Chapter 3

  The Curse of Burning Flesh

  Aubin

  “You are our family’s treasure. Live on for their memory.” Those last words echoed in my mind, now a desperate plea that clung to the smoke-infested air. Did I make the right choice? I only could hope now that Nil found safety.

  Trapped under the weight of stone, the thought of that being my last words clawed into my mind. It could be that everything was in vain in the end. I watched helplessly as the creature turned its attention to Nil, my brother. Aubin. Nil’s brother. Former construction worker. My uncle, my family… all fading into the haze of memory.

  This fire had taken everything from me. Everything was gone. My uncle… there was no other choice… the now vivid memory burned within me. I was soon to join them too, wasn’t I? The monster's rampage continued in the distance, only moments ago being near. Above, clouds raged on, covering the sky in a dark, unforgiving grey. Flames consumed everything. It was an endless cyclone, suffocating the land.

  I felt like giving up. I already did what I could for my brother. There was no hope I could get out of here. I told myself, “Snap out of it. You’ve still got this.”

  I tried to get up, but the boulder was on the way. Every time I pushed, shoved, and did everything I could, it wouldn't budge. It weighed like a ton. Regardless of any strength I had left, I couldn’t get it off me. Out of anger and desperation, I punched the boulder, only stopping from my hands being beaten and battered. What was weird to me was that after all that struggle, it left a dent. The rock was heavy, but it was also brittle in a way. With every punch, little dents in the rock appeared with dust. With the pace I was going, the dents wouldn’t change anything, but it was a start. It gave me hope. After a few minutes of punching the boulder, I didn’t even make a little progress, besides a few cracks. I figured it was over for me, that I would die under this rock, but then I saw it.

  It was the axe my brother used to fight the creature. I remembered how he charged after it just to be slammed into a building. The axe was still lying there in the debris. I tried grabbing it, but no matter how much I reached for it was just out of my reach. Just as I was about to give up, the ground rumbled as several buildings fell. I managed to grab the axe and began hitting the rock, with it eventually crumbling. I broke free and stumbled upward. It was very hard to walk from my leg, feeling like the bones in my leg were a pulp of rocks. I struggled my way through the rubble. My hands scraped against the rock like claws, bleeding and bare.

  My legs trembled, heavy like lead. My hands were limp, numb with pain. Everything in my body was hurting. With every minute, the wasteland was caving in, crumbling my mind like sandpaper. One image I held in my mind kept me conscious. That image was my brother. I had to live for him, and I can’t leave him alone in this world.

  Several wounds covered all over my body, they were deep. It was hard to breathe, like fresh air didn’t exist here. Finding shelter was important now. Worry carved into my soul. Where did my brother go? I hoped he was okay. The beast ran after him instead of me. I was guilty that he may be dead. I continued walking through the wasteland, looking for any shelter. Hopefully, I could find something.

  As I walked through the remains of my town, I remembered some buildings I helped build. The grocery store, the school, some apartments, only their remains settled as I pass by. I continued through the wasteland that used to be my home, flipped upside down its face.

  I looked up to a building I still recognize. The building was the place where I went to school, but I still wondered how it was still standing. For a moment, I felt a bit of nostalgia and happiness. Something in the distance takes me away from my thoughts and straight back to reality.

  A wave of heat enveloped the area, with a blue flame erupting in the distance. After the flame, I saw the Hellspawn from the town hall get flung into a building. I almost tripped over as I saw it. Before I could take another step, I heard the beast emerging. Its claws drag across the ground like sleet against the burnt soil, silencing all sound in a radius. The tall skeleton of flesh stared at me. I held onto the axe tightly.

  The beast let out a terrifying roar as it chased me. I scrambled to get up and to start running, fear embedding into every fiber of my muscles. I went through the remains of buildings, then the school. It was quickly behind, destroying everything in its path. Now backed into a corner, I tried to hit it, but I got knocked into a building. I lay there, with the creature looming over me. Any dim light was cast out from its shadow. I squeezed my eyes shut, hiding from my fate. Suddenly, an explosion came from the distance, shaking our ground.

  The Beast turned away from me, stomping towards the explosion. I nearly passed out, but someone grabbed my hand.

  A woman appeared in my vision, taking me to the rubble. Hiding from the capture, she whispered. “Don’t be out in the open.” She had dirty blonde hair and brown eyes, with old leather clothes on.

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  “Who are you?”

  “I am Matilda. I’m a part of the gang called The Fist of Iron.” She pointed to the beast. “I need to get a sample of it. If we know its composition, we could get rid of it faster. Though you look hurt, we will get you to safety.”

  I followed Matilda through the rubble, watching the beast carefully. Matilda made a sword out of thin air. It had a thin metal handle with an emerald blade, and she used it to slice the beast’s leg. Before the beast could stomp Matilda, another man grabbed her.

  The man stood tall in the wind, with his face covered with a crimson scarf. He looked to be twelve feet tall, with muscles all over his body hidden by a leather vest. He had long red hair and deep blue eyes. He landed an uppercut on the beast, forcing it to back away. With a flick of his fingers, a barrier formed as a shield. He grabbed me while carrying Matilda and started running while protecting us.

