Sea of Embers

Unconditional Hatred

Angels by The XX

Though I saw it coming,

It still Hurts.

-Unknown

I realized, in the recent turn of events, that I really did love the Pine. Everything in this world was so digital, so fake and predictable. Now out here, under the shade of the towering trees, needles reaching down low enough to brush my face as I walked past, things were so different. It was almost as if I was in my own wonderland, escaping the worries and stresses of life.

Had my destination been different, I would have appreciated the surrounding scenery much more.

I had many theories on what would happen to me once I reached my terminus. Most of them were less than nice. I had my fair share of pain throughout the years, but nothing could prepare me for what was most likely going to occur at the end of the road.

Rumors had been spread throughout the Unique Community for many years. Rumors of a secret facility that brutally murdered many with abilities. That, or experimented on us, cutting us open to learn our secrets...then putting us back together again in different ways. Sometimes adding their own little twists to our powers, altering us and changing who we are forever.

It seemed, to me, that they were trying to create some kind of indestructible- soldier.

But, as I had to keep reminding myself...they were just theories...hopefully. There may not even be a facility, and it's all just a hoax to scare Uniques into hiding. Although, something told me that was highly illogical. Rumors are just rumors, but when you have witnessed the suffering that I have... well you learn a thing or two about what is real and what is not. The war, the pain, the eternal witnesses and victims of death alike represent to me the unfortunate fact that it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if that horrid nightmarish place existed.

I couldn't begin to imagine the horrors that awaited inside.

Nor did I want to.

A small, gentle breeze caressed my face, causing prickly goosebumps to rise along the length of my arms and neck. At this particular moment, I missed Shoe dreadfully. He was home, to me. I wasn't entirely honest with myself most nights... but one thing I was positively sure about was the undeniable fact that I would not, could not lose anyone else as I did him.

The trees began to slowly disperse... the branches getting higher. After two days of trekking, I noticed some change... finally.They thinned out dramatically in several areas before coming to a slight close once more. The air, normally crisp and fresh up in the Pine, had become more thick. Moisture clung to my tongue... hot, sticky and unpleasant.

Although there were certain benefits to living in a much more... populated area, I did not need them. The remaining pollution from all those years ago, back to a time before World War Three, still clouded the air in small, cloudy patches. It certainly was not a fun experience walking through one.

I myself had my fair share of stepping into a mucky cloud of pollution. I would normally shriek girlishly in surprise before coughing dramatically. The stuff reeked of ancient waste and tasted even worse. It caked to your tongue like a coat of despair...

More or less in those words.

Had I not realized the significance of the small town that lay a mile or so away... I would not have entered, but gone around.

Had I known what awaited me there, I would have run screaming in the opposite direction.

I left the trees behind, and entered a small field of swaying grass. It was early evening by now, and the crickets chirped gleefully, unaware of the war raging all around them. The sun, usually a happy yellow...if dark and dreary clouds did not cover it the majority of the time... was now mixed with hues of swirling purples, rich scarlet streaks, and large smears of burnt orange. Just a glimpse of that stunning scene made my heart ache. My fingers itched to hold a pencil. To create, to make a blank canvas a masterpiece.