《Broken Gods: The City of Flames》


 Lidev Lonu Pief Lonu

    Mariupol: a city located in the Southeastern region of the Eastern European country of Ukraine. Close to the border of Russia. North of the Sea of Azov.


    The dead of winter. The dead of night.


    Vena slowly opens her eyes. Instead of feeling a bed, she feels light rocks and sand beneath her hands. She doesn¡¯t remember what she did last night but it must have been crazy for her to end up sleeping on the beach. Laying there, she realizes something seems off. She¡¯s not outside. It looks, feels, and sounds like she¡¯s in some sort of room. It¡¯s pitch black and quiet with no wind at all.


    Her body not feeling encumbered at all by the last nights antics, she sits up for a better view. Nothing. Looking at the ground then her hands and body, she still sees nothing. Is she blind!? Panicked, she rises to her feet still trying to look around, ¡°Hello? Hello!?¡± Silence.


    Before she could take a step, she feels an extreme migraine suddenly pulse throughout her head, feeling it distinctly behind her eyes, through her brain, following all the way down the back of her neck. She grabs her head in pain as a terrifying, booming female voice pounds through it, speaking slowly and methodically, ¡°It is time.¡±


    Then just as sudden as the pain arrived, it went away and she saw light. A deep orange sliver of light. The darkness began to fade like it was made of a thick black smoke. Instead of desipitating as smoke does, it slowly flowed into her exposed feet, hands, and face, then up into her clothes. All of her other senses were attacked simultaneously.


    The loud screaming of fire with the crackling and moaning of wood hit her ears with full force. The light from the fire blinded her. The hot smoke singed her nose. Heat instantly enveloped every inch of her body. She realizes now that she is in a burning room.


    Vena tries to find her bearings against everything attacking her senses, struggling to find an exit. Creaking can be heard throughout the whole building. The feeling of impending doom began to loom. Was she going to die here? Her panic and adrenaline rise, her breathing and heart rate accelerate. Hyperventilating, she felt like she could have a heart attack at any moment. As the room became encapsulated with thick smoke, the wood floor catching fire was the tipping point. Stepping back, she trips only now realizing she was laying in a crater. While falling, looking down towards her bare feet, she saw the hole was filled with a bed of ash and cinders. She clumsily landed on her butt directly into the flames that already covered the floor behind her. Flames enveloped her.


    She let out a low scream of panic and instinctively began rolling around. Seconds later she got up and took off into a full sprint straight towards an exit. It might have been a window, a door, a hallway, it didn¡¯t matter. She just needed to get out of that room.


    Crashing through the supposed exit hidden behind smoke and flames, Vena prepared herself for the worst: to fly out of a window. With only the tiniest amount of relief, she hit a wall then the floor.


    I¡¯m not on fire. Not even burned.


    Leaving no time to think, she shook off the disorientation and kept running down the hall then down the stair. Taking a few steps down the hot, blacken stairs, Vena knew this wasn¡¯t the wisest thing to do and knew it was already too late. The stairs gave way. Vena shielded her head and curled up as she crashed through two layers of hot then hotter wood.


    Vena landed hard on her side on top of the wreckage. Kicking and shoving the rubble out of the way, she annoyingly laid in the rubble and embers exhaling. She just sat there, sat there staring at the black smoke above. She wasn¡¯t tired, just contemplating what to do.


    Why aren¡¯t I tired? I don¡¯t think I¡¯m much of an athlete. Also, I must have inhaled a lot of smoke but it¡¯s not really bothering me. I mean, look at all this smoke.


    Sitting up, she started observing her current situation: her jeans and shirt are slightly charred, she¡¯s not injured, the debris she¡¯s laying in is still hot, some parts even red hot.


    Not a single scrape. Impossible. My pants are jacked up though. Damn, my shirt too. You know, this wood isn¡¯t too hot. It should be though. Wait a minute.


    Wide eyed, she felt for her hair expecting the worst, but it was all there. Not one hair burnt or melted. Relieved and confused, she looked at her hands. The red hot tinders went out quickly around her but instead of feeling cooler, she felt warmer. Her eyes expressed surprise.


    The ground just got cooler and then my body got warmer. The heat just flowed into my body. I swear that¡¯s what I just felt. And saw.


    Vena¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by the creaking and rumbling of the building.


    Oh man. Doesn¡¯t sound like this building has much longer.


    Vena got up, stretched with her hands over her head and leaned left then right, ¡°Alright, let''s get out of here.¡±


    Carefully this time.


    The building was now filled with smoke. That was a lot less obvious when she was on the floor. She took a right down another hallway and ran into the absence of a floor. The floor must have given way just like the stairs. Looking down into the smoke and inferno below, she saw it was a couple floors that have given way to the flames. Several bodies burned below. Vena placed a hand over her mouth in shock, ¡°Oh my god. Oh my god oh my god.¡± She didn¡¯t know them but she felt sorry nevertheless. She took a few steps back then squatted holding her knees.


    Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my fucking god. Holy shit. I¡¯m so sorry. I¡¯m so sorry. I can¡¯t help you. I¡¯m so sorry I couldn¡¯t help. I could have done something if¡­ No. Maybe. I don¡¯t know. I can¡¯t believe people died. Wait, what if there are others? Even so, what am I going to do? There¡¯s no way down.


    She wiped a tear, got up and turned to look around. There was a window and a closed door nearby. The building rumbled again but this time she heard s lot of crashing from above. The building was falling.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    I think that was an upper floor burning down.


    She jogged through thick smoke to the window. Opening it and look down below she saw she was on the third floor. The fresh air and cold wind felt refreshing. She felt like her senses were renewed. Then she thought she could hear coughing nearby, next door maybe? Stepping back inside, she listened. She could hear it! She couldn¡¯t hear it before but she can hear coughing directly through the wall.


    The walls weren¡¯t really that thin here, were they? Naw. If they were they¡¯d have burned down a long time ago.


    ¡°Hello,¡± she yelled at the wall. She looked at the door and headed straight for it. ¡°Hello,¡± she yelled at the door this time. She knew it wasn¡¯t a good idea to open doors to a flaming room but couldn¡¯t remember why. She grabbed the doorknob. It was hot, but it didn¡¯t burn her. Was that why? Hot doorknobs? It got cooler as she held it. She jiggled the door. Locked. She knew it was far fetched but maybe the metal was softer from the heat? She twisted with all her might and the mechanism in the door knob break.


