| Sigh No More | 3RACHA BOOK 1

|TWO : THE CAVE|

Chapter 2

"So come out of your cave walking on your hands

and see the world hanging upside down," 

November 2016

Everything was quiet in volume but loud physically. Chaos was breaking out all around him, houses, churches, stores, and people were on fire, collapsing to the ground when their bones give out on them and the once bright sky was covered in thick, smokey clouds that created a dark aura around him. Changbin's eyes flickered down to his hands where fire licked at his palms but never left the outer ring of his wrist and fingers unless Changbin commanded it to. Did he do this? Changbin's vision lifted up in a slow, shaky drawl and in front of him was a figure. Changbin couldn't hear a damn thing, not even the pumping of his own heart or the crackle of the fire licking at his toes from where a body laid next to his feet, burning to a crisp and the skin melting off like in thick clumps.

Changbin couldn't hear anything, but he could hear the breathing of this figure ahead and the incomprehensible whispers leaving their lips. Timid steps toward the figure seemed to be the bad option, as Changbin jumped back suddenly when a flaming phone pole fell to the ground. It wasn't clear where Changbin was until that moment, and he would pay a shit ton of money just to figure out why it had taken him so long to figure out he was downtown in his hometown, the town he loved oh so dearly and planned to live in for the rest of his days. But he would pay even more money to figure out why he had been the one to burn it all down.

Thick, scratchy fog burned both Changbin's throat and eyes, sputtering coughs escaping past his lungs as he inhaled a thick cloud of smoke that added his lungs to the list of burning organs. "Wait!" Changbin called out when he saw the figure turn around and walk away, but Changbin shuddered when a deep, thundering voice boomed down from the clouds and rattled the Earth beneath him. 'Control' it said and Changbin repeated after it, "Control?" The voice did not answer back. Changbin looked back down at the flaming phone poll with a look of desperation, "Please," Changbin's voice cracked, and as if the fire around him took pity, it moved away from the middle of the phone poll and gave Changbin enough room to climb over without burning himself. He didn't know this at the time, but it really wasn't because he could burn himself, but a start to his skills.

The figure was still in sight and with a sputtering cough, Changbin shoved himself forward and began to run against the pavement, "Wait! Please! Come back!" Changbin shouted out in desperation, but he stopped short in his tracks when Mr. Choi's flower shop collapsed next to him on the street, and Changbin was beginning to hear everything around him now. "Fuck!" Changbin darted towards, not quite sure what he was planning on doing but right when he was about to enter, the figure appeared and shoved him so roughly backward, he landed on his back. Changbin gasped at the sudden pressure, feeling like his body made a dent in the pavement beneath him but he was more focused on the hooded figure above him. Changbin couldn't see their face. He couldn't see anything outside of their clothes. Their hands were covered by thick, black gloves, shoes and jeans spotless and the hoodie the figure had on was pulled over his head. The only characteristic Changbin could make out was the silver hair tuffs sticking out from underneath the hood.