Ignite

by Andre Pisco

  "ALEC!" Lucian shouted, "This is no time to be left behind! You promised us that we would go together until the end. If this is the end, let it be, but we can’t give up without a fight!" The shriek reached Alec's soul, awakening him from his deep trance.

  "Sorry," Alec said. He rubbed his eyes, lightly slapped his own face, and cracked the bones between his fingers, "Come on!"

  They left the room running. Lucy was already with the other two members of the group. The explosions continued to occur. There was no quiet. The peace was over and now before them was the war; naked, raw, backed by bases with dozens of years. They were going down the stairs when the roof fell apart. The shrapnel fell on them at high speed without having time to escape. James was the first to close his eyes. He was on the top step and looking up at the noise saw only sharp objects toward his eyes. His heart almost jumped up to his throat when, after a few seconds, with clenched fists, nothing happened. He opened his eyes, looked up, and a green shield shielded them, keeping the glasses in the air. James inhaled and exhaled as deeply as possible.

  "It was close." Said Lucy, "We're wasting time. Fast."

  As they descended the stairs, Lucy made the shield disappear and the shrapnel struck the floor. The sound, almost like chalk scratching a chalkboard, echoed through the corridor as usual. As they turned toward the entrance hall they were greeted by 2 of Cristopher’s soldiers. They were the contrast of each other, except for the looks in the facial features. They both had crooked noses to the left side, their eyebrows undone, and a thin red line serving lips. However, what stood out the most in both was a crooked scar on the right side of their foreheads.

  "You cannot leave. The leader does not want anyone to interrupt him." The tall, thin man said.

  "But you can try. I would love it if you tried." The other replied, stroking his round belly and laughing. He had a lumpy, blond mustache that covered his lips and half of his chin whenever he smiled.

  James didn’t wait for anyone. He put one foot in front of the other and threw himself down. His fist glowed and a golden heat emanated from his arm. Alec told Neil that the difference between his friend's power in less than a month was noticeable. James was about to hit the opponent's face when a stone wall came out of the ground and caught his assault. Still, he didn’t give up.

  "This is for what you did to my cousin. Ahhhh...” James shouted, letting his emotions take over and boost his energy.

  His fist rested on the wall, and little by little a crack opened. The other man stayed where he was and didn’t for a moment seem concerned about his colleague. The light on James's wrist grew brighter and the wall of earth began to fall apart. The stones tumbled to the floor one by one.

  "You're gone!" James shouted, pulling his arm back for his final blow. His mouth was open wide, spitting as the sound of his voice increased.

  He was seconds away from hitting him. Enthusiasm grew and he smiled. Still, before he could get his first hit, he was immobilized. A thin layer of dirt brushed against the man's nose and protected him from attack. James's breathing increased and his face circled 180 degrees. Fear-stricken, brows raised, and a wisp of air escaping through the remaining gap as he pressed his lips together.

  "You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?" The man said and burst out laughing, "It's my turn," he added. He lowered his head, letting out laughter from someone who prospered in the darkness expanded through the wide entrance of the palace.

  James didn’t even have time to protect himself. A fist of earth appeared on the floor, tearing off the tiles where they had previously stepped, and hit him exactly on the chin. His body fluttered to Neil's feet, which held him and confirmed that he was conscious. His eyes were half closed and blood was running down his chin but he still tried to get up. He leaned on trembling hands and pressed his palm to keep from falling.

  "What do you think you're doing, James?" Neil yelled in his ear, "We have to go together!"

  "I want it just for myself. He's going to see who he's messing with. It caught me off guard just this once."

  "That's enough, James. Remember we are a team! Let's do this together." Lucy said and stood in front of him, blocking his way.

  "She's right. We have more chances like that." Alec said, and held out his hand in front of James, "It's now. Let us show them that it was not only luck that led us to flee from Drexus."