  Matilda asked the man, “Orin, where are we going next?”

  “Outta here!” Orin carried us through the debris of the town, with the beast following us not too far.

  I looked back in fear as I saw the beast charging up something. Flames erupted from its hands, swirling and molding into a weapon. It formed into a spear, overflowing with heat. The creature launched it at us, and a searing wave of heat washed over me as the ground began to crumble in a massive explosion.

  There was fire everywhere, enveloping me. The surrounding ground collapsed around us, opening up into a cave. I lay there, weak and burning. Orin was protecting me and Matilda with a glowing shield. He struggled to keep the beast at a distance, with it slashing and tearing at the shield.

  Anger and revenge boiled within me, and I used it to fuel me upward. I grabbed my axe and sliced one of its arms, with the beast roaring in anger. It backhanded me, sending me flying into a wall. Debris pelted my body like a million pieces of glass were in my flesh. I couldn’t breathe, the air thick with smoke and ash. My vision blurred, and all I could hear was stomping.

  I looked up to see the beast coming towards me, with its eyes burning with hatred. Orin tried to fight the creature, but it hit him in the gut, and he fell to the floor. I yell out, making the beast come towards me again.

  When I felt like I was gonna die, suddenly an incredibly loud noise rang in my ears. I couldn’t hear or see well, but the beast was on the floor covering where ears would be. I couldn’t hear or see well, with the world now being a blur of motion. But when I could see, the creature was on the floor, screaming in pain. Orin had picked me up again, and we were running. However, one thing became clear to me, it was that the creature said something.

  It had screamed out in my uncle's voice, “Aubin, why are you leaving me? Don’t leave me here alone, please! I don’t wanna be alone, please!” Tears ran down my face, and I knew it wasn’t him, but it felt so real.

  It continued to wail out to me. “How could you leave me, leave your family? Why?” Those words crushed me from the inside. My mind went numb, tears dried up. Guilt filled the gap.

  We continued to charge through the wasteland. The creature’s haunting cries echoed in my mind as I fell unconscious.

  After a while, I woke up on a mountain I remembered. It was the mountain next to our village. The village was still on fire. It was hard to see from here, but the flames continued to burn the area. I looked next to me. Matilda and Orin were there, but there was another person.

  There was a man. He was wearing jeans and a hoodie. He was a bit shorter than me and had curly hair from what I could see.

  His face was filled with concern and anger. “That was stupid of you.”

  “We needed the sample. I’m sorry Valenor.” Matilda looked at Valenor, seeming to be nervous.

  Orin spoke up. “I will take the blame. It was my idea.”

  “Alright, just don’t let it happen again. We can’t have people dying. Also, who is this?”

  “We found him in the debris.” He looked at me with suspicion. After a while, he told us to get going. Matilda helped me walk down the mountain and to the end of the island.

  This part of the island wasn’t burnt, with trees still around and wildlife exploring. The light from dawn filled the sky, some reflecting off the water that made a river. We went through a forest, and it was so peaceful. I felt safe, but guilt hit me like a train.

  Matilda was helping me walk. “Is everything alright, you can tell us anything, you know that, right? We aren’t here to hurt you.” Those words loosened the tension that was in my mind.

  Valenor added, “Yeah, sorry if I’ve been grumpy. It’s just all this happening. You guys could have died out there, and I’m stressed out.”

  They reassured Valenor that everything was fine, and they continued to worry about me. Pressure ended up getting the best of me. I couldn’t hide what I wanted to hide.

  “It’s nothing. I’m just shocked by that fire behind us.” I lied, I had to. I couldn’t let them worry about my brother. It would be selfish. It would be a risk to go back there, not now. Besides, I don’t even know if he is alive. I can’t let them risk their lives again. Not for something that might be already too late. If my brother was alive, he wouldn’t be on the island anymore.

  After what felt like hours of exploring the forest, we got close to the shore of the island. Soon after, we stopped for a minute to rest. We stopped in a shaded area, one that had trees and grass. It was close to the cliffside of rocks.

  We all sat down with exhaustion, but were relieved. Valenor spoke to me. “So, you are Aubin? I have a few things to say before we continue.”

  I nodded to him and let him proceed, with his words sparking curiosity in me. “We are some of the people focusing on eliminating that creature from the map. If you would like to, you can help us. If you don’t, we will take you to another town for you to settle as you were. We will not judge you for either choice, and I would say you should settle down from those injuries. But it’s your choice.” Silence filled the void as I had to make a decision.

  I thought for a while. My brother, if I help with this mission, maybe I could find him again if he’s still alive. “I will come with you guys. I want to be part of the cause.” “Alright, let’s go.”

  We followed Valenor to a boat for our escape from the island. We got onto the boat. Orin was setting the sails as Matilda helped me lie down. From here, I saw a clear night sky, free of ash and smoke. I looked back one more time, the village still engulfed in flames. The town looked like a scar on the island, a wound that continued to spread, burning anything that was within an invisible bubble. The bubble stretched for miles, with the fires being inside.

  Within that bubble and even a little outward, the fires bled through the night, killing anything in its radius. As I lay there, one thing stayed with me during this whole event. I hope my brother is okay.