End Of An Era

Chapter Thirty-Three: Terrifying Visions

(Damian's POV?)

The scene around me is foreign to me, with nearly everything covered in a thin coating of what appears to be ashes.

I wiped my hand on a destroyed car and as I wiped away the ash obstructing the window, I noticed the body of an anthro with a single gunshot wound on the side of his head. A pistol sits in the loose grip of the anthro canine with blood on the top of the window now visible to me.

A sound of something falling takes my attention elsewhere, and I notice that a sign that was hanging right in front of a building has fallen.

The dark yet barren scene in front of me encourages me to investigate further.

I find more vehicles that are either abandoned or covered in ash, but I continue on to figure out what exactly is going on.

This has to be a dream, but why this?

Before I could think about why my mind has decided to make me see this, a row of bodies covered by a trap is set up in the middle of the street with the feet of the deceased sticking out.

From my basic knowledge, I can tell that human and anthro bodies are under said tarp. Their feet show injuries that correlate with a burn with bits of skin and fur barely noticeable from the deep charred colors.

"Is anyone out there!" I call out and receive nothing in response.

I decided to not lift up the tarp already knowing how bad the sight would be.

Further down the street is a military checkpoint with a tattered APEX flag just barely fluttering in what little wind there is.

Upon closer inspection, the checkpoint has been long abandoned with no sign of life or occupant for a very long time.

Suddenly, ashes seemed to gently fall from the sky and I held out my hand to have some land on me.

The thin white pieces fall like snow, but it doesn't feel cold at all.

I drop my arm and notice a command center and enter it.

All of the gear sits untouched with a light coat of dust resting on it.

The air inside stings my lungs and it feels thick, as if my neck was being pressed on.

I looked around and attempted to turn on some of the equipment with no such luck. Which further added to the confusion of this 'vision'.

What caused this....

I eventually gave up on attempting something to give myself answers and left the small building back out onto the deserted streets of this town.

The moment I took a few steps forward, music could be heard echoing around the empty spaces.

I turned my head towards the sound and pinpointed it coming from a relatively unscathed church just a few buildings down from me.

The song was slow and sad sounding, like a personal cry captured with music.

I walked up the steps of the church and pushed a large wooden door open to a room filled with organized pews that appeared untouched.

The music seemed to be caught in a loop with static playing in between at random intervals that only added to the confusion of the town.

I noticed a trail of blood that started at the altar and a used knife on the ground, and chose to follow it hoping for a clue.

The trail lead to a small room that had stain glass windows, and a chair was placed in the middle of this room.

A human man sat in the chair with deep cuts on his arms.

He was unmoving with his head tilted back and his mouth open. From what I could gather, this man killed himself similar to the anthro in the car.

What caused them to do this?

My train of thought was interrupted as the music was replaced by heavy static and I looked over at the source.

A small radio sat on a desk with a notebook next to it, and I started to read though it.

'All is lost, many are dead in the streets and our help has left in a hurry. My wife and child died from poisoning and I can no longer live alone..'

A ring sits on the page leaving it open.

The static stops making me look up at the radio.

???: "This is the brave new world.." A deep voice talks over the radio, yet it seems familiar, "You could have stood beside me as a conqueror, yet you chose to die that very day you left."

Az...

Azinovic (R): "I know you are listening, I may be gone but my goal is shared by others." He continues, "Only the ones that fight back deserve to live, such is the difference between a man and a slave."

The wind outside seems to pick up suddenly.

Azinovic (R): "You chose to be a slave and do the bidding of another, whether it be man or beast doesn't matter. You fought for someone else, not yourself." He pauses to take a deep breath, "You are Lovac, but now you are lying to yourself that you have a choice. You never did..."

A bright flash outside makes me turn to look out the window, making my cover my shield and my eyes from the light.

The man in the chair is gone and I instinctively look over at the door to see a bloody short figure wearing a gas mask with a rifle on his back.

'Lovac': "You betrayed yourself." The figures say as the blast reaches the building with a tremendous shock making the windows shatter inwards.

I find myself knocked onto my back as the heat followed the blast with the building walls collapsing...

—----------------------------

I shot up in my bed breathing rapidly, but looked around to find myself in a small room alone with the quiet sound of waves splashing outside.

I breathed out slowly.

"One, two, three, three, two, one." I repeated the count before standing up and walking over to the bathroom and stared deeply into the mirror.

I cannot allow that to become my reality...

I felt the scars along my upper chest and back and remembered everything I did and survived. The friends I have lost, and the lives I have lived before 'Phoenix'.

I am the maker of my own destiny....