  "They are pissing me off solemnly. Just secrets and more secrets. Let's get this over with. The master said we should not let them leave here, he never said not to hurt them. What do you think, brother?" The taller one said. He had one hand behind his back and it would not be surprising to the boys that he had a long-range weapon hidden.

  "Let's begin then," said the other, and made a gesture with his hands as one dares to lift up that which is in eternal sleep. However, instead of someone, what appeared was dozens of stones, all triangular in appearance and a sharp base, facing the young, "Contemplate the real pain!" He shouted, before moving two fingers forward, confirming the action.

  "This is mine," Lucy said, raising a barrier strong enough to stop the attacks.

  For the next few seconds, nothing more happened aside from stones striking at her defense and unraveling to land in front of her. The shield was covered with dirt, obscuring the vision of the group. They had no healer and didn’t wait for help. They knew that the soldiers, including Eva and the rest of the acquaintances, were struggling to protect the city through which they sprouted so much love. The smell of burning finally reached their noses and brought with it the putrid odor of sulfur. The voices outside were scary. Higher and higher, filled with a feeling as painful as loss and fear.

  Soldiers marched, their boots shaking the ground, and, in seconds, they stopped. Alec wondered if they had been obliterated in an instant or were positioning themselves. A mixture of other sounds Alec couldn’t decipher mingled in the middle as well, events that impinged the same feeling of inertia that he had when seeing the city to be decimated. But this time he didn’t let himself be ruled by it. He dug his fingernails into his own hand until his bones clicked and released all the potential he had. His body caught fire, and his eyebrows and eyes turned red, like fresh blood, making the entrance hall like a volcano and he was watching it about to destroy everything in his path.

  "Alec, it's our turn to strike!" Neil said, grabbing him by the shoulder.

  "Let's do this. Lucy, when I tell you, lower the shield. Lucian use the ice to catch his feet without repairing. I attack the tallest, James attacks the other. Neil's coming after us. If one of us fails, you attack. No matter how, but we have to knock them down. This is our chance. We are 5 against 2, we cannot lose!" Alec said, opening and closing his hands constantly, "This will warm up. Hold on.”

  It was possible to feel the sharp nervousness of the group. The hot, heavy air was building the pressure, the pictures falling off the walls, the explosions still rang outside, and yet they were all focused on the moment. Seconds turned into minutes when no one moved, waiting, and yearning for the right moment. By an almost imperceptible carelessness; a weapon that slid from a sweaty hand, a momentary look to the side, an unintentionally advancing foot. Alec followed the movements of both opponents. He was waiting for an opening, and he had it when the taller one, not holding the heat in the room, closed his eyes to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

  "Lucy, now!" He shouted. He had not finished speaking yet, and Lucy had already snapped her fingers.

  He and James threw themselves forward, each to their target, prepared to punch them with all the force they had. Neil followed them, meters behind, also shouting like crazy. The taller one tried to walk backward when he realized that his feet were frozen. He pulled them down, pressed the ground, and tried again, but it was useless. He was imprisoned and condemned to stay there. He showed his weapon for the first time; a double-barreled pistol with a location sensor. He was preparing to shoot when the weapon dropped out of his trembling hand. He was about to go down, but before he cou
ld do that, Alec had come close enough to hit him full on the left cheek, scorching and tossing him against one of the walls that had not yet been shaken. The man hit his head and fell to the ground, fainting, saliva coming out of his closed mouth, and blood sliding down the wall.

  Alec looked away. James's brows were arched, his lips a vile smile, and his fist about to hit the missing opponent. The boy's rage consumed him, withdrawing his humanity, and in return offering him the power he lacked to overcome the barrier of earth. His eyes glittered and his hair fluttered.

  "A little help here would work!" James shouted, "Don’t think you're getting away."

  Alec turned, moving only one leg close to the ground, dust rising to his knees, and without hesitation, a fireball shot out of his hand. The man only had time to increase his barrier, defending himself on two fronts. The fire made him sweat, the glittering light dazzled his vision, and the ice chained him to that spot.

