First 1000 words out of 4000-5000

  The green light faded to a brilliant oblivion. I could feel the black tar substance rush against my bloodied cloak. My hood swayed through the rush of wind and the running women with their children close to them. The ground tormented itself with bodies upon bodies, layers upon layers of corpses over the shattered concrete. Burning flames engulfed the houses, making them appear enraged. Their fire heating, the goosebumps off my ragged skin.

  My throat constricted and released with each inhale and exhale. Sweat mingled with the tar droplets. After every step, the searing flames intensified, burning my eyes and ears. The battle ahead would only amplify the screams. A clang of metal and meat landed on the ground. A foul odor from a mixture of feces and organs filled the streets. The disgusting smell made me nauseous. But this was no time to bail out. I felt a flutter of nervousness in my stomach. My legs felt like they were shattering into a million pieces. “Why did I trust him?” the words echoed with every step.

  A hand grasped my rotten-cloaked shoulder. It dug its nails deep inside, and I yelped and groaned. The pain was like a blade that pierced the bone, dug into the heart, and ripped it out. I tightened my body while I holstered my hand against the figure. I shoved its limp body down to the ground, but its shocked face revoked my disgust. “Mom?” I asked in a deep tone. I let go of the dirty lady, her dress covered in guts and blood. My eyes opened wide, and my brow furrowed. Her face stood still, and her hair refused to sway in the thick wood. I let go of her arm, and it fell limp. “Oh no. Oh no,” my voice whispered. I knelt, eye-to-eye with her. Her cheeks were cold to the touch, and her mouth stayed open. I clasped my hands over her shoulders, rocking her back and forth. “Please don’t die, Mom. Not again!”

  But the lady refused to move. Seconds felt like hours, and hours felt like days. The flames grew cold, and the stench of death ceased. Screams from the battlefield were nothing more than whispers. My hands touched her limp bones. The muscle was all gone. I closed my eyes, and tears flooded my memories.

  Footsteps emerged from the shadows behind me. Their tone was harsh and angry. I gripped my body around the lady. Her breath was silent against my ear. The steps closed in on me. It was like an army with men about to pounce on me. I could already imagine their blades piercing through my flesh and into the lady beneath me. “Stop it!” I yelled out loud at the thing. “Don't get any fucking closer!”

  Following my cries, a brief silence swept through the air. It was thick to breathe in. My cries sounded mute to the void of despair.

  A small chuckle echoed through my mind. I knew it was coming from behind me, but every bone in my body wanted to believe it was a lie. The chuckle turned into laughs louder than the whispered screams and quickly became the only thing I could hear. My stomach twisted into knots. My throat closed with ice.

  The shadow crept closer to me. I squeezed my mom tighter, to the point that her bones would snap. My eyes refused to move from the ground. It watched the shadow approach while leaving my eyes dry.

  Softly groaning, the shadow spoke in its deep tone. “What are you doing?” My eyes widened with water. A hand wrapped itself around my neck. It pushed against my cold throat and lifted me. My mind flew across the ground. It turned light and quickly softened. I moved my head back to see a man looking down at me. He smiled with an unforsaken grin that piled goosebumps over my skin. It turned colder than before. The streets darkened, and the green light refused to shine. The man put his finger over his mouth. He dropped the soft grip from my neck.

  The face was familiar. Its firm, bearded jaw, and sleek, low ponytail were impossible to forget. The man put his hand in his black leather coat pocket and pulled out a small cylinder. He took a lighter and lit the top half green. I could smell the green light in the smoke. It was calming, but I couldn’t stop worrying about the lady.

  “What do you want, Therus?” I barked under my breath. His eyebrow lifted, and he exhaled a ball of smoke. I stood still like ice. My body was frozen solid. The wind was warmer than the goosebumps he could give me. “Never mind.” I shook my head. “I need you to help me. She isn’t moving.” I could feel my body moving inside rapidly. The droplets drenched my cloak harder, but my voice couldn’t rise higher than a whisper.

  Therus smirked. His sharp green eyes pierced my blue eyes of sorrow. “Get back on the ship. We’re done here.” He dropped the cylinder from his mouth and pressed it against the dirty concrete. “Remember, Gael. We get the guns and get out. Who cares about the violence that comes with it?” Therus spoke calmly. He turned his back and walked away.

  “Fuck you!” The words fired out before I could think. Therus stopped. His back faced me, the coat flying with the wind, moving like a serpent coiling in a wave. “Can’t you, for once, just be decent? That’s my mom on the floor!” He turned around, eyes sharp like daggers.

  “Your mom is dead, Gael. She has been dead for a year. No one is there, and no one will be there.” My heart stopped. I tilted my head to the lady on the ground, but it wasn’t Mom. Her eyes were wide with fear, and her lips cracked with blood. Her blonde hair fell to the ground like a feather and grew back curled into a bloodied mess.

  I couldn’t move. For once, Mom was there, and the next, she was dead. Gone. My teeth chattered, and my hands tightened into fists. “Is she a shifter?” I nodded toward Therus.

  He shook his head. “No. She’s a human, just like you. Your mind is the greatest being alive. It can fool you or make you see things you don’t want to see.” He turned back around. “Get on the ship. Rob got the guns, no thanks to you. Don’t embarrass this crew again.”

  I pushed my hood back. The droplets fell on my white, messy hair. The lady gasped in shock, either from my bruises or the button noise of someone barely thirteen. “You-you're so adorable, and yet so scarred. Those bruises, though, tell a story of sadness and sorrow.” She slowly stood up. The rain drenched my soft hair, but it meant nothing. “I am going to see my younger brother now.” She lifted her hands and slowly walked away from me. “He’s the same age as you, young and old at the same time.” She let out a small but fake chuckle. My eyes refused to look away from her. I clasped the blade underneath my cloak, but before I could move, she was already gone.