To See The Other Side

1.

This story is for Kevin, who did not live long enough to read it.

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There were several fires that night. And hundreds of screams of the burned men, women, and children. Anthony never cried, but his cheeks were damp with tears that fell from his eyes as there is a pain in him that he does not recognize as he is carried away by an enemy soldier.

Both his legs had been cut off but that was not the source of the mysterious pain that hurt his heart and his head. He no longer struggled. It was futile as the soldier carried his bridle style, but alas, in a strong enough grip to keep him held still.

In his misery, he did not hear the soldier's words that tried to comfort him.

His people were dying at an alarming rate, he knew. And he could do nothing, he realized.

Buildings and trees lit up the sky. Despite it being night, his Kingdom had never been more bright. A piece of the bakery he had made for his subjects broke off, landing swiftly on a woman who was crying for her bleeding child. Both were crushed and he prayed a swift death for them.

This had to be the personification of Hell, his kingdom. Antonia was a flickering red and orange, plagued with screams of the innocent and rubble of the burned. The hellfire ceased to stop, even as the screams lessened by the minute.

Until there was no more screaming, ringing in his head or ears.

And in that moment, he took one last look at his fallen home, a broken feeling in his head, and blacked out in the enemy's hold, just as they've reached their destination.