You've gotta burn a few canes to make candy.

THE BURNING WORLD

"You've gotta burn a few canes to make candy."

I can see again, but just barely...the smoke had cleared, and the few of us left coughed, choking on our own blood and the dust that fell from the sky. They had taken over. There was no hope left, the sun was blotted out, the sky stained with the sickly sweet matter that formed these horrible beasts.

Kids and adults love 'em so, the happy world of Haribo . . .

The ground shook with the weight of a thousand soldiers marching to the beat of what used to bring us joy. Vibrations toppled what was left of a few nearby buildings. We fell. One by one we each got up, but there weren't many of us left standing. Tears and blood streamed down the faces of the living as we hiked over the corpses of our city, hardly washing the caked up dirt off of distressed faces.

"...no...NO! THEY'RE COMI-" BANG! A young girl I've never met before was practically flung against me due to the force of the explosion, her skull fractured and what was left of her brain exposed. I fought back the bile that nearly forced its way up my throat as I wiped the girl's skull fragments and brain out of my eyes with shaking hands, shoving her lifeless body off of my injured own and weakly standing up. Everyone paused for a microsecond, a risky move that could either mean life or death these days. Another survivor was lost. I was the first to move, never have expecting luck to be on my side just as a small bomb went off a few yards behind me; mere inches from where my heart had been a few moments ago.

The failed trap had set off a chain reaction. Sounds of destruction, explosions, and death, filled my ears as I took off running. What felt like hours had passed, our legs bled and burned, but we ran. Just when we thought we were safe, a sharp scream came from one of the elder survivors, drawing our attention. His leg had broken, the bone tearing through the muscle and skin with a sickening snap. The last I remember of that boy was seeing him stare directly into my soul, his silver eyes tarnished with horror...and then...he exploded, having fallen directly atop a landmine set by our executioners. I don't know why I did what I did, my memory isn't as whole as it used to be, but I know that I walked over to where the boy's damaged and dirtied necklace had landed and I picked it up. I'm not religious, but some things make me believe that there is someone out there because that boy with the silver eyes must've been watching over me, or else I'd be dead. Then, everything went dark.

SCREE!

I blinked, my left arm felt warm as my vision came into focus. I knew I was alone, but there was a large blue mass in front of me. 'Where...wh...?' I shook my head, trying to gather my thoughts. 'Year...707..6? No...7...Um...New Germany? N-New York! New York, April 12th, 7077! Yes! Ah...My name is...something Jackson...D...Damion? No...It starts with a D and I'm the only person I know with that name...right?' I was just about to let out a growl when something, the silver-eyed boy's necklace, flashed from around my neck, causing my attention to be averted, as I slowly began to register the fact that my fist was clutching some sort of strange, pulsing object. I allowed my arm to go slack as I backed away, a hot, dark blue substance slowly dripped down my arm as I let go of the object, ignoring the loud thud that came from in front of me. That's when I knew I had just killed a GummyBearTM and the now warm goo was its blood. "P-please, don't h-h-hurt me..." A soft, scratchy voice echoed from behind me, causing all of my alarms to go off. It sounded somewhat like the dead girl, but not as high pitched.

Thinking that the voice could only belong to a human, I cautiously turned my head, only to find a GummyCubTM cowering behind a chunk of wall. But, like the idiot I was, I raised my hands in an attempt to convey that I wasn't the enemy here. Naturally, the Cub screamed as it occurred to me that I had the blood of it's kind on my hands and the still beating heart of one of them at my feet. I quickly opened and closed my mouth in an attempt to speak, only to fail miserably with a frustrated sigh. The Cub flung it's paws over its head, as candied tears flowed from its eyes. I decided to take a risk and kneel down next to the small being. Please, don't be afraid of me... I signed, praying that the Cub would understand. It's eyes darted upwards as it, being young, easily showed me it's trust. It was obvious that the Cub had some doubts, and it had every right to. Once the Cub stood up (only reaching my last few ribs) I decided that introductions were a necessity, seeing as the group I was with was nowhere to be found and I was standing in a ruined building with a GummyCub wiping candied blood off my hands, permanently staining my already ruined shirt. I'm Delta...and I'm assuming that you understand me? It took a moment, then nodded. "I'm...I'm Dextrose..." The small creature shook when it spoke, but it was clear enough to reveal that it was male. The scared Cub, Dextrose, flinched as I rested my now clean hand on it's soft head for a moment. Pulling back, I continued to sign. "Well, Dextrose, we may be from opposing sides but neither you nor I could survive out here." Dextrose tilted his head in confusion, the question practically written across his face. His expression was priceless, causing me to laugh for the first time in years. I lifted my hands once more as I gave the Cub an honest smile.

"Let's find home."