Chapter One: Burning

I was lying on a bed of soft, emerald green grass, and the world appeared serene around me. The clearing I had somehow wandered into was peaceful and quiet, and I knew that surrounding me was life and joy. Everywhere my head angled, I saw elegant movements and small flashes of life darting through the area.

This clearing was my world. My escape.

A slight gust of wind blew through the clearing, ruffling my short black hair and causing the longer strands at the front of my head to cover my face. A smile formed on my lips, the corners quirking upwards into a side-grin, almost.

The sunlight streamed in from all sides, and the rays delivered by the golden orb in the sky appeared to be focused on me. A halo of light surrounded my body, and it warmed every inch of my exposed skin. My hands went up to protect my eyes, obscuring the sun's powerful light from my view, and further darkening my take on the world.

My chest rose and fell in gradual breaths, and my eyes closed of their own accord. I felt my mouth open slightly, and I inhaled the fresh afternoon air, hungrily swallowing it like a dying man, and delivering it to my lungs. The smile widened even more, and my legs stretched out beneath me, a laugh rising inside of me and threatening to burst out of my lips.

Before I was even aware of what I was doing, a warm glow formed inside of my chest, steadily increasing in power and rapidly widening its circle until it completely engulfed the rest of my body. I peeled open my eyelids, only to find that my body was in the same condition I had left it in. The glow I thought I had felt was not there - more like an invisible action rather than visible. All the same, I knew the glow was there, throbbing as that knowing power surged through my veins, racing around my body and providing me with a strength I had only encountered once before in my lifetime.

The memory surged into my mind before I had time to prevent it, and I was reminded of what had taken place so many years before. My smile wiped from my face, and I sat bolt upright as if I had been jabbed with a sharp sword. I rose to my feet and shakily placed one hand above my eyebrows, blocking the fierce light from my eyes.

The powerful radiance which engulfed my body moments before was no retreating into my chest, withdrawing itself from the rest of me, and stealing away the strength I had felt moments before. A heavy sigh of relief left my lips, and I relaxed my stiff position, warily eyeing the clearing for any signs of unusual activity.

It always seemed that when this unknown power surged forth inside of me, my awareness of...darker things was at its most strongest. I could sense the dangers lurking before me, and I could pinpoint where exactly there were without having to lift a finger. This power had once been something for me to cherish and revere, and Kiera had also shown delight in these newfound abilities. Of course, when she discovered her own powers teeming inside of her, it became a world we shared together.

But things had changed a lot since then. I had learned to fear the powers I had unknowingly received as a child, and had shoved them aside, vowing to never use them unless push came to shove. This world was dangerous, and the dark forces which I had barely recognised in my childhood years were now looming closer. It felt almost as if they were following me - marking me as a condemned person.

A shiver rippled down my spine, and I finally felt those receding powers diminish into nothing. The void was still there, though; the hole where those desires had been would always exist when I shoved them away. It further reminded me of how inhuman I sometimes was - like I was somehow more at one with my darker side when I felt those powers take control.

A frown formed in between my brows, and I examined my shaking hands. There was an uncomfortable throb beginning to form where that power had once been, almost reminding me of the last time I had used them to their maximum potential. My powers could give and take lives, and that was one thing I resented and feared above all else. No one should possess that kind of power, and the fact that I did only served as a reminder of my capabilities.

I craned my head upwards and studied the golden orb in the sky, glowing fiercely as it competed with the rapidly ascending moon. Both were attempting to outshine the other - one always winning at one certain moment in time, the other always losing. Their constant existence made me hesitate as I began to make my way across the clearing and towards town.

Had my powers been a random genetic mutation, or had it been passed down this family for generations?

And, if the latter was correct, then did that mean my future children would have to endure the same burden I now carried upon my shoulders?

I didn't want that kind of life for my children. I wanted them safe and normal, not like my sister and I had been. Though we had never released such information to friends or family, I suspected whether my parents had had an inclination of what we had. Mother had always been wise and understanding - appearing to know the ins and outs of our lives. Was it so hard to assume that she could have known what powers we possessed?

Before I could concentrate more on the topic, I heard my phone ring inside my jean pocket. An exasperated groan rose to my lips, and I violently snagged it from said pocket, answering it and harshly saying, "Yes?"

"Terra!" sounded the voice of my friend, Jane. She sounded relieved to hear from me, and I had a brief vision of what our shared apartment would look like when I arrived.

