Magus {Complete}

12

Downtown was a mess. Sirens were running wild as paramedics, fire trucks, and police tried to settle the chaos. From what Cinder overheard from the people they passed, a grand total of fifteen buildings had been damaged. Five of those were toppled by the initial explosions, causing damage to the surrounding skyscrapers around them. The streets were littered with debris and smoke still rose from some areas. The death toll was steadily rising and it made Cinder sick just to hear the numbers as they were passed between authorities.

Muttered accusations were flying from the people who were cowering behind the yellow tape that marked off dangerous areas. Buildings were still unstable, so said the authorities. Finding a way to the Capitol was becoming difficult. Cinder hoped that the Capitol wasn't a pile of rubble already. If the rebels were attacking the downtown area, then they were most likely going to go after the council next.

"It's them."

The whispered voice filled with hatred pulled Cinder's attention as they hurried down the street. Looking off to the left, he spotted a man coated in dust from head to foot. He looked as if he'd climbed through a chimney and forgotten to wipe himself off. Blood smeared the side of his face and a bandage was wrapped around his head. He was talking to another man and three women. All of them were a mirror of the man coated in dirt. Bandages wrapped different parts of their bodies. Blood stained their faces and clothes.

"Those with magic. They're the cause of this. Why can't they just leave us out of it! We have nothing to do with their little squabbles," the man sneered.

"They do nothing but cause harm! This is bullshit. And attacking the city like this? They don't care for those of us with no magic. We're just bugs to them!" Another added on.

"Expendable. That's what we are. Because we're not powerful enough to protect ourselves. If we die it's our own fault," one of the women said. Her voice was shaking and tears were streaming from her eyes as she sat there.

Cinder had stopped walking and was staring at all of them, astonished at their thinking. It caught one woman's attention and she looked up at Cinder. Standing she walked right up to him and glared. "What? Think we're wrong? Do you side with those bastards?"

"W-what?" Cinder couldn't get his voice to work right. Clearing his throat he tried again. "That's not it. We're not all like that."

She gasped and stepped away from him. "You're one of them!"

"This is the problem! We don't know who has magic and who doesn't because you look exactly like us. There's nothing to mark you as different," the man with the bandage got up and swayed on his feet as he stumbled over. Cinder's automatic response was to reach out and help him stand but his hands were slapped away. "Don't touch me! You don't even know what kind of destruction you can cause! Don't pretend to want to help."

"I do want to help!" Cinder retorted, anger flooding him as he glared at the man.

"You should all just burn!" The woman in front of him screamed and before he could register it, her nails scraped across his face. It stung horribly. She came at him a second time, fueled by her own rage and anguish. Tears streamed down her face as she slapped at him. His cheek burned, and his teeth cut open his lip as she hit him again and again. Cinder was far too stunned to stop her.

She let out a scream of rage as someone caught her hands and pulled her away from Cinder. The commotion had brought quite a few people to stand around and watch. Panting, Cinder put his hand up against his face and winced as the salt on his fingers burned the cuts she'd put along his jaw and cheek. Kydyn turned her around and sent her stumbling to the other four who she'd been talking to. Stepping away from her as she whirled around, he ran his fingers through his hair, brushing it out lazily.