    What in the world. It broke? Did I break it or was it the heat? Not what I imagined would happen. I mean, I didn¡¯t know what to expect, but definitely not that.


    Leaving that thought for later, she opened the door slowly. Despite the slow open, fire exploded out of the room toward her, scaring her back. She heard a child¡¯s scream, a reaction from the explosion. The door forced itself open and the dark room lit itself ablaze. The floor instantly creaking and snapping. Vena cautiously approached the flames deciding to test something. She put her hand through the doorway and into the fire. It was hot, but not unbearable, like a sauna.


    Huh, the fire really doesn¡¯t hurt. It¡¯s like my skin just sucks it up like a sponge. Not that I¡¯m complaining but what the heck is going on?


    She stepped through the doorway letting her clothes burn and singe. Her ponytail and bangs flailed about due to the intensity of the flames. She tried to speak above the flames ¡°Hello? Are you in here,¡± she yelled while cupping her hands around her mouth. ¡°HELP!¡± Vena could hear the little girl in the corner of the room despite the smoke and flames. ¡°I¡¯m coming sweetie! I¡¯m coming! Don¡¯t worry,¡± Vena decided to ignore the flames and stick close to the walls. ¡°I¡¯m coming sweetie,¡± she ignored the flames on the walls and walked slowly towards the voice. ¡°Hurry,¡± the girl said under her breath in tears or fear. It could have been either if Vena had to guess.


    After passing a corner and a closed window, the girl was in site, ¡°I¡¯m almost there.¡± She was crouched in the corner of the room holding her head with flames dangerously close. Vena started instinctively wiping the flames on the floor and walls around her. As she expected, the flames moved from the surface onto her then evaporated, cooling the surface and warming her, ¡°I got you sweetie, I got you.¡±


    The center of the room finally collapsed causing flaming furniture and accessories to tumble towards the center. The girl gave a whimper and Vena took her into her arms, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I got you. I got you.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s my mommy,¡± the girl whimpered. Ignoring her, Vena picks her up and takes the path against the wall back to the hallway.


    God damn it. Now I got this girl. What do I do now? That staircase is useless. I could jump into the flaming hole to the left, maybe break a few bones. Could I protect the girl from the flames though? Could I protect her from the fall? Ugh, we¡¯d both die. Then jump out the window to the right? Into the snow? Soft landing maybe? No, that¡¯s dumb. The only difference between the choices are one¡¯s hot and one¡¯s cold. We¡¯re going to die here.


    Another rumble then a louder crash from above erupts. The ceiling cracks after a loud thud and a giant beam topples down into the inferno. The beam crunches against several floors on it¡¯s way down, including the floor they stood on. This causes a cascade forcing the ceiling to crumble and a charred beam to break through nearly hitting Vena¡¯s head and blocking the path towards the window. The two of them have less than a foot of free space unless they go to the previously crumbled staircase. But that would certainly be a guaranteed trap waiting to happen. As the previous fallen beam lands at the bottom of the inferno with a thud, it must have hit something supporting the floor they stood on because the floor started bending.


    I need to get to the stairs.


    The staircase to the right began to crumble along with floor they stood on. The rest of the ceiling gave way causing charred beams and debris to follow them as they both helplessly fell into the flaming pit.


    Vena held the girl to protect her from the fall and landed with her back against the flames. The last thing she remembers was the wood and debris speeding towards her face.


    Something¡¯s on my face. What¡¯s on my face...


    Vena peaked out of her left eye, the other wouldn¡¯t open. She sighed. A beam had her head pinned against debris, mushing her face awkwardly. Her right eye was forced shut and her nose was bent uncomfortably to the left side of her face. Her upper lip and cheek were forced up causing her mouth to gape open and her eye shut to keep shut. But you know what, she was not in any pain. No pain at all. She sat there contemplating.


    Wow, all this and no pain. I can¡¯t believe we¡¯re still here. I mean, of course we¡¯re still here, why wouldn¡¯t we be. Damn. We¡¯re still here. We¡¯re still here. We¡¯re still¡­ We¡¯re¡­ We!


    ¡°Sweetie,¡± she muffled trying to sound as clear as possible. ¡°Sweetie? Are you okay?¡± Silence. Vena tried to move. Moving her arms along with all the debris above her, she felt for the girl. Dust fell into her only working eye and a giant rock adjusted itself into her face.


    Nice.


    She felt for her, and there she was. She felt the little girls clothes, her body on hers. There was no movement at all. Using her arms and hands to trace her body, her heart sank. The child''s body was very deformed. Rib bones were softened and not curved around her back as it should be. The spine was not straight at all. The arm she felt was soft like rubbery dough. She squeeze a portion of it lightly trying to get a reaction. Nothing. Vena started to tear up, ¡°no.¡±


    She prepared herself to get up, positioning her legs, used one arm to push everything out of her way and the other for balance. Executing her movement slowly, she grunted loudly like a powerlifter and held her breath at peak grunt. All the debris crashed down to either side of her. The rubbery, mangled body of the child flopped and twisted in unnatural ways as she scooted out of the hole she was in. The eye she saw of the child was bulging out of the socket and the head gashed open. Burns littered the body. There was less blood than one would think. The color of the skin was grey and purple. Vena threw up beneath her right arm, away from the child and cried at the same time.


    Not wanting to take a second look, she whimpered and shook as she climbed over the now cooled debris. The building burned with less fire now. Getting past the debris and lumbering over towards the exit facing the street, she saw a hint of a glimmer beneath the floorboards.


    I¡¯m at ground level. I wonder what that could that be?


    She continued towards her goal: the street, freedom. As she arrived at the archway of the exit, she felt and heard the biggest explosion she had ever experienced erupt from behind her. The alien feeling sent her off her feet, down stairs, and face first into the thinly iced floor.


    Vena laid on the concrete entrance of the building. Mentally exhausted, she didn¡¯t move. She just laid there and watched as wood began raining from the sky. Ash and debris trickled down onto the snow around her.


    Please let it be over...