  "Damn." It was the last words to come out of his mouth before James stifled his defense and punched him so hard that his chubby cheek disappeared into his mouth as his body was hurled like a feather against the door, leaving behind a hole large enough for two people.

  The group of young people rushed to the exit. They escaped through the hole and faced a stage of horrors. The thought of victory dissipated. They expected an equal fight, a resistance capable of holding the soldiers and even Cristopher, but they were never so wrong. The city burned in orange tones and in front of them Christopher had his hand wrapped around Eva's neck. Her feet no longer moved or touched the ground, her eyes had lost their color, the iris was now nothing more than white, and her lips had dried. There was no claw in her and life was gradually lost. She was at 50HP, and every second a value fell.

  The soldiers, up to the top ten, were trapped in a rectangular slime that prevented them from moving. From the faces of the four who held them, one in each corner were brothers whose power could be used in combination. Lomi was lying on the floor with an arm ripped off and blood splattering the ground. The puddle beneath him was growing larger and he had reached for his trousers. Alice, Molly, and Grant were on their knees, hands chained, watched by Christopher's soldiers. Their faces were stained with dust and dried blood. The colors of the eyes were lost in the dirt, and the usual sarcasm and aggression were now nothing more than features that fear had buried. They no longer had their own personality. Mere puppets at the mercy of Christopher, who smiled before Eva's dampened eyes.

  "Stop!" Lucy shouted, as loud as she could.

  Christopher looked at her. He threw Eva through the air, her body slapping on the floor and skipping twice before stopping. He raised his hand and motioned for his men not to attack Lucy.

  "Kill her, master. Kill 'em all." The short one said. He was still on the ground and his hand was getting up. He just bowed his head so he could see what was around him.

  "Silence," Christopher said, and without even moving his fingers, tree chains sprang out from between his nails and wrapped around the man m, squeezing until the bones of his body began to crack. One by one. The man tried to scream but his mouth had been covered too. Shrieking shouts and eyes jumping out, as his face was crushed, were the last thing they saw of him. His bones fell to the floor and the clothes that danced through the air followed them before they landed on top of them.

  Christopher walked over to Lucy and removed the mask, bending his knee to stay in her line of sight. He smoothed his gray beard until the whirlpools dissolved and then pulled out the thread that held his hair the same color in a ponytail. The strands fell over his shoulders, and his face grew older, full of seriousness and wisdom, except for the hole in his cheek. Instead of the inside of his mouth, there was only darkness, something like black webs that seemed to spread on the right side of his face through the rest of his hand. The darkness consumed him, and unlike all his soldiers, it had already taken half of his body.

  "Welcome, my dear granddaughter," he said, and held out his wrinkled hand, "I have not seen you since you were a child. You bloomed as expected. I'm glad to see you and I'm sorry you have to witness this. There are evils necessary to achieve peace," he said. A grave voice that inspired confidence, but also courage. No wonder he had convinced dozens of people to join him. There was a certain charism allied with his personality that made the listener susceptible to wanting to know everything until the end.

  "Granddaughter?" Alec asked, a few feet away, looking at her with a confused look.

  Lucy shoved Christopher's hand, "Ever since I was little? We never met! We have nothing to do with each other nor will we have. You killed my teachers and friends, even the director of Drexus!" She said, agony in her voice and tears streaming down her face.

  No one dared to move. Neither Christopher's subordinates nor the youth group. The present was stopped except for the small space where grandfather and granddaughter exchanged words.

  "I see you already knew who I was, but you didn’t tell your friends. You don’t have to be ashamed, Lucy. I know now that you think I'm bad, but one day... One day you'll realize why. I want a better world and I will not stop until we get there. Everyone here believes in a world where no one is above others, where governors don’t control who lives and dies, where the poor are helped." Christopher said without taking his eyes off of hers, as dark as Lucy's darkest winter nights, "Deaths are a necessary evil for rebuilding. The director is still alive. Barely, but he is. He left me this beautiful memory on the cheek." He