"Yes?" I reiterated for her benefit, beginning my walk towards town, and anxiously deliberating what could have possibly happened during my absence. I swear, if it was another raving party I was going to-

"Where are you?" she demanded, interrupting my thoughts.

I rolled my eyes. "Is that really any of your concern?"

"Terra!" Jane snarled, her tone darker and more...worried?

"Fine, fine! I was in the clearing not far from town. I'm walking towards town now. Why?"

Jane muttered something incomprehensible under her breath and then said, "There's been an accident."

My eyes widened and my breathing turned more panicked, my chest rising and falling laboriously. A wild panic flared inside my chest, a strange feeling rising in the pit of my stomach and causing discomfort to me. "What do you mean?" I managed to choke out, an unbearable bout of fear breaking off my oxygen supply.

"All I know is that the south side of town was badly burnt down. The police and the fire-fighters are currently sweeping the area for any sign of survivors." Her tone changed as she continued, and she sounded truly grieved, as if she could possibly understand the whir of activity burning in my skull. "I'm so sorry, Terra."

I tentatively swallowed and felt my pace quicken, as if racing towards town could possibly save the lives already lost. "Have you heard any word from friends and family?" I asked, though knowing I didn't much care for her own friends and family. We shared the same clique of friends, and her family didn't even live in the south side of town.

What I was really asking was; have you heard from my parents?

Jane seemed to know this as she said, "No, I'm sorry."

"It's alright. I'll try dialling their house number." It was a pointless thing to say considering how unlikely it was that our house had managed to survive the scorching blaze of a fire. The chances of survival in such a horrible event were next to nothing. The south side was a labyrinth of streets, and you'd have to have lived there a century to fully understand the complexity of it.

A scream rose up in my throat, and I worked to overcome the desire, aware of my friend anxiously listening on the other side.

"Do you want me to contact the police and ask for details on the survivors?" she demanded, her voice scared and determined at the same time. How could she remain so strong after having been delivered such horrifying news? Of course, I already knew the answer to my own question: When living in a town as peaceful and nice as this, one had to remain strong so as to cling onto hope. If we didn't have hope, then what did we have?

"No, they'll be dealing with the crisis right now. Their first priority is saving lives and assessing the damage. If we were to intervene and ask pointless questions, where would that lead us but to a jail cell?"

Jane sounded horrified. "It wouldn't be pointless to ask! Don't say things like that, Terra."

"How am I supposed to sound, then?" I asked as I walked through the trees, rapidly closing in on the town now growing as I stormed ahead.

"Hopeful," she responded with a kind tone to her voice. She reminded me of an angel come to wish us good luck on a dangerous mission. It altogether aggravated and comforted me to know that she could remain so calm at a time like this. Part of me wanted to close my hands around her throat and slam her against a wall for sounding so calm, whereas the other part of me wanted to break down in tears at how brave she was being. I was more or less siding with the former, knowing grieving would get me nowhere.

"I have to go now," I sighed. "I'll meet up with you later. Right now I need to go and find my parents."

"Alright. Let me know how it goes." There was some sort of regret in her voice as I cut her off. Like she somehow knew that the chances of me locating my parents was a lost cause before I had even begun.

A fire can claim lives, but I can snatch them back, I thought bitterly. I knew that should I find my parents missing or dead, all I would have to do would be to conjure my powers and save them from their fates. Of course, it was easier said than done, and considering I had vowed to never use my abilities after the previous incident, I was hesitant to resort to such an option.

Was bringing someone back such a good idea? Wouldn't the best option be to leave them to their own peace now?

"But they are alive," I argued, clenching my fists in anger. "They have to be alive!"

But what if they're not? demanded that prim little voice in the back of my head - the one which was usually right.

I knew that if my parents weren't alive, I'd go insane with hatred and pain. My parents were all I had left, and after my sister's...incident, I knew that to lose two very important kin would result in the shattering of my heart and my ability to accept the truth.

In reality: I'd never be the same again.

 

 

Cries of horror and pain rose up from the billowing plumes of black smoke, angrily rising from the streets and houses in the south side of town. Bright red flames shakily clawed at the air, their gnarled fingers extending to lick up more of the town. Water soaked the ruined houses, demolished and no longer recognisable as being homes.

My eyes worriedly surveyed the area, and I attempted to make sense of the horror enfolding before me. The smell of charred flesh was fresh in the air, and one hand immediately went to block the ghastly smell from entering my lungs. My eyes watered as the scorching heat of the flames met me full-on, my skin beginning to burn and bake like a pie. Every strand of hair clung to my scalp, and tears blurred in my vision, a few loose drops trailing down my cheeks. I didn't know if I was crying or if I was merely reacting to such a sight before me.