 Lidev Lonu Pief Onplu

    The night sky was bright with color. Cold air gently glided along the snow floor. After a long two minutes of laying in snow, Vena picked herself up onto her knees and rested on her butt. The action around her quieted down immensely giving off an eerie silence. The street in front of her was empty, no cars, no people. The empty field on the other side of the street was dark with no lights. The freeway on the other side of the field was the same: no cars, no people, no lights.


    Grunting, Vena got to her feet while talking to herself, ¡°Alright, I think I need to actually do something.¡± She wiped off smut and wet snow from her pants and face and looked around.


    Why the hell is it so damn creepy out here? It¡¯s so freakin quiet. No birds. No bugs. It IS winter. Maybe this is just how it feels with no people around. Where are all the people? And that fire...


    She got a little sad thinking.


    That poor little girl. I can¡¯t believe I couldn¡¯t have saved her.


    Vena walked into the street exploring to the right then left. On the right  she could see the outline of some factory against the galaxy colored sky. Her eyes light up.


    God damn it, this sky is so fucking beautiful! I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen anything like it!


    She stood there admiring the sky and stars. As the moment passed, realization crept into her mind.


    Wait. Sure, I¡¯ve never seen this before. I¡¯ve never seen ANY of this before. Where the hell am I?


    She tried reaching into her memories for the last thing she remembered. Nothing. She just woke up in a fire. Momentary shock hit her face.


    What the hell!?


    She couldn¡¯t remember anything. No last meals, drinks, TV shows, friends.


    Wait a minute, I remember a kid...


    She had memories of living with a child, a little boy. He looked to be at least ten years of age. She remembered taking care of him; He laughed, cried, played. He called her Ven and called her Vena when whining. That made he smile for a moment. Memories of getting him from different schools made it clear that their last names are Serafini. They had the same last name, and their living situations always seemed temporary.


    Vena Serafini¡­


    She gave off a little smile again.


    I like it. I guess everywhere we lived was temporary, so we were only passing through? To where? Where were we going? Why? Where¡¯s the boy? I hope he wasn¡¯t in that fire. I didn¡¯t see anybody else by me. Granted, I didn¡¯t look very hard.


    She pondered in the dark for a very long time. She had so many questions. The little girl she tried to save spoke Russian and Vena spoke back. In the memories with the boy, they spoke French to each other. So she spoke Russian and French.


    I¡¯m definitely somewhere in the Northeast. Explains the snow.


    She glanced back to the two directions the road lead. With no way of telling where the left goes, she started walking towards the factory silhouette.


    That fire. Her memories. Her family. Her strength. Absorbing fire? How dark this night is. Not feeling cold. No hunger. No thirst. What about that voice she heard when she woke up?


    After walking and thinking for only a couple minutes, she was walking across a bridge. She could hear running water beneath the bridge and felt the breeze that followed. She glanced at the water out of curiosity. It was black due to the absence of sunlight. She thought about how terrifying it would be in the water, making her illogically nervous walking along the paved road of the bridge.


    At the end of the bridge was a nice archway of trees. She thought it was a shame the trees looked so barren, they must look really pretty in the spring. Goosebumps ran up her spine as she passed beneath the branches stopping her in her tracks. She was having an ominous feeling, a feeling like the trees could fall over or something was watching and waiting among the branches. She made her way very nervously and cautiously beneath the trees, not taking her eyes off them for even a moment.


    After a minute of walking backwards, she reached a sidewalk. Being at least fifty meters away from the trees she still felt a strange suspicion towards them. She relaxed her gaze, took a breath and slowly turned to her right


    Jesus, what the hell. What was that? Am I paranoid? My heart was racing!


    Taking a quick glance behind her, she saw a lone tree just as bare as the others positioned to the front-left of a gate. Not nearly as intimidating, but still creepy.


    Am I really scared of trees? Do I have a phobia of trees!?


    She annoyingly turned back around and glanced to her right, ¡°FUCKING, FUCK!¡± She almost fell over at the sight of a big memorial with with three soldiers.


    It must be the dark. The dark is messing with me. That¡¯s probably all it is. Fuck, man!


    She told herself to relax as she rubbed her eyes. She took a deep breathe and kept walking. She could see an entrance up ahead on her right.


    That must be the entrance to the plant.


    On her left along the road and river were more trees, a lot more trees. She¡¯s no tree expert but these trees looked like they should be thriving even in the winter. They¡¯re skeletons though, not one pine needle on any branch. It was a really strange site.


    Seeing the gate left wide open on her right, Vena continued towards the entrance of the plant. Past the gate the road curved left between buildings and trees. Small, malnourished trees were strewn about on the left side of the road. Paths towards rest areas, or maybe a visitor¡¯s center curved around the plants. Other small structures hide amongst the trees along the walkways.


    A factory building could be seen to the right of the road accompanied with a smaller building, both surrounded by more sad trees. Pipes could be seen entering and leaving the factory curving around the building, leading towards other buildings and pathways. An overhead walkway passed over the smaller building and trees connecting the factory to another building further right of the entrance.


    I guess that¡¯s the entrance to this plant.


    Vena decided to walk beneath the overhead walkway, following a couple pipes that lead between the smaller building and the entrance building. Vena admired the look and architecture of the buildings, noting the windows and entrances. Following the walkway outlined with pipes, she was lead to the sea. The crisp sea breeze brushed her face. Water could be heard gently rocking to and fro. A flat ship was resting on the sea next to the walkway, ¡°Huh¡­¡±


    Never seen a boat like that. Never seen a boat parked like that either.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Continuing, Vena found another entrance to the factory building on the left as the pipes along the walkway ended into the ground. The building entrance was gated with a well worn dirt path leading towards the gate¡¯s opening. Reaching the back of the factory, moonlight highlighted a giant pile of dark gravel. Some sort of processing structure obstructed the full view.


    At that moment, another wave of goosebumps crawled up and down Vena¡¯s spine. She swiftly turned around out of fear and found nothing. Only partially relieved, she stood there analyzing the scene. Nothing was there but she felt like something was wrong. She didn¡¯t know what, but it had to be something.


