The Flame Trilogy (Books I, II & III)

1.11

We leave the pack house in Chaka's territory as the sun starts to surface on the horizon. Due to our encounter the night before, Dimitri and I get just shy of 4 hours sleep. I expected to feel groggy, or tired when I woke up but I didn't, in fact, I think I had the best sleep that I've ever had last night.

Our guide- Osei- decides it's best for us to take the 'off road' path to Dawn Stalker territory. According to him, it's both faster and more exciting considering we have to drive through temperate-dry terrain- it's a very different ecosystem to the mountains of White Claw that's for sure.

The journey lasts roughly three hours and passes without any of the anticipated 'excitement'. Judging by the disappointed looks, a few of the men are bummed at the lack of action; considering we've been travelling for so long without any real entertainment- save for Chaka's hospitality- I understand completely.

Pulling up to what was once Dawn Stalkers territory doesn't go how I expect it to. I thought that I would feel something, anything, but instead I feel nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Dimitri pulls me out of the car by my hand, guiding me with a hand on the small of my back. He silently urges me to walk around to see if I can find something, or perhaps trigger a memory. He walks behind me as I take small steps forward, looking around.

Off to the east lies a large field; and with my eyesight I can just make out the tall grass and newly blooming bright flowers. The sight stirs something in me, like a warm nudging in my stomach but beyond that, nothing. The blowing of the wind makes me cast my attention back to the scene around me. The scent of war and chaos still stains the air faintly- I don't think it would ever really leave.

There are pieces of rotten, charred wood scattered everywhere. Even after all the time that has passed, the destruction on this place remains; half standing buildings wrought with scorch marks and ivy- the only standing memory of the pack that once lived here.

I step over a fragment of wood; it may have been part of a beam in one of the buildings long ago. My boots crunch against the cobblestone path, little stones sticking in the soles of my boot.

I take everything in, with all of my senses trying to feel what it was like- to live, to belong; to be loved. Nothing comes to me, but still I wait. I know it's here. As much as I feel nothing, I can still sense everything; there is a small stirring in my gut and that's enough to tell me: this is it.

The stirring becomes more urgent the closer I get to one of the half standing buildings. All I can do is trust and follow this gut feeling; I guess relying on feelings isn't as terrible a thing as I was taught- it's actually quite powerful.

There's no longer a doorway, it had been reduced to a pile of ash and rubble a long time ago. The patches of flowers and grass that litter the area is enough to tell me that.

I can't stop myself from running my fingers across the half standing wall; it's like a magnet within me, something drawing me ever closer.

Then it comes in sparks and flashes. Images of fire and blood, I can hear screaming, crying and crackling. It's as if I'm seeing the past, only through a foggy window. My palms are uncomfortably clammy with sweat, my body reacting unconsciously to the scene; terror cloaks my skin, the sensation weighing down my gut like a stone.

My head begins pounding, like it's going to explode. It's all too much. It's almost like my memories are trying to resurface but just keep slamming against a wall instead; then something pushing as if slipping through a crack into my consciousness.

I faintly hear the sound of urgent shouting and grunts, but my head is ringing so hard I can't tell if it's the present or my past.

A haunting voice echoes in my mind as I hear a deafening scream: "Run Arashi!"