Hordes of men and women rushed past me, their burnt bodies bright and tainted with the smell of dead bodies. Blood streamed down heads and legs, limping people racing for cover, and lost children crying for their missing parents.

It was mayhem, and I felt like I had been consumed by the flames. I couldn't react in the ways I wanted to. Every decision I wanted to make appeared to flutter away, and my legs seemed frozen to the ground, locked with the burning concrete underneath me.

The sound of sirens ahead caused me to break free of this drowning feeling of despair, and my head snapped up in the general direction of the noise. My eyes were wide in recognition, and a gasp left my lips. I had yet to locate my parents, and the fire was still angrily raging on, burning down each and every house and body it could grab. My parents could be one in many of the people losing their lives, and I refused to accept that.

Before I had made a conscious action to charge deeper into the south side of town, I was suddenly running down empty streets and holding one feverish hand to my mouth to avoid inhaling the toxic fumes. Houses and street names blurred past me, and I ploughed on down the roads, aware of time pressing against me.

More screams met me as I reached another turn, and I anxiously looked down the left street. It was a long road, one which brought back no memories of a faint flicker of recognition: This was not a street I had ever encountered on my travels as a child. Therefore, this street was unimportant.

Beads of sweat trickled down the back of my neck and down my top, further dampening my clothes and causing them to cling to my skin. I swallowed and realised how dry my throat and mouth was - like a desert that hadn't received rain for a few decades. The notion caused another bout of thirst to wash over me, and I hastily licked my lips, feeling my dry skin become uncomfortable.

I turned right on the street and raced down the centre of the road, afraid to get too close to the houses for fear that one might explode. It was good to be cautious, and had my parents been there to accompany me on this frightening hunt to save the people I loved, I knew words of praise would be all I could hear. That was all I wanted to hear, really. It would be more than a blessing to know that they were safe and sound, far away from the roaring flames angrily swallowing the civilisation which clustered here.

As I neared the end of another road, leaving me at a T-section, a house's windows exploded nearby. The sound was like thunder clapping through the silent night, rendering me paralysed in fear. My body stiffened anticipating the blow, and rather than do the smart thing and collapse to the ground, my head turned to greet the small shards of glass flying through the air to meet my exposed skin.

I felt sharp stings all over my body as I turned, and a weird desire to scream rose up. Not because I was experiencing a brand new pain, but because I was aware of how isolated I was. Everyone who had resided within this specific part of the south side was gone - they had already evacuated for their own safety. No one would know where I was, or even if I had managed to survive the sudden attack of flames destroying this part of town. I'd be lost amongst the rubble and concrete showering the area, my body bloodied and empty - no soul to give it life.

In a sense: I'd be dead.

Another explosion brought me to the ground, my head crashing against the concrete and creating a huge bout of pain to flare in my skull. I was suddenly very disorientated, and it took a lot of energy to raise my heavy head. A headache bloomed full-scale in my head, and I shakily rose to my feet. A warm, sticky liquid trailed down the side of my head, and it appeared to be flowing like a river - never a good sign.

A groan left my lips, and as I attempted to focus ahead of me, I realised that the world was like an out-of-focus camera lens. No matter how hard I tried, the world wouldn't regain its once perfect clarity, subjecting me to a world full of fog and haziness. I shook my head, as if this would help my current situation, only to find myself on my knees on the concrete and wincing in agony. My skull felt like it had received a huge boulder to the side, and with every intake of breath, the world seemed less and less like a world, and more like a blank piece of paper.

Eventually, my eyes closed of their own accord, and I felt my body just...collapse. I wasn't aware of the action or the pain which would have ensued - only that I had dropped out of my body, like my soul had detached itself. I was hovering outside of my shell of a body, left to watch in silent agony as that body of mine refused to wake up and move away from the advancing flames. If I was going to evacuate and save myself, the time had to be now.

I drifted closer to my body, drinking in that short black hair of mine, those beautiful ice-cold eyes I reserved for my best friend, and those pink-ish lips which usually curved upwards into a knowing smile. My skin would have been pale, but now it was flushed in a bright crimson, overtaking my skin and further reminding me of the pain I should have felt.

