Rebellious

Chapter One

There was nothing left in the blackened wasteland before their eyes. The sky that had darkened quickly swirled like a cauldron, threatening heavy rain.
Debris was scattered across the field where countless wooden houses had been planted for generations.
But now the damp destroyed land showed no sign of life.

Wood stuck out of the ground and wire was twisted around bare ashy trees as the sound of thunder made the man flinch. His eyes flitted around the disaster that had struck from an unknown source.
He didn't know how this all happened in the short period he had been fishing.

Absolutely nothing, nothing remained in the tarnished poor land that he had once called home. Silence fell upon the forsaken land, besides the sound of his heavy breathing and the startling crackling of thunder in the distance beyond.
He shut his eyes and trembled, desperately praying it was all a dream. There was only one question going through his mind; "Why? Who could do such a thing to this grassy terrain that once held so much life?"

The people of the land echoed in his memories as he recalled his beautiful past that he now had to cling to. Leaves rustled around the forest surrounding the large plain. The sound of something being stabbed into the ground made him flinch and he glanced around.
Nothing.

He takes a deep breath and recovers his hammering heartbeat. He turns his attention back to something below his foot.
He shifts backward and bends down to pick it up. His hands shook as he brushed away the dirt covering the glass frame. The picture was barely visible but once he squinted his eyes he noticed a man standing in the center of the image.

His eyes dart around the broken glass frame as he tries to understand what this picture is showing him.
Countless children were being forced to pull a wagon and chickens were being slaughtered in the background, by the children's hands. His eyes widened as he tried to comprehend this small yellow-stained paper.

The man he was staring at was his father. His father was the one forcing the innocent to do his bidding.
He couldn't understand why the man who had raised him, fed him and protected him, would do such a horrible thing.

He struggled to believe that this was his father's reputation and as the glass fell to the ground he jumped in fear when he heard the snarl of a large beast roar from behind him in the distance.
His head immediately snapped to look in the direction and his eyes met with that of a giant white leopard that held him in a furious glare. Its black lips curled back, exposing its razor-sharp teeth that were pearly white. Its beautiful rare silver fur didn't match the dark ruins and muddy ground that stood before him.

Its paws made no noise as it padded forward, carefully, its tail swishing back and forth with balance. It dropped down into a low crouch while still sneaking up to him from across the field. Its deep blue eyes scorn with anger while approaching.

The man stumbled back in terror and fell to the floor with a thud. The beast didn't hesitate to leap up from its stealthy crawl and dash forward on all paws, towards him at an alarming speed.
The man let out a terrified cry as he knew what would happen next. His fingers dug into the soil behind him as he tried to crawl away, but he was frozen in the dirt like helpless prey.

Nothing escaped his mouth now as he shut his eyes and accepted his fate at the claws of this creature that looked thirsty for blood. Thunder roared above the desolate field as the cat bounded ahead, now so close to his kill.

A sudden loud voice echoed across the swaying grass as the large leopard was about to rip and tear its sharp claws into the pathetic man. "Stop!" That one word alone made the monster of a cat dig its claws into the black earth below and fumble forward, trying to stop itself from crashing into the man on the ground.