    She looked at the building to the left, the factory building on the right, and finally the small center building. Then she started looking for details on and around the buildings and pathway. It was like looking for differences in a before and after photo. After a long focus on the three buildings, her heart sank. She finally saw it, the anomaly: the trees. The frail, leafless trees that surrounded the buildings were gone. She couldn¡¯t move, she was frozen in fear.


    What¡­ What is this? Fucking trees. They¡¯re gone. I didn¡¯t hear anything. What¡¯s happening? Am I going crazy? Is it the phobia?


    It was a strange feeling, this fear; The fear of the unnatural, the fear of the unknown. The fear of  if she did anything, it may trigger something equal to pain or death. This had to do with something more than just trees, it was way more complicated than that. The courage and fortitude needed for Vena to take even a single step was immense, but she managed. She felt like she was frozen forever out of fear but she finally took a step. Her breathing became heavy as her heart raced.


    Should I go over there? See what happened? What if something¡¯s over there? I¡¯m safe over here. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m scared of a fight, but this isn¡¯t normal. This has nothing to do with a person. I¡¯m not stupid, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s over there. I¡¯m not going over there. Why the hell am I feeling all this now! So sudden!


    Vena was frustrated. She didn¡¯t know what was driving these emotions, all she knew was she didn¡¯t want to turn her back on the ominous area. She felt doing so would mean certain death, like turning your back on a tiger.


    Am I crazy? It¡¯s normal to feel this way, right? I don¡¯t care, I¡¯m all by myself. It doesn¡¯t matter how weird I look.


    Vena took a few steps back and took a deep breathe in preparation. She has made a decision: she was going to run for it. She was going to run as fast as she could. She quickly turned and thrust into a sprint. And as time itself seemed to slow to a crawl, the giant pile of gravel nearby erupted into dust and flying rocks.


    It was hard to comprehend, only having seconds of a glance to observe. Creatures covered in tendrils, camouflaged in the dark of night, bursted out of the hill. She couldn¡¯t get a good look but she saw lots of them, at least a dozen and could hear even more. She held in a squeal and focus on running; surviving.


    She was amazed how fast she was, cutting through the frigid air. Despite her incredible speed, the creatures kept up with her following close behind. She saw others jumping across rooftops, running along pipes, and scaling walls parallel to her. She wasn¡¯t gaining any distance between them.


    The creatures on her tail let out a foreign sound, a creepy bark or howl. The sound reflected the creature¡¯s giant size: a deep roar followed by a high pitch squeal, something like a cross between a lion¡¯s roar, a dog¡¯s bark and a hyena¡¯s laugh, a sound she¡¯s never heard before. The sound caused Vena to let out the squeal she was holding in. The surrounding animals mimicked the noise, letting Vena know just how many of them there were: too many. They were everywhere, it seemed like they were throughout the whole city and gathering.


    Vena didn¡¯t think, she just kept running. She kept to the sea on her right jumping over the ditches and drains that lead to the sea. Unbelievably, she was able to clear a twenty-five meter ditch filled with water off of a single jump. She must have ran at least several football fields in seconds, but amazement of this had to be left for later.


    The terrain changed from dirt paths to marshy lands and then white stone. Vena¡¯s thoughts went to the factory, it must have been a mining operation. With such a clear terrain around her, she was finally able to clearly see the animals running parallel to her.


    They were four legged and ran like cheetahs. Their bodies were thin but despite that and the fact they were running on four legs, they were easily as tall or even taller than her. What she initially thought were tendrils could now be seen as being roots or wood, twisted together with a the color of dry blood. Small, stiff, hazardous branches spiked from the back of the creatures.


    Vena could now see beaches and houses, making it clear that she was out of the factory. This was not any better though. As the creatures barked deeply behind her, the trees ahead of her throughout the town began twisting and moving. Trees lifted themselves out of the ground with their roots. Wood teared apart and twisted together to the creatures she¡¯s been evading. Each creature looked distinctively different. In an effort to slow or stop her, trees fell over or smashed down ahead of her. There were some that abnormally slithered about snake-like trying to catch her, block her path or strike her down. Some twisted into giant arms, trying to crush or grab her.


    Vena dodged, hurdled, twisted, flipped and jumped. She was quick, flexible and very fluid. The creatures were intimidating but moved too slow and her situational awareness was infallible. She lost no speed or momentum traversing the complicated onslaught, but it wasn¡¯t getting any easier. The wooden arms stuck in the ground in the distance began extending further. The arms were connected to a body. Asphalt erupted and houses began collapsing. Water lines and fire hydrants exploded open releasing gushing water and mist throughout the air. Vena ran over the giant creature¡¯s submerged head, and back. The creature destroyed the surface of several blocks as it¡¯s shoulders were revealed and it lifted itself out or the ground. Vena did not look back as the creature made it¡¯s full reveal, but the roar the creature made was unexpectedly explosive. Vena felt the impact of the roar shake her to the core causing her to slow for a few seconds. Turbulent, icy winds followed the creature¡¯s roar helping her get back into her sprint.


    Vena¡¯s goal was already to get out of this place, but now she felt she definitely needed to get out of the whole city. This was just too crazy. With adrenaline, instincts and resolve now at their peak, she put her head down and ran faster and faster. She was now determined to test her speed and strength; How fast could she run. How long? How high and how far could she run  jump?


    Vena jumped over fences, jumped over yards, then jumped onto and off of roofs. Soon after, combining her speed with her jump, she was clearing houses without losing speed and staying low.


    The violent noises of the creatures were finally dying down and distancing themselves. As she glided through the air, she was able to survey the area ahead of her: she was heading towards an iced over lake.


    Could I jump off the lake? Jump over the lake? Would that be stupid? Yeah, that would be stupid. I shouldn¡¯t  risk it. Maybe I can just¡­ No, just run around it.


    Although she wanted to go over the lake, Vena continued running to the right of the lake. Now sandwiched between the lake and the sea, the cold wind picked up. Following the dirt road, she headed straight towards another section of the city that contained more residential buildings.


    Good thing this is a small city. Didn¡¯t take too long to get out of there. Not a lot of tall buildings at all either, if any.


    After running a few blocks into this new section of city, she saw the area was still. She slowed down to a jog then a walk. She felt relatively safe for the moment; There was no movement and no roaring. Her senses felt calm. Now finally having some peace, Vena sceptically took in her surroundings.


