Buried and Rotting

Chapter 2

A river of blood ran through a charred city. Some of the buildings were still burning but a red rain was slowly washing away the fire. A man sat up in his sleeping bag, he was covered in sweat and still haunted by the recurring nightmare. He reached up, holding the glowing beads around his neck in his hand and took a deep breath. Once he was calm he got up to do his long platinum locks into their intricate braided design then went through the rest of his daily routine.

He put on his best smile before taking one last look around to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything then unzipped his tent and went outside. The park was absolutely packed with tents. The city was badly overpopulated and there simply weren't enough houses for everyone. So all the ashen and some of the lower colours lived in the parks.

"Good morning Pan!" He turned to see a woman with long, blond hair and bright blue eyes.

"Good morning Jess. How are you today? Any better?" He hardly had to ask, he could hear it in her voice, last time they spoke she could barely talk.

She nodded. "The healer is back. He helped me out earlier today so I'm feeling much better."

"That's good."

After talking for a while longer Pan began making his way through the tent city. He was stopped a few times by people who he shared small talk with and once by a group of children he often read to and played games with. Finally he made it to his destination. Whenever Dren came to heal people in Emerald Park he never took care of himself. He was always too busy to remember to eat so Pan had been bringing him food.

"Morning Solarice." He said happily to the man sitting in front of a large pot of soup.

"Good morning Pan." Solarice had long platinum hair like his own but it was always done up in the most messy ponytail Pan had ever seen.

"So soup again today?"

"Well it's one of the easiest ways to cook for a large crowd."

"Fair enough. I need two bowls." Solarice looked up at Pan's words, His faded blue eyes almost meeting Pan's bright blues.

"You know I'm cooking for the homeless, I'm not just giving extra to people who ask for it."

Pan laughed "The extra is for Dren. He's working himself to death so he needs some good food." Solarice sighed and poured an extra bowl. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

He took the food and made his way through the tents to where he assumed Dren would be. In a short time he arrived at a tent that held a very sick young boy inside. He had been scratched by something that left large gashes on his leg. They'd been turning green and black over the past few days and oozing pus. On top of being sick he also couldn't walk right because the cuts ran so deep. The boy's dad sat outside the tent tapping his fingers on a small wooden table and looking anxious.

"Hey John." The man looked up and managed a smile.