, he used Mary as a way to catch his breath from all the running.

(Gary) panting and squeezing… stop Stan … panting and squeezing… This woman knows Fred.

As Gary kept on painting and squeezing with exhaustion and pain, Stan looked at Mary and was hesitant on talking to her.

(Stan) I’m sorry Gary but we have to keep running.

(Mary) Please wait! Have you seen Luke?! Please tell me you’ve seen Luke!

(Stan) L-Luke? … We lost track of him a few minutes ago …

Feeling guilty that he left behind Luke, he looked ashamed and regretted that he had to leave Fred’s best friend behind. Fred was mostly asleep when Luke disappeared, but what happens when Fred wakes up and notices that Luke isn’t with them?

(Stan’s thoughts) I’m so sorry … I was just trying to help the others survive …

Mary didn’t like the answer that she heard coming from Stan’s mouth, and she walked closer to him, eyes as cold as glaciers.

(Mary) What do you mean you left him behind?

(Stan) There was a flaming ball of debris that crashed onto us, and we lost sight of Luke … and … we couldn’t stop for one second because … I’m sorry …

Stan put his head down, his eyes tearing up from the regret he felt.. Despite any mother losing control of their emotions over this explanation, Mary instead spoke with a stone cold face to Stan.

(Mary) Get out of the city. I’ll find Luke …

Mary then tosses her huge phone off to Stan, in case Stan needs to call anyone for help if the scenario needed.

(Mary) He’s close by huh, then I’ll just have to run for a few more minutes…

Her boots collided through the broken cobblestone as she left the three friends.

She stared up into the high buildings that surround all of her, her face glaring as the sun bares down her face.