Eruptions in the Sky

Chapt 3.

I crash to the ground, halting my heart and mind and everything in between. I’m paralyzed. I adhere to the ground as a pack of feral animals trample me. I study the ground beneath me which just my eyes, assessing what to do, how long this may last. I fight the paralysis but it’s no use, the more I fight, the quicker it solidifies. My chest caves against the stone. Tears pour and fog my vision, but I can’t move. The stampede continues, the light begins to fade, slowly. I fight it with everything I have but my heartbeat slows, my chest stills, I drift further and further away….

Until there’s total darkness.

I crawl. Reaching my arms out to feel something. Anything. But there’s no one here. Nothing evil, nothing good.

Everything is blank.

Whispers rise, gliding through the darkness with ease. I reach out to grab them, but my hands fall empty.

“Save us.” they whisper. Over and over.

A figure appears, but it has no body. No face. It feels…familiar. I’m stuck in a plane of nothingness, trying to run but falling short.

The figure moves closer, slowly. “Please don’t take me,” I plea. “I’m not ready….”

“Save us,” it cries.

I nod to the unknown as my tears become a sea, rising and filling the darkness, moving me closer to the surface. Something grips me, dragging me out of the water slowly,

And then all at once, I thrash upward and am pulled out of the crowd in less than a blink. I let out a cry of pain as I bear the effects of the stampede. I look up and witness an Enforcer with hazel eyes stare back at me in terror, the paralysis lifting.

My eyes shift to focus.

Colin.

My breathing stops but his quickens. Chaos resumes around us but his gaze, soft yet emotionless, remains right on me. A bellow rises from his chest, piercing, urgent. He demands my next move.

“Run.”

He’s gone.

I make a full turn, looking for someone, anyone. Did Eve find Mei? Are they safe? Victims of the paralysis remain firm as stone beneath my feet. Colin lifted mine with one touch.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

A hand brushes against my ankle, followed by a scream behind me.

“No! NO!” She wails.

Mei.

Her eyes are drenched in terror, and something ignites deep within me—a visceral, protective rage. If a match were near, my soul alone could set the world ablaze. An Enforcer is dragging her by the ankle. A vicious fire ignites beneath me. I will fucking kill everyone.

I throw myself at him chest first, and tackle him to the ground. Mei frees from his grip but he quickly recovers and pulls her back by the shirt as she thrashes against him. I jump on his back and crank his neck in my elbow as hard as I fucking can. She grits her teeth and punches him square in the jaw, forcing him on the back of his heels.

“Go.” I demand as we weave through panicked faces, so close to the edge. There’s a clear path ahead, empty and free. Mei steps into it and disappears without looking back. I’m so close I can nearly taste it…

But a grip thrashes me backwards, an elbow fights against my cheek, trying to get a hold of me to take me out for good. I clench my chin down, refusing to expose my neck. I squeeze, trying to break free, trying to tire him— to get the upper hand. I push my chin down one more time and feel an opening form – I dip my chin under, take hold of his forearm in my mouth, and bite down. As hard as I fucking can.

He wails in protest.

“You bitch!” He snarls and strikes me across the cheek before I can even think, my face shattering beneath my flesh. A sound I’ll never forget.

He towers over me, inching closer. He reaches for his sword and watches me squirm like a helpless doe, he’s laughing.

My bones burn – an unfamiliar rage, suddenly awoken.

I inch backward, blindly reaching for a fallen weapon, never taking my eyes off him. Shoes. Stones. Nothing lethal. My heart pounds so wildly, it might kill me before he does.

His arms rise, sword circling overhead. I roll, and it crashes down where I was just lying.

A young Enforcer approaches within an arm's reach of me, his sword handle is exposed. No one dares touch the Enforcers weaponry, we’re all just powerless humans after all, their swords aren’t made for us. In one fluid motion, I challenge that theory and seize his sword from its sheath, rolling back to face my opponent head-on, but another strike comes before I have time to breathe. I position the sword in front of my chest, hoping my grip will hold.

Our swords clash, and not only does my grip hold.

I erupt.

A beam of blue blazes from me. Detonating everyone in my orbit. It’s blinding, ripping through the town, coating all of Raia. The blaze rages on, and my bones burn with the power of the light. Is this… me?

The roaring from the crowd ceases, the threat is eliminated, everything stills. I’m alive.

I look for Mei and Eve but they're gone.

So is he.

My head spins. The air slips from my lungs, and I reach for it, desperate to pull it back. But I fail. My chest heaves, empty.

The light dims, my vision narrows.

My world goes blank.