    Jesus, fuck! Is it over!? I think it is. That gut feeling is what started all this. It kept me alive. I¡¯m not feeling it anymore, so, maybe I¡¯m safe? Jeez, that was some next level gut feeling. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d call it a gut feeling though. Maybe a sense. Jitters? I don¡¯t know. Whatever it was, I don¡¯t think I would have noticed anything was wrong without it.


    She twisted around in the direction she came from and admire the distance she covered. She smirked.


    And how about that speed!


    Vena stopped walking to examine her hands and bare feet. She was amazed. Her leg tight jeans were still dirty and singed from the fire before. Her hands were quite clean, probably because of how wet and cold everything was. Her feet however were slightly brown with mud and nearly completely black on the bottom. Dirt was under both her fingernail and toenails


    Gross, but look at that! No scratches, no scrapes! No frostbite and no blisters! No friction burn either! I must have been running at least eighty kilometers per hour! I can¡¯t believe I could move like that too! I¡¯m so flexible, and fast!


    She put a hand to her chest and took in a deep, rejuvenative breath, closing her eyes on the inhale and opening them on the exhale. She smiled and giggled to herself.


    I haven¡¯t lost any energy! I could run forever! And how about that jump!


    She did a quick squat in preparation and executed what she felt was a decent jump. She rocketed into the air with her head being forced down by the air resistance and the wind nearly deafening her hearing. As the resistance faded and the wind quieted, she felt like she was floating. She was about a hundred meters above the ground. She looked around and could see the city sector she came from. Mist surrounded the area and no movement could be seen. She could see what was actually two partitioned lakes as opposed to one. She was glad she avoided that. Turning her head, she could see the next section of the city nearby. Looking a little higher, she stared in awe as the sun peaked over the horizon. She could see everything.


    Beautiful...

 Lidev Lonu Pief Oplut

    Vena felt a tingle in her groin, then a twist of knots in her stomach, the familiar feeling of falling. Now realizing she was falling, and falling fast, she gave no time to thought and began to panic. Time not slowing at all, she felt that she had only seconds to react. After flailing about nonsensically, she instinctively braced herself to land on her feet.


    With the sound of wet meat slapping the ground, Vena¡¯s feet hit the asphalt hard. She landed in a half squat and stayed there.


    Don¡¯t move! Okay, I¡¯m alive. That¡¯s good. It doesn¡¯t hurt. That¡¯s also good. What if I move? Is it going to hurt if I move? How much will it hurt? Are my legs broken? I don¡¯t think broken legs work like that.


    Vena stood up very slowly and then tested her legs just as slowly, wiggling her feet and stretching her toes. Her eyes and face lit up with a big smile. With her arms raised in the air, she yelled, ¡°I¡¯m invincible!¡± Within an instant of her speaking, a booming voice and excruciating pain exploded into her head, ¡°No you are not!¡± Her head felt like it was going to split open. She toppled over in pain and grabbed her head. Cripple over on the floor, Vena roared in pain instead of screaming. ¡°I will not die due to your negligence,¡± the voice in her head boomed. With tears in her eyes and her forehead against the floor, tears rolled down Vena¡¯s face, ¡°What is happening to me?¡±


    She was lightly tapping her head against the ground, feeling the need to get rid of the pain. The female voice began to speak again, ¡°I understand the pain, Vena. I know it all too well. But you must understand, you are not invincible, only stronger. I bestow my abilities to you so that we may both live.¡± As the voice in her head continued, Vena felt her life wanting to end. The pain was just too unbearable. The voice ended with, ¡°This is the only way to communicate with you directly. So unless you want to feel this pain again, I suggest you wise up, and quickly.¡±


    The pain was suddenly gone. Vena was breathing heavily with her head against the ground. The tears stopped flowing and relaxation enveloped her body. She turned over and laid on her back.


    That¡­ That hurt. That hurt so much.


    Vena stared at the sky, thinking as her tears dried up.


    That voice. That was the voice from the fire. It sounds like she lives inside me. And she gave me this power? Wise up? And how am I supposed to do that? I guess I¡¯ll just need to be cautious. I really gotta figure this thing out. I really don¡¯t need her to come out and ¡°helping me¡± again. Unless I¡¯m desperate. Maybe she only comes out when she¡¯s desperate too? She said she knew the pain well.


    Vena sat up and thought some more.


    So, I¡¯m definitely stronger. She said she gave me her abilities. So I think that means speed and strength.


    ¡°Weaknesses too,¡± the mind numbing pain erupted and disappear very quickly. ¡°Jesus! I get it! Holy fuck! Christ, that hurts,¡± Vena messaged her head.


    Jesus, she can hear my thoughts too. Good to know. As if I didn¡¯t have enough to think about. Okay...


    Vena crossed her legs.


    So. I woke up and remember very little. Woke up in a fire, which was crazy. Oh, that¡¯s right! I can absorb fire! I just touch it and it sort of just flows into me. I can¡¯t get burned by it either! My clothes though¡­


    She stared down at her pants.


    Not so much. Next, I fell but it didn¡¯t really hurt much. I did get knocked out though. And that poor girl was in my arms. Damn it, if only I knew. I could have just jumped out the window with the girl. Then what? Could I have protected her from those tree things? I don¡¯t know. I just ran. I didn¡¯t even try. Speaking of, I can sense, ¡°things¡±. I don¡¯t know what, but I¡¯m able to sense something. A sense of danger or sense something dangerous. I don¡¯t know exactly. It¡¯s something like that though.


    Vena hugged her knees and rested her chin on them.


    I¡¯m strong, fast, have high endurance. I¡¯m definitely not invincible, as the lady nicely pointed out. If that¡¯s not it then is it high resistance? Resistance to¡­ pain? Injury?


    She began staring at a house in front of her.


    This is great and all but what do I do now? I don¡¯t know who I am or where to go. I guess finding people would be number one, if there are any... Are there any? What if I¡¯m the only one? No no no, of course there¡¯s people. That would be dumb if there wasn¡¯t. Humans survive everything¡­ I think. What was this anyways? There are creatures, empty houses. Nothing really destroyed. Maybe they evacuated? I did see bodies in that building fire I was in, and the little girl. Maybe they were hiding? Hiding from the trees? But then what could have started the fire?


