When You Become A Target Of The Martial God Heavenly Emperor [Tian Guan Ci Fu]

Chapter 14

The first thing Carter sees when he awakens from his slumber is the dozens of burnt corpses surrounding him. He stirs in place, feeling the sweat that had gathered at his nape down to his back. He takes in a shaky breath, shutting his eyes momentarily. It was burning everywhere. Literally. He remembers the volcanic fire had risen to a level where it had come in contact with him and many others at the same time. The structures and buildings helped in giving some leverage away from the full-blown heat, but it still wasn't enough to fully escape.

Many died right before his eyes. The screaming still rang in his ears. The people's varying faces were a complete nightmare, and he knew it wouldn't be the last time he would see some of them. Many of those had slipped and fallen to their deaths. Or even those who have been pushed by those who had already occupied the structure space. He was lucky to not be one of them. He wasn't pushed, nor had he pushed, nor had he slipped into death- He was one of the lucky ones who ignored and in turn, was able to be ignored.

Yet the aftermath still sucked either way. It was difficult to decide which exactly was better. To be a survivor or to be dead.

Carter gasped in pain, flinching at the burns on his arm. It burned so badly. So much worse than when he almost burnt down the kitchen when he was seven years old. He bites down on his cracked lips and finally opens his eyes to the world. It hurt to even open them. He felt like he was being forced into slumber. His eyelids fell half-lidded as he weakly turned his head to the right.

He peeks at the surroundings with blurry vision, the slow movement of orange and grey in the distance hazily catching his attention. He ignored the corpses in his view. The lava wasn't as destructive as before. It had cooled slightly, a thin layer of grey covering the scorching, hot molten that had returned to its calm, slow pace. Yet it was still right there. A few feet away from him, running over corpses and structures that were in their way.

Carter had to move. Even if he felt like going right back to sleep in blissful ignorance. He twitched a bit, forcing his eyes open to stare at the storm-cloud-filled heaven. His leg slowly rose, the ball of his foot digging into the soil beneath him as he struggled to turn himself over to his side. So close, just a bit further and he can lean on his stomach rather than on his back. 

A small grunt of pain escaped him due to the sudden force of movement, and he pitifully had to return to his original position once more otherwise he would've pulled another muscle or two.

He let out an exasperated scream of frustration, spreading his arms out in surrender as he listlessly continued his cloud-watching. It was lovely. But it would be even more lovely if it didn't look like it was going to rain soon. 

".. Wow," a small whisper sounded out in the dead air of silence. 

Carter flinched. His voice was so hoarse and painful to use. He carefully lifted a finger to run down his throat, as if that would help him in relieving the discomfort. The finger trembled against his skin, shockingly cold to the touch.

The light putter patter of stones falling over somewhere at a distance almost pulled him into a sense of calm. It was a repeating rhythm that followed one after the other. Like someone was dropping them with careful timing. Yet, it had started to grow louder. 

Then, all too suddenly, the sound of footsteps upon earth caught his attention. Carter tensed involuntarily. He listened attentively, then stilled himself even more when the realization hit him. Those weren't stones. Someone was coming over, and they were heading his way.