Humanity's Flame

Chapter three- Jay

The mysterious rumbling noise has finally ceased leaving me alone to the deafening silence inside this concrete box. Does this noise have something to do with the fights? I clutch my wounded arm; the memories have still not come back to me as to how I got kidnapped or why I cut myself. Will they ever come back? I shake the unimportant thoughts away; I need to get out of here. 

I slowly stand up wincing at the pain in my back in legs. That extremely indisposed man sure did a number on me. The pain shoots up my legs and causes me to crumple to the ground with a light thump.

I let out a discouraging sigh and extend my long, bruised legs staring at the cold concrete walls that seem to stare at me with it's taunting eyes. Ebony's small, frightened face clouds my thoughts. I could have done better to save her, my mind protests. My stomach seems to tighten as I realize she could be dead by now. I squeeze my eyes shut trying to rid myself of that thought, but it doesn't seem to go away. 

Bang, bang, bang! Gunshots ring outside of this solitary cube causing me to jump in fear.  My heart pounds in anticipation and alarm as the door slowly creaks open to reveal Ebony's determined face and a much older girl.

She seems to be about my age with hair like fire stopping at her shoulders; freckles dot her face with vibrant green eyes and sharp cheekbones. Dust and dirt cover both of the female's faces hiding their terrified facial expressions. Ebony's is hand clutching a gun; she must have shot the lock off I reason.

I look at both of the girls and stand up steadily attempting to mask my pain. "Y-You're alive" I stutter. Relief floods my face as I study Ebony's adamant expression. She pushes her long, dirty black hair out of her face and nods slowly. Ebony looks as if she had never seen someone gleeful to see her.

"I'm Lilly." The redhead says with a nod of her head and an anxious grin. I move my head to the side slightly curious but instead smile encouragingly. Ebony then begins to explain what happened in the arena with her imperturbable voice slightly shaking. I quickly interrupt her in disbelief.

"You shot him?" I say astonished watching her small stature move uncomfortably. My eyes drift towards the gun then back at her big, green eyes. What an off-putting scene, a thirteen-year-old serial killer clutching a gun in front of me. Lilly, the girl with the fire hair, looks like she trusts Ebony with her life standing loyally by her side. Ebony nods her head slightly; she appears afraid of my next response, she seems almost vulnerable.

"Thank you," I say relieved. I feel almost reassured that the petrifying man is gone, but the thought that Ebony was capable of killing a living breathing human makes me slightly worried. She had to kill, though, she was forced to, and now the small girl has saved all of our lives. Ebony lets out a small sigh of relief approving my reaction to the news.

"We need to go get Lucas," Lilly announces quickly glancing nervously behind her. She meets my confused look with her verdant eyes. "He was stuck in the cell with me. Like you and Ebony were." She explains briskly "Let's get the hell out of this place."

Ebony freezes up at the word 'hell.' The terrified expression that was plastered on her face when we first met spreads across her face. She briskly relaxes her face and acts like nothing had happened. 

"You're right." replies reacting as if no one had seen her tense up. This makes me even more curious about this little girl who I met under these unusual circumstances. I'll figure you out, I think determinedly. I nod in agreement and follow the two girls attempting to ignore the sharp, shooting pain that causes me to limp.

The cold halls seem to swallow us causing me to itch in anticipation. I thought I was going to die in this cold and unforgiving building, but here we are. Alive and well. I smile to myself grinning like an idiot considering the circumstances. We stop at one door with a lock similar to the one that was attached to our door. A thick, ugly metal door lies ahead of us. Like everything else in this horrifying place, the door is gray and seems to send chills down my spine.

"Here," Lilly says briefly pointing at the lock. Ebony clutches her gun just as Lilly looks at me and smiles just a bit looking clearly confused yet slightly amused "Why are you smiling? You look terrible, got kidnapped and beat up, and yet you're grinning?"

"We're alive. That's a reason to smile." I answer my brown eyes beam in relief. Her eyes seem to smile along with me as Lilly opens her mouth as if she's about to speak, but a powerful, deafening shot interrupts her.

Ebony's loud gun goes off without warning shooting the lock off in only two clean shots. The echo of the gunshot rings in my ears causing them to ache in discomfort. "Maybe warm us next time?" Lilly says rubbing her ears in pain, yet the glee in her eyes hadn't left.

"Oh," Ebony says shamefully putting the gun back to her side. "I apologize. I'm a bit new to this." Lilly rushes over to the door and quickly pulls it open to reveal a boy that is standing up and grinning. His brown curly hair bounces as he runs over to Lilly in happiness

"Took you guys long enough! Now the party has started." He embraces Lilly as if they were close friends while giving us a stupid grin of thankfulness. Lucas glances as the two of us then cocks his head to the side "What were the rumbling noises?" That question had escaped my mind. They were supposed to explain before I had rudely interrupted. I was so overwhelmed I had completely forgotten. I quietly scold myself for not paying attention.

"Bombs." She said solemnly her face looked as if it was wiped from all emotions. My stomach dropped in fear, my family, my friends are they all gone?

"Are you sure?" Lucas says his joyous face changes an unsure expression. He exchanges a worried glance with Lilly who doesn't seem fazed at all.

"I'm almost one hundred percent sure." Ebony replies her small hand is clutching the gun in her right hand in suppressed fear.

"We need to get out of here." I manage to mutter out supporting myself on the stone cold walls that surround us. This isn't true; Ebony is just confused. My family is alive they have to be. I'm in denial I tell myself painfully hoping that this nightmare will end soon. I take a shaking breath and stumble to the door. My wounded legs and head hurt more than ever as I watch them jog to the exist in suppressed excitement and anticipation.

I limp quickly following the three. I swallow my pain; I have to get out of here. I feel like these walls are suffocating me, I need air.

The sunlight blinds me as the metal door creaks open. My vision is flooded with the warm glow of the sun leaving the gelid, odious underground bloodbath behind us. The ponderous door slams behind us violently causing me to jump. I try to rub the brightness out of my eyes attempting to see what the other three are gasping about.

"O-oh, my God," Lilly mutters in fear. What? What is going on? My thoughts race in my head as I feel two bodies supporting my weight keeping me from collapsing. The pain in my legs shoots up my torso distracting me from the temporary blindness and my new friend's alarming gasps.

The harrowing sunlight leaves my eyes adjusting to the petrifying sight that leaves me paralyzed. I wish the sun would blind me again giving me back a sense of hope, but it seems as if all the hope has been ripped out of me.

Broken cribs, torn photos of smiling faces, memories of what life once was, litters the ground. The disturbing image of destroyed houses, glass, and ripped up teddy bears flood my terror-stricken vision. Ebony was right, The United States was bombed, and now four terrified kids are stuck right in the middle of it.

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