    Vena took a breath as she stood up and stretched.


    You know what, I guess that doesn¡¯t matter. That already happened. Memories or not, something¡¯s happened. And it might have happened to the whole world and I¡¯m just in a small part of it. Some kind of tree infection. Or maybe trees gained life and can think now. Revenge of the trees. Maybe some kind of experiment went wrong. Whatever it is, this is my life now. Let¡¯s make the best of it and survive.


    Vena started walking, following the road signs leading her out of the city while staying within sight of the sea.


    The memory of that boy though. It must be important. For me not to have forgotten it. Maybe I can ask around if I find people. I don¡¯t know, maybe it would be better to assume he¡¯s gone. I mean, look at what¡¯s happened. I¡¯ll just keep him in my heart. Always thinking of you little boy, whoever you are¡­


    It was too early to be called morning but too late to be called night time. Vena spent the time before dawn making her way through four cities, the first of which was the small village of Sopyne. Vena¡¯s eye brightened up when she saw the town buildings from a distance. She was walking alone with her thoughts a little too long for her comfort.


    Finally, the next city!


    Vena¡¯s excitement had her switch up her pace to what she felt was a light jog. Her jogging speed was equal to that of a sprinter at max performance.


    I hope there are people here. I doubt it, but it¡¯s possible. I can¡¯t wait! At least I can see somewhere new.


    With speeds reaching up to forty kilometers per hour, she reached the town within minutes. Upon entering the town, she slowed back down to a walk and saw that this was not like the city she was in before.


    Oh no...


    She saw people here, but they were all dead. Cars were wrecked, buildings were damaged, and bodies laid about. The city was quiet, but not unnaturally so.


    Damn it. They¡¯re all gone. I¡¯m sorry guys. It¡¯s different from the last city though. The trees seem fine. Something definitely crazy happened here though. The last city was like a ghost town, but this one¡­ I¡¯m glad I¡¯m not getting any weird feelings. Just the normal, sad, creepy feelings. The bodies...


    The dead bodies horrified her when she focused on them. But she became desensitized to them, as long as she kept her distance. The damage done to the bodies and the blood that followed were unnoticeable as long as she didn¡¯t spend time analyzing. Vena started to understand that the city she woke up in might just be an anomaly. She used this to give herself a little hope and relief.


    Out of curiosity, she took some time to look through some of the buildings for anything she felt she might need. The small village was against a beach that was likely to look beautiful in the daytime. She noticed a soccer field nearby and assumed a school was attached to it. Most of the buildings were residential with small, family owned businesses here and there.


    Man, what a nice little town. Growing up here must be amazing¡­ Oo, stores! Not really hungry. Maybe I can find tools? I don¡¯t really know what kind of tools I should be looking for. Maybe I should find a bag? For all of my tools! Actually, I assume I¡¯ll be walking a while. Mm, I kind of want to stay light. It would have sucked if I had a bag earlier. I probably would of ditched it. Or it would of torn or something. I¡¯m just gonna pocket things.


    Vena was slightly intrigued when she found a clothing store. Her clothes were very uncomfortable; worn down, wet, and filthy.


    I might need some new clothes. I¡¯m not make excuses but the clothes I got don¡¯t make the cut. They¡¯re all burnt and black and stuff. And even if they weren¡¯t, what¡¯s wrong with new clothes? Also, shoes would be nice...


    She looked at her feet and wiggled her toes. She made her way into the store, chiming a bell above the door as she entered. She looked around and spotted some jeans she liked.


    Hm, these look okay. The butt looks fine. Let¡¯s see how they look.


    She quickly took off her worn out, burnt jeans and then noticed her panties.


    Why, hello plain old panties. Didn¡¯t see you there. You want an upgrade too? You know what¡­


    She made for a discrete sniff of her lady parts.


    I am surprisingly fresh down here. I don¡¯t know when my next period is but pretty undies would be bomb right now. When was my last period? Whatever. I¡¯ll worry about it when it happens¡­


    Her underwear didn¡¯t smell bad but they were slightly dirty. Seeing there wasn¡¯t any harm in getting new ones, she did a quick look-around to see if anyone was watching.


    Oh god, this is weird. I¡¯m sure nobody¡¯s watching, but still. I really hope nobody¡¯s watching. This would be so fucking embarrassing. But why though? It¡¯s just skin. We all got it. Hell, we¡¯d all be naked if Eve didn¡¯t fuck it up for everyone. Welp, if I¡¯m alone for long enough, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get used to it. What if I just walked around naked? I could do that if I was the last one on Earth. Well, I could do that regardless¡­


    She took her underwear off and left them on the floor next to her jeans. She uncomfortably tiptoed over to the underwear section. She found some pretty, black and pink lace panties and tried them on.


    What!? Girl these are cute as fuck!


    Nobody would ever see them but the confidence they gave her was irresistible. She followed up with the jeans she found earlier. After trying a couple of different sizes, she found a pair that fit her perfectly without a belt. She found a mirror in the back of the store to evaluate. There wasn¡¯t much light but her eyes abnormally adjusted to the dark fairly easily.


    Wow, okay. I can actually see this. Okay. Alright well, my butt looks good. Jesus, my hair is looking crazy! First thing¡¯s first Vena. Pants! My butt looks good. My thighs look good. Hug my ankles. Not too low. I love the squeeze on my tummy. Let¡¯s make sure they¡¯ll stretch...This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    She did a few stretches and exercises and surprised herself.


    Damn! I am flexible! Oh, the pants. Okay. Maybe I should get some workout clothes instead? Oh, yoga pants? I could wear leggings and get myself a cute ass dress? Skirt? Mm, maybe next time. Let¡¯s see how this goes first. Now, back to this hair.


    Vena pulled out the band loosely holding her hair up and let down her light brown hair. She gave her head a nice scratch, combed her hair with her fingers, then quickly redid her ponytail while referencing the mirror. She looked her hair over facing left, right, then continued back to the clothing section. She took her long sleeve shirt off, dropping it to the floor as she walked and did the same with her annoying bra. She exhaled with relief as her size B chest was finally free and breathing. She hid her nipples before glancing around then let them free. She gave a nervous glance over the store every now and then to make sure she was still alone. Being nude in public was new and fun for her, but it still made her nervous despite the absence of people. Looking over the bra selection, she went with a comfortable bandeau bra. She didn¡¯t want anything fancy, just a black, stretchable fabric to cover up. After passing the undergarments, Vena¡¯s eyes locked onto a jacket nearby.


