New World

Prologue

It is a gloomy afternoon. Small drops of rain are pouring down from the heavy clouds. The usually busy streets of New World are now almost deserted. Most of the citizens are inside their houses or their offices, waiting for the rain to stop. Only a few vehicles are to be found racing along the slippery roads. It is cold. It is... peaceful.

The president of New World finds the cold weather relaxing. His week has been a busy one. A lot of papers were resting on his table, waiting to be studied and signed. He decided to take a rest and enjoy the cold weather that filled every corner of his once warm office.

After a short sight-seeing through his large glass window, he returned to his seat and looked up at the ceiling. He let out a peaceful sigh and closed his eyes.

He was about to start dreaming when a loud sound forced his eyes to open and see what has happened. He quickly stood up and rushed to the large glass window of his office. When he saw what happened, he fell on the cold marble floor of his office. He was so shocked to see the scene outside his office. A building was on fire. Black smoke made the sky darker. People are jumping from the building.

He panicked. He did not know what to do. He has a lot of problems and this one added to that very long list. Where did the loud sound come from? Why is that building on fire? His questions were quickly answered when a very huge hovercraft appeared, bearing the symbol of a fire.

The hovercraft continued shooting the building with missiles and a lot of explosions were heard, killing all life forms inside the building that's being attacked.

The hovercraft stopped shooting. Slowly, it turned to the direction of The Presidential Palace. From his place, he saw his army men come to their position, ready to attack the opponent. The hovercraft hovered its way to The Palace and the army started shooting it.

The door of his office opened and several men in army uniforms entered. The president knew what it meant. They came here to fetch him and bring him to the bunkers where he will be safe. He willingly came to them and they hurried their way to the bunkers.

Meanwhile, outside The Palace, the army cannot beat the attacker. They sent missiles and cannons to the hovercraft but it was invincible that they find it hard to beat it. Smoke covered the surroundings of The Palace. The army can't see anything anymore. They know that they want to give up but it was their job to protect the president and stop the attacker from doing anything worse.

They fired at different directions. They couldn't even see each other at all. Painful screams of some of them were heard and fear embraced each of them. All of a sudden, a crashing sound caused all of them to fall to the ground. They thought that it's the end. They will all die. They failed they mission. They are a big disappointment. They couldn't do anything but cry shouts of agony.

Their cries stopped when they noticed that the black smoke is disappearing. The smoke is disappearing like it is being vacuumed to the sky. When the surroundings cleared up, they noticed that the hovercraft disappeared, too. Where could it have gone? Did they beat it? Was the crashing sound caused by the hovercraft?

No.

The crashing sound was made by a capsule sent from the hovercraft. Like the hovercraft, it is bearing the symbol of a fire. Afraid of what it might be, they did not dare come close to it.

They were surprised with the next thing that happened. The metal capsule opened itself and a holographic message appeared. The letters in the message are hanging in the air.

The message went like this:

STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND WE WILL STOP

- INFERNO

The holographic message disappeared. It sent goose bumps to those who saw it. The hairs on their napes rose. For a while, they became curious as to what the capsule contains. They approached the capsule and observed it, trying to know if it is safe or dangerous.

Suddenly, it started beeping. They know that it is going to explode. They also know that they have to stop it. Others were terrified to see themselves lying on the ground, their other body parts flying to different directions. They ran away from the capsule. The others were faithful to their promise. They tried to find a way to stop it from exploding. They forced the capsule to open but it won't. When they lost hope, they surrounded the capsule and embraced it, believing that the impact will be lessened and that the damage will be lessened, too.

Five. They will sacrifice their lives.

Four. They will enter death's door.

Three. They will be free.

Two. It's what their destinies drew.

One. They saw a light as bright as the sun.

Their bodies tear apart. Hands, arms, feet, legs, heads, torsos, and guts flew to different directions. The grasses are burning. Parts of buildings were destroyed because of the impact of the explosion. The Presidential Palace was the building that was affected the most. Blood was everywhere – trees, grass, pavements, walls, air.

It was the most horrible scene.