I paused just a few inches from touching my still body, and focused more on myself: The body outside of the body. I raised my hands in front of my face, and saw them as almost transparent, a faint film of white preventing me from truly seeing through it. One hand anxiously rose to my hair, and I felt it like it truly was there. To me, it probably was there, but to everyone else I was just a body on the ground, not a body in the air.

A frown dented in between my brows, and I bit my lip in worry. The flames behind me should have been enough to burn my back or at least cause sweat to form, but nothing happened. Like I had discovered - I was incapable of feeling anything during this...what? What could I call this kind of experience? No one was capable of doing this except my sister and I, and I had only ever encountered this problem once before, when I had made the mistake of being run over by a car. The force of the car smashing against my body should have killed me instantly, and yet still I had woken to the sight of my sister leaning over me whilst I was in a hospital bed. Proof that I could revive myself from anything.

"Wake up!" I suddenly cried to my still body, glancing anxiously towards the flames rapidly advancing towards me. I didn't know what would happen should my body be brought to the wrath of a fire, but I knew the result would be less than nice.

Screams rang out not far from where I was, and part of me wanted to know what was going on elsewhere. But I was afraid to leave my body's side, worried that if I were to look away for too long it would no longer be there.

"Please!" I yelled, rushing over to my body's side and attempting to slap myself back to life. This couldn't be the end of me! I was still here. I was gifted with unfathomable power - this was not the end for me! "Wake up, goddamnit!"

From life to death, we all must fade, spoke a tender and loving voice. The tone was soft and smooth, kind and caring. So much love oozing out of one sentence. The words echoed around me, and I struggled to catch them.

"What?" I gasped, sniffing and attempting to search for the source of the sound. No one was in sight, though...like the person didn't even exist.

No one escapes the hands of the Fade.

I darted an apprehensive glance towards the flames, turned back to the body, and then snapped back to the flames. My eyes were wide as I stared, gobsmacked, at the sight before me! Where the fire had been advancing towards me, set on destroying my body, it was frozen to the spot, its flames hungrily licking the air nearby. Yet the fire could not advance. It was as if an invisible barrier prevented the flames from swallowing my body, and thereby providing me with time to wake.

Where a soul must die and leave this land-

"Stop!" I pleaded, placing hands over my ears as if to shut out the whispering voices. It was more than one person uttering those sentences, repeating them over and over in my head; echoing them. "Stop it, now!"

The Fade will welcome them to our land.

I watched the fire as it began to disappear, smoke billowing from the damaged houses nearby, and yet no more destruction being inflicted upon them again. The flames were struggling, though. I could see how those long and gnarled fingers stretched and curved, hungry for more flesh to burn and destroy, wanting to claim more souls, and sensing that mine was still very much intact.

 

From life to death, we all must fade.

No escapes the hands of the Fade.

Where a soul must die and leave this land,

The Fade will welcome them to our land.

 

The song echoed and reverberated off of every hard surface it could find. It crashed against the flames and caused them to rapidly dissipate into the air, the black smoke gradually increasing in height and size; like a tidal wave.

My eyes were wide as I listened to the song being repeated, each sentence delivering a hard punch to the roaring fire, and further inflicting damage upon it, commanding it to leave this world. It was breathtaking to watch, and as the last words were sung by a single pure voice, one I recognised but could not place, I felt the world begin to dim, and the shining light which had lit up this strange new world began to fade.

Just like the creatures mentioned in the song; I had to leave this land and enter my old land. I was sure this land wasn't meant to be breached by trespassers such as myself, which roused further questions inside me. Was breaching this spirit world - I suppose it could be called - a part of my gift? Or did it extend to further than that, perhaps enabling me to guide more than one person into this world?

Were the abilities I had a gift from the people known as the Fade? Or was it more than that? Had I originated from this land and had somehow been alternated into the other?

A thousand thoughts and ideas flashed through my head as I returned to consciousness, aware of that familiar presence floating nearby. I wanted to delve in deeper and understand what these gifts meant, and why exactly I had them. It was a frustrating feeling to know that I could be so close to finding an answer, and yet being dragged further away from the discovery. It left me drained, angry and more than a little confused.

As the last thread holding me in this world snapped apart, my eyes suddenly focused on a pair of eyes. They shocked me, like I had been slapped for no reason, and caused my resilience to weaken briefly, launching me back into my land and barring me from the one I had, just moments before, entered.

A pair of glowing red eyes had met with mine, sending a shiver down my spine, and a familiar feeling to rise inside of me.

I knew those eyes. I had met them before. Perhaps not in this world - but I had met them before.

 And I had parted with them in unfortunate circumstances.