Silverton's Journey

Prologue

(788 words)

•6 Years Ago•

Scorching heat woke me up. I looked through the dense smoke that clouded my vision. What is happening?

My vision was blurred as water filled my eyes. In front of me, I could only see violent flames.

I looked around. My entire room was burning in ruby-red flames. The heat from the flames made me weaker every second.

Taking careful steps, I staggered to the door and opened it. There was a horrible sight in front of my eyes.

There was not a spot where the fire had not touched. I could only hear cries of help that slowly faded away.

The guards, who looked after my room, were lying on the floor. Not one of them was recognizable. Their bodies were charred and turned into ashes.

Despite the flames burning under my feet, I strode forward. I need to find the others.

I called out to everyone. "Mother! Father, where are you? Evan?"

"Erik, over here!" A feminine voice shrieked as she wept. I knew who it was.

I ran in the direction of the voice, intending to save her. As I came closer to her, I saw that the flames surrounded her.

"Mother, take my hand! We can get out of here."

Her wine-red eyes sparkled in hope as she reached out a hand to me.

She was only a small distance away.

Just a little more...

As I reached out for her hand, the chandelier right above her tumbled from the high ceiling. A second later, the woman in front of me was gone. The chandelier shattered on the floor and fire quickly spread over it.

From beneath the broken chandelier, a bloodstained hand stuck out. It was the hand that I failed to take.

I could feel my pulse on my fingertips. My throat became heavy. Agitated, I yelped and called out again. "Where is everyone?"

Nobody responded. I could feel my limbs starting to succumb to the fire. My breathing became hoarse and I choked. Smoke irritated my eyes. I had no time to waste.

Stretching my wings out, I flew in search of windows. My wings caught a little fire, but I had to go on. I tried to evade the falling debris as much as possible.

By the time I had found a broken stained glass window, my entire body throbbed. A little further...

The sharp edges of the broken glass cut through my wings as I flew out of the window. A thunderous sound of collapsing came from behind me.

Perhaps this is all over.

Not looking behind, I flew straight ahead. For the first time in my life, the pain was so much hard to endure.

I let out an ear-splitting scream before releasing all control over my body.

The sky expanded in front of my eyes and pine trees framed around it. Air violently pushed against my sore back. My body became numb and slowly, everything turned black.

All of a sudden, my body began throbbing again. Each of my limbs was in pain. My eyelids felt so heavy I could not lift them. How long has it been since I came here?

Flashbacks of the fire struck my head against my will. It felt like I was living the moment again. I could not save the one person by my side at that time. The sound of her weeping voice was heart-wrenching.

Nobody else responded to my call. Did they all die by then?

My eyes opened when I could not take it anymore. In front of me, there was a sky overcast with grey clouds, framed with pine trees. Black smoke came from the north.

I could only lie here and stare at the sky. With the scorching sensation all over my body, I felt like the world was ending. I knew who were behind this massacre, and I could not do anything about it.

They knew our weaknesses.

A decade ago, they killed half of our population. Now they were aiming for the remaining.

I wonder what could be happening there. I've done a terrible offence running away.

Letting out a sigh of frustration, I closed my eyes.

Even then, I could not relax. All I saw was fire; all I heard were desperate cries for help. The more I tried to forget it, the more it haunted me.

I have abandoned everything and everyone. Will I ever be able to return home?

There was no going back. I felt empty yet overwhelmed. Was it fear? Or was it guilt?

I did not know.

Could it be the end of everything?

In the midst of all sorrow, a sign of hope appeared. Rain drizzled from the smoky sky.

I still have someone to protect.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts in the comments! <3