The Whispers

Prologue: Fire From Above

December 13, 2013           1:29 A.M.

     Karina was restless.
     Quiet nights like these were the worst; there was nothing to distract her from the pestering, unwanted thoughts that littered her mind. Worries about college and deadlines and responsibility plagued her in the perpetual silence, rendering her unable to slip into a blissful sleep.
     The only light in the room came from the digital clock resting on her nightstand, its hazy red glow barely illuminating her face. Karina let out a deep breath and shifted in bed to look up at the ceiling. Be calm, she thought, relaxing her muscles and inhaling deeply. Inside, she counted: 1...2...3...4-
     Loosing a frustrated sigh, Karina threw back the covers and promptly began to pace around the room.                       "Ridiculous," she grumbled in the dark. She stopped at the foot of her window and opened the blinds; the sky was clear and the stars were out.
     Not giving it a second thought, Karina raised the blinds and opened the window. She bristled at the cool wind that greeted her. Ducking outside, she found the familiar foothold in the brick and easily pulled herself onto the roof. Once there, she placed her hands comfortably behind her head, laid back, and enjoyed the view before her.
     The stars were breathtaking; their beauty only enhanced outside the city limits as Karina was. The black sky was full of them, all shining and twinkling in no coherent order. So far away, yet they seemed so tantalizingly within her reach. Out here, with the night sky as her witness, Karina felt at peace. She was reminded of how small she was in the grand scheme of things, how truly minuscule her troubles were. Her life held many possibilities and outcomes she told herself, combined, they matched the stars in number, maybe even exceeded them.
     Streaks of white and blue light suddenly flashed across the sky. Karina smiled.

Funny, she thought, she hadn't heard anything about a meteor shower.

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December 13, 2013           1:36 A.M.

     The faint thudding on the roof is what awoke Esperanza. Footsteps.
     Karina, Esperanza instantly concluded; she always went up on the roof when she couldn't sleep.
Groggily, she sat up in bed and wiped at her eyes. Absently, she padded out of her bedroom and into Karina's. It was messier than usual with clothes carelessly strewn on the floor, mail and empty envelopes on every visible surface, and various water bottles cluttering her nightstand. Esperanza carefully maneuvered around it all and stopped at the open window. The night was cooler than usual, the first signs of Winter beginning to show. She shivered.
     She had half a mind to climb up on the roof along with her sister, but she was nowhere near tall enough to reach yet. Defeatedly, and with a pout, she sat herself down on the floor. If she strained her neck far enough though, she could just make out the shape of Karina's feet hanging over the edge of the roof. She's going to get sick, Esperanza begrudgingly thought, casting a glance down to her own feet, safely enclosed in her favorite fuzzy socks.
     Looking up, Esperanza was quickly entranced. The stars were really pretty. Placing her head on her hands, she continued to take in the view her older sister was lovingly gazing at above. A quiet moment passed between the sisters, shrouded in the night.
     Then the stars began to fall.
     Esperanza let an excited gasp escape her. She'd never seen a shooting star. She quickly grew panicked however as she didn't know what to wish for. The spell will be over soon, she thought with a fright. However, there was no end to the shooting stars; they only increased in size and frequency. Their brightness continued to intensify and their imprints in the sky lasted longer with each passing second. Esperanza found her wonder transforming into unease.
     This couldn't be normal.
     A loud boom resonated across the landscape, startling Esperanza, but it seemed muffled and far away to her ears, as if underwater. The sky was suddenly painted hues of orange and yellow. Esperanza quickly glanced at her sister's clock, it wasn't even past two in the morning. Too early for the dawn. The bad feeling in the pit of her stomach grew.
     She stood up on shaky feet just as an object began to shine in the distance. It was an enormous chunk of rock on fire, hurtling straight for the Earth miles away from her home, but still too close for comfort. It was the biggest shooting star Esperanza had ever seen. It must have been her imagination, but she swears that it roared as it touched the ground. A strong gust of wind immediately followed it's initial contact, throwing Esperanza off her feet.
     Her head slammed against the back wall and her heart leapt into her throat. She glanced up just in time to see the hungry flames fast approaching.
Esperanza's eyes widened as her sister screamed.

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     That was six years ago.
     It's an event remembered as the Fiery Dawn. The day the world was ravaged by flames. The day Hell came to Earth.
     Gigantic meteors struck the Earth at various locations leaving destruction in their wake and eliciting mayhem on a global scale such as the world has never seen.
     The event claimed Karina Ramirez's life, along with 22% of the Earth's total population.
     Economies crumbled, governments were toppled, countries fell, new faces seized control. A vicious cycle had been put into motion. Chaos reigned. Alliances soon became irrelevant as resources dwindled and leaders became to preoccupied with settling their own nations troubles to even consider helping anyone else. It was every man for themselves. Power and safety were most desired. Order was a struggle to be maintained.
     Amidst this all-consuming destruction, a new horror was beginning to spread amongst the unsuspecting occupants of Earth. A never before seen disease quickly swept the world - the Flame - as painful as it is deadly. It begins with a rash - usually along the arms, neck, or legs - and ends with a fever that skyrockets until one's body simply gives out. It's said to be quite excruciating; many infected begged for the release of death towards the end, people say your blood literally boiled.
     It was the flame that wiped out 34% of the planets population.
Not all infected with the disease however, perished. Statistics show that individuals whom contract the Flame at a young age, though it was a very rare outcome, have a higher chance of survival. The few lucky children, or unlucky depending on how one views the situation, did not escape unscathed though.
     All survivors of the Flame, carry a mark, one invisible to the naked human eye; for it is the childrens' minds that are affected, permanently altered in unnatural ways.
     Some can meddle with the minds of others, deceive the eyes, making a person believe that nothing was something - these are the Tricksters.
     There are those that can easily read peoples thoughts, discern a person's innermost secrets and desires - the Seekers.
      Others can gaze into a person's past and see the future, the present is usually of little importance to them - Seers.
     Most rare of these individuals however are those that can control minds, implant ideas into peoples heads; completely rob a person of their free will and bend them to do their bidding - these are the dreaded Whispers.
     These individuals - survivors of the Flame - easily transcend the known laws of nature and man.
     They are revered as Gods.
     They are labeled monsters.
     Mainly the latter.
     When this revulsion spread and countries began to shun and actively hunt these children, many fled, never to be seen again.
     Rumors stir amongst civilians that these monsters had formed groups and gangs. They weren't so much as hiding as they were lying in wait, plotting their revenge only god knows where. It was only a matter of time before they struck with vengeance.

However, these were merely just whispers....