    Oh my god! This is the cutest jacket I¡¯ve ever seen! Not that I remember much. But still! Oh my god, I need it!


    In the coat section was a pale, form fitted aviator jacket with faux white fur. The white, bushy, fur was soft and silky, unlike most faux fur. The difference was very noticeable comparing it to others furs on other jackets. She tried it on and fell in love with the fur¡¯s feel on her skin. She zipped it up and hooked the buckle along her hips.


    Oh my god this feels so good! It¡¯s so god damn comfortable! How does it look?


    She jogged over to the mirror and posed.


    Oh my god, this is my jacket! I¡¯m never gonna leave it. It¡¯s so damn cute. This is my favorite jacket, starting today.


    She did a twirl and jogged back to where she was.


    What was I doing again? Oh right, shoes...


    She went to the corner of the store, grabbed some socks and looked over the shoes.


    Let¡¯s see. Something cute, something that matches. Damn, I probably need a running shoe.


    She found a pair of running shoes she gravitated towards. They weren¡¯t her favorite but they were the only ones she liked in the store. They were a light pink with a grey mesh and black sole. She found a box of them in her size using corresponding codes near the barcode. She quickly put them on and did a quick jog in place.


    Good enough, I guess.


    Feeling accomplished, Vena head outside. The sight of the dark blue sky gave her a refreshing feeling of freedom. She took in the air, loosened up her legs, arms, and neck, then put her hands on her hips. She felt like she could conquer anything. That was until she was reintroduced with the village¡¯s grim scene of death. A breeze akin to the cold chill of death topped off the mood killing atmosphere.


    Jeez, dead people. I¡¯m sorry but you sure know how to ruin the mood¡­ Wait, that¡¯s a soldier. Maybe he¡¯s got a gun or something. Even a knife would be useful. Or I could just leave. That sounds good. An adult would look for weapons though. Man, this is gonna suck. This sucks.


    The soldiers ahead of her either had a weapon on or near them. After taking a deep breath to steel her nerves, she walked towards the closest soldier. On his back with glazed eyes, the soldier had an assault rifle in his right hand laying along the ground.


    Oh god, this is disturbing. I¡¯m sorry Mr. Dead-Man. What if he moves. Don¡¯t breath in the air. Dead man particles. Please don¡¯t move. If I breathe in, I¡¯m gonna throw up. Gross. I don¡¯t wanna throw up¡­ A big gun. Too big though. I want to be able to move. I don¡¯t know how to use it anyway. Oh my god, okay, time to woman up.


    Despite there being no visible wounds or blood, she still didn¡¯t want to touch the body. She shut her brain off so she could combed through the jacket and pants of the soldier.


    A smaller gun. Don¡¯t know how to use this either but smaller means easier, right? Yeah, definitely. I¡¯ll figure it out. Regular gun this time. Bigger gun next time. After I know where people are.


    She took a pistol off of the soldier¡¯s leg, unzipped her right jacket pocket and zipped it back up after storing the weapon. While looking through the rest of the soldier¡¯s pockets and pouches, she found corresponding ammo for her new weapon and stowed it in her left jacket pocket. She left everything else alone, thinking it was all useless stuff to her, and stood up. The weapon and ammo hugging her body was tight but comfortable enough. She took one last look at the soldier.


    That wasn¡¯t too bad. So dramatic. I need to do better¡­ I didn¡¯t know you. But I guess everyone deserves a prayer. If not for this life, then for the next.


    She took a deep, relaxing breath and said a little pray for the soldier in front of her, then for the rest of the soldiers and village. Sadness enveloped her for that moment. After a time of stillness, she felt ready to move on.


    After under an hour of walking outside of Sopyne, less than three kilometers, Vena made it to the next town. She found time passed by rather quickly for her while traveling in silence. She passed a sign with the city¡¯s name: Shyrokyne. After some time exploring, Vena came to the conclusion that there wasn¡¯t much beauty to be found in this village. She would describe it as a place of conflict and struggle. The roads were made of mud and dirt. Buildings were either collapsed or damaged, filled with holes and decorated with trash and rubble. Trenches seemed to be strategically placed along the flat lands available. A berm was blocking the town¡¯s muddied beach and abandoned military equipment, such as tanks, trucks, artillery and weapons, trickled throughout the village.


    Jesus, what the hell happened here? Damn. Some kind of civil war or something? Or maybe it has something to do with those tree monsters. Crazy.


    Vena found bodies here too but most were soldiers and none were left in plain sight. She avoided the bodies and tried playing around with the military equipment, avoiding anything that could potentially get herself killed. She didn¡¯t want to get scolded again by the voice in her head again.


    What was she anyway? A demon? A witch? Some kind of telepath? All totally possible. Especially after what I¡¯ve seen. Was she inside of me? Is she inside of me right now?


    Chills ran down Vena¡¯s spine. Unlike before, these chills felt familiar, normal. Then a random idea hit her: she could steal a car! Inconveniently, every vehicle Vena checked was too damaged to start up, so she was forced to continue on foot.


    Of course none of them work. Why would it work? Don¡¯t want things to be too convenient.


    Vena pouted for a while as she made her way out of the town.


    I bet that last village had some running cars. I can¡¯t believe my brain waited till now to give me the idea. Well, seeing those poor towns people really fucked with me. So sad. And sudden. And unexpected¡­


    Vena cheered up halfway to the next town, Bezimenne. She was glad to see that this next city was absent of death and blood.


    Wow, look at how big this city is. Finally, some tall buildings. But the quietness is giving me flashbacks. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s fine, but still. It¡¯s hard to forget what happened the last time there was a quietness. At least the blue sky is brightening the place up¡­ I wonder why some cities have people and some are like this? I think evacuation again. But then, why wouldn¡¯t the cities in between be empty? I could understand the soldiers, but all those regular people. Why didn¡¯t they run? Well, it looked like they tried. Did they wait too long to evacuate? I need answers! It¡¯s killin me¡­ I gotta find where everyone went.


