Rise From the Ashes

Chapter Six: The Forest Fire

(NARRATED BY TRAVIS GUILDER)

Once we were back on dry land, Sarah and I let go of each other's hands, while Lamerio quickly dove back underwater. Terror surged through my body as I looked around. The sacred flame pines...

Were engulfed in blood-red flames.

During the Revolutionary War three centuries prior, a historic battle was waged on that very location. There were about one thousand Pyroic troops led by Captain James Moreila given the task of defending a path in front of a mountain pass on the way to Riverton. Opposing them were about ten thousand Krenshian men led by Colonel Caelo Acra.

With only a few hills as fortification, the rebels fought the advancing Krenshian army for an entire day, but the enemy kept advancing. Moreila's army was eventually reduced to only a hundred men. Left with no other option, they all sent up a prayer to the gods and hoped for a miracle as they charged straight at the enemy. Surprisingly enough, they came out victorious in the end, when Pyro's spirit swooped down in the form of a phoenix and bestowed a blessing on them. By the time the battle was settled, only Moreila himself remained. He was the lone survivor.

The rest of the heroes turned to ash, which scattered across the land. Wherever it settled, a tree would sprout, quickly growing into a giant. According to legend, right before Moreila died after serving as Aridia's second king, he returned to the site where he, too, became ash. To the locals of the Valley, the sacred flame pines symbolized the gods' protection from evil.

Yet they burned.

"This is horrible," I breathed. "Who would do such a thing?"

Sarah tugged at my shirt. "Come on, Travis! We have to leave!"

I continued to stand there, staring at the flames in shock.

She tugged a little harder. "We need to go!"

But I was still in shock.

"Look, if you want to stay and burn with the trees, I'll die with you. But I'd rather live!"

I finally snapped out of it. "You'd do what?"

She tugged a third time. "Nevermind that! Let's get out of here!"

"R-Right."

Luckily, there was still a section of the forest untouched by the fire. We took that route to avoid being crushed by the fiery branches or suffocating from the thick smoke. The sky progressively became hazy, and the sun turned red while we ran. I could hear the echo of laughter in the distance, filling me with both fear and rage.

We made a stop at Sarah's house along the way so she could pack everything she needed. Then, despite her protests, I seized her bag and carried it for her. There wasn't any reason behind it. I just wanted to be a gentleman.

Anyway, when we finally reached my house, we found that the door was locked. After knocking, it was opened by my good friend, Levi Jameson. He let us inside without a word.

Exhausted from running and inhaling all of that noxious air, I felt like collapsing onto the floor. Levi fetched Sarah and me water, informing us of all that had happened while we caught our breaths. He told us that he had received a call from his dad, letting him know that all of our parents—including Sarah's—were meeting at the town Convention Center to discuss what to do about the fire. Moreila Valley's fire department was too small to douse the whole forest, or even the town. Thus, it was up to the citizens to decide whether to evacuate or wait for backup from Riverton. "That's not very smart," I opined. "The fire looked like it was spreading pretty quickly. It could reach the town within a matter of hours."