Fire of Life (Fiery Soul Series Book 1)

Prologue

The calm and breathless beauty of the forest in the backlot of a college campus stays eerily quiet. The area prepares for a grand overture to open for a nightly performance. The scene sets with the critters appearing in the Virginian night scene with only the moonlight shining down on the symphony of crickets' chirping and rustling leaves. A peaceful soundscape slowly flows up in volume with a soft patter giving a new rhythm for the creatures to divide into their own tones for the casual nocturnal audience.

Suddenly, an out-of-place snap of leaves and branches breaking follows a woman frantically rushing off-path to escape four fit men chase her in battle dress uniforms (BDUs) and balaclavas. While jogging brings serenity to Emily's everyday pressures of life and a sports scholarship, the tone and tempo are different from the grunt and groans with fear in her heart.

Life flashes through her eyes with the distraught feeling of the cataclysmic death of her parents and the sorrows of foster care. College provides her with hope; she may see more in life like good sex and a kid someday. The moment breaks when the rumble of men shouting grows louder. Despite their efforts, her college track training helps keep a distance from the attackers.

Appearing from the shadows of the forest, the moonlight provides a proper glimpse of Emily, who's an attractive brunette with reasonably flawless, if slightly tanned, skin. Her training shows in her curves, which appeals to a more humanoid audience. The skin tightens when she panics after bullets ring out, and she picks up the pace. When she glances behind her, two men are missing.

The scenery changes as they venture deeper into the woods where darkness surrounds them again. Two men leap out of nowhere and tackle her to the ground, while others catch up to secure her.

As Emily struggles, the ground violently rumbles with a demonic roar echoing through the forest. Everyone panics at the quakes of the earth, but she manages to escape and sprint up the hill away from the men. Once out of sight, the shocks quell, and the men regain their wits.

"She's heading your way," one of man says over the subvocal mic.

She finally makes it to a calm five-acre clearing and works on catching her breath. However, panic sets in when dirt roads aren't visible to her, and the rustling gets louder from the men in the woods. Shrieks of terror flood the mind when she turns to see an ominous van that stalked her over the last few weeks. Her body sinks to its knees when the ground wakes with another demonic roar ripping through the forest. The ground cracks with lava seeping out around her as a single teardrop falls down her face upon listening to the horrific screams against a ruby glow.

A dart flies in and embeds into Emily's neck, causing her to fall to the ground with a soft thump. The quakes end and the lava cools to igneous rocks with a sizzling tone permeating the air. The source of the tranquilizer dart marches forward with a rifle with an overweight body making a hard thud with each step. Ben Macy inspects his prey like an old sportsman, but a grunt of dissatisfaction leaves his lips when he picks up his radio.

"Alpha squad, report in!" he yells into the radio before hearing only static. "You'll pay, freak!"

Ben stares in shock when her skin turns to stone. He roughly kicks her and groans after stubbing his toe, but her body still rolls fluidly like a human being. Without any respect for Emily, the man drags her to the van with the grass and rocks cutting into the jogging outfit before tossing her in, which the hard crash sets off the alarm. After he enters the vehicle, they storm away from the scene.

Away from the clearing is a scalding death zone where there was a peaceful and quiet forest. Scorched trees, sizzling igneous rocks, and smoldering men with ashes blowing away populate the scene while a dark figure walks along the path. The glimmering gold eyes partially illuminate the face, which shows bestial features of horns and razor-sharp teeth. One hand swipe sends a blistering light around the area.

Then, the woods changes back to the peaceful nightscape. No signs of the men or their weapons appear on the ground. The night critters return to their routine serenade as if nothing had happened. The only thing left is the dark figure, who quietly submerges into the shadows.