    This town was the biggest of the two she has seen so far, although that wasn¡¯t saying much. The sky painted the village in cool colors, revealing the town¡¯s beauty and subtle detail.


    This is by far the prettiest town so far. I¡¯d definitely vacation here. The brick and stone ground. The architecture and statues. And this beach is the prettiest. I love it.


    Halfway through the village, she was noticing quite a few hotels. One in particular had brick red walkways leading to bridges, stairs, and an open central area with a fountain of playful stone cherubs. More stairs lead further towards a giant pool and the beach far off to the distance.


    Oh my god, I can¡¯t believe how nice this place is. Bezimenne? I wonder if I¡¯ll ever get to come back to see any of these places again. When things are normal. I really love this sightseeing. Not my main goal but it sure is memorable. I¡¯m liking it. I bet if I didn¡¯t have the endurance I do it¡¯d be a different story. I could go on forever.


    Vena spent a little time hopping on, off, and across buildings, enjoying the verticality of the town¡¯s buildings. As time flies when you¡¯re having fun, her time in this village went by rather quickly and put her in high spirits. She jogged and bounded to and past the next town, which was close by. She ended up passing the town of Samsonove in minutes before slowing to a leisure stroll. Being small with only four or five blocks of residence along the coast, the area was surrounded by miles of farmland.


    I guess they¡¯d call this the countryside. Nothing but farmers here. Very boring. I guess I¡¯m not a farm girl¡­


    After passing the blocks of houses, Vena noticed a familiar sight: holes in the ground where trees once stood. Vena gave a long sigh, ¡°God damn it.¡±


    You have got to be kidding me¡­


    Tracing the road with her eyes, Vena couldn¡¯t see a single tree. She felt for her gun as she continued walking.


    Man, how¡¯s a gun gonna kill a tree? Makes me feel safe though¡­ Maybe I could set them on fire somehow? I basically need a fucking flamethrower for that!


    She paced deep in thought for a few minutes, hesitant to make any more progress.


    Maybe I should ask the voice. I really don¡¯t want to, but what if I have to? What if she¡¯s the only one with answers? What if it¡¯s the only way? But that pain¡­ That pain¡­ What if I knock myself out somehow? Sounds stupid. But it could be easy. I could just hold my breath¡­ I¡¯m gonna feel so dumb doing this.


    Vena stopped to the side of the road and sat in a patch of cool, moist, browning, grass. Her fear was getting the best of her. She hugged her legs, leaned her forehead onto her knees and held her breath. She started by counting. She got to ten, then thirty, and then sixty.


    Um, what the heck? This is taking way too long. Have I always been able to hold my breath like this? It really shouldn¡¯t be this hard¡­


    She got to one hundred and twenty, then one hundred and eighty.


    Wow. Okay, something¡¯s not right.


    She lifted her head and breathed in fresh air through her nose as if she didn¡¯t need it. After taking in a small bit of air and continuing to breathe as normal, she was thoroughly confused.


    I feel like I haven¡¯t lost any breath at all. Alright, let¡¯s get serious.


    She took a deep breath then tried to force it out while plugging her nose and mouth. She sat like that for a while and then felt the tiniest bit like she was turning red. It was still taking too long to pass out, so she relaxed and instantly started breathing in her normal rhythm.


    Am I in a dream? Why the hell can I hold my breath for so long? This is creepy. And weird. I guess I¡¯ll just add this to the list of things I can do.


    Despite beginning to feel like a martyr, Vena was willing to make one last attempt. She grabbed both sides of her neck and began squeezing and pressing as hard as she could. She was blocking the blood flow to her brain and it was working; she felt her head and face getting hotter and fatter as blood pooled. Her eyes were feeling fat and heavy like they were bulging and being forced closed. Her sight blurred and darkened.


    ¡°Vena Serafini. You managed a way for me to communicate freely to you. Impressive,¡± the beautiful deep voice began, ¡°Self-destructive, but impressive. My name is Grid.¡± A vision of Grid passed through Vena¡¯s mind and sight, ¡°With limited time, let us lay out the important points quickly. We are called spires. You might consider us spirits, although we are not. The wood creatures you will encounter are spires called barkers. They manipulate plants. They grow and heal using the nearby flora. They enjoy the sport of stealthily hunting and consume other creatures for pleasure. The heart in their chest cavity is their weakness, as is fire. They howl for nearby reinforcements. Next, an unfriendly spire of darkness follows you closely. Although the ability to sense it escapes you, you will begin to notice it in the future. Do not fret about it as of now, but stay cautious. This is all knowledge you will require to survive. My physical abilities include creation, shaping, and manipulation of fire. I was amongst the strongest in my dimension. I was a tactical fighter armed with two daggers. My strengths are my speed and elemental ability. My weaknesses include my physical strength and the element of water. It¡¯s the element¡¯s ability to consume heat that makes it lethal, so being wary of other elements that can do the same is wise. We are fusing into a single being called an evital: part human and part spire. You only have a fraction of my power right now. But with time and effort, everything that was once me will now be you. That is why I detailed my abilities to you. I apologize but this was the only way for me to survive. It was not I who lifted your memories, but the dark spire I mentioned earlier. The fusion shouldn¡¯t affected memories. The only way for you recover them is by the spire¡¯s choosing. In the end Vena, stop running and fight.¡± Grid¡¯s voice began fading at this point. Vena didn¡¯t know if it was because her memory was hazy or because she started gaining consciousness. It was all like a dream, ¡°Your body is a weapon. My daggers will find you. Evital power is literally in your veins. Use that knowledge to help control the power¡­¡°


    Vena¡¯s dream and the view of grass blurred and blended together as one. Her sight was spinning as she saw stars and dark colors in front of her eyes. She couldn¡¯t control her body movements. She fell over trying to get up and rolled about on the floor as she tried to find her barings. As the stars and colors faded, her world became more clear and the spinning slowed. Her head was pounding. She held still and waited for the world to stop moving. Her many hands started to look like two. When she found she could focus on a single blade of grass, she relaxed and sat down. She took in a big breath of air and laid down.


    That¡­ Was crazy¡­