The Feathers of Fire [1st DRAFT]

1. The Burning City

                  "Carmen!" my mother shrieked. "Carmen!" The crowd of people swept us apart. "Mama!" I cried. I was shoved aside and engulfed by unknown figures. People were running and screaming. Some rode on horses, now trampling others on their mad dash to the city gates. Houses were burning, men, women, and children laid dead in the street. You couldn't see the stars through the smoke filled sky, so the only light was the orange glow from the fires behind us. I couldn't distinguish my mother's calls from everyone else, and began to sob as I lost sight of her. She was still holding my baby brother.

                   I saw the meteors streaking through the sky like a plane that had caught fire, and was now plummeting towards the Earth. "Mama!" I screamed. All I could do was try not to get trampled. That's when the meteors caught up with us and it started to hail burning coals.

                    One hit my thigh and bounced off, but I still wailed in agony as it had seared my skin where fresh blood was now streaming from. I knew that waiting here would only get me killed or trampled. My only hope of finding my mother was to get out. So I pushed through the crowd desperately trying to escape this Hell, hoping that my mother and brother would make it out too. Smoke stung my eyes and made my lungs burn. Someone's foot caught on my skirt and I tripped, landing face first in the dirt. Others stumbled over me, ignoring me completely as they fled. I started crawling forward, pulling myself up when, CRUNCH!

                    Somebody had stepped on me. Hard. I felt my rib crack and a sharp, burning sensation shot up my entire left side. I gasped in pain. I cried as I crawled, making my injured leg sting as I dragged it through the sand.

                    Several pairs of feet came along and stepped on my fingers. People hardly glanced back when I screamed. I understood of course, the fire was catching up. It was so close that I could feel the skin on the back of my legs blister and the ends of my hair getting singed off. As somebody with long flowing white robes passed me I thrust my hand into the air and grabbed hold of the end of their cloak. They were stopped in their tracks but their momentum was enough to pull me to my feet.

                      I ran. I ran like I'd never run before. The horrible blazing monster behind me, also known as a fire, was classified as a natural disaster. Despite growing up with it as a common occurrence, there was nothing natural about it to me. I'd always seen fire as a person. A bloodthirsty, rage driven, merciless, destructive person. So I ran like a rabbit being chased by a fox.

                      I can't explain the amount of pain I was in. With my messed up rib, it felt like broken shards of glass were moving around underneath my skin. My heart was racing faster than I'd ever thought possible, my lungs burned from running, my leg stung from the meteor's impact, and I was light headed from inhaling all of the smoke. But, like everyone else, I kept pushing through.

                      I could see the golden bars of the gates as people rushed out in a panic. I sprinted for it. It seemed like ages until I reached the gates, but instead of running out I turned and ran parallel to them, out of everyone's way. I collapsed on the ground, gasping and retching. I had run for so long in the extreme heat, gasping in smoke as I sobbed, so it made sense when I spilled last night's dinner onto the ground. I came up trembling and groaning, the pain in my side making it feel as if someone was stabbing me. I turned to walk back to the gates and escape.

                     But first, I took one last look at the city that was my home, one that I would never return to. A blazing inferno swallowed homes and businesses, steaming rocks pelted people, burning their skin, and searing holes in their clothing. The smell of burnt flesh and smoke made me gag. People fell to the ground crying, yelling for help but instead getting stepped on or eating alive by the heat. I still couldn't see my mother. Adrenaline hummed in my veins. I knew what was happening, and I knew why. This was the end of the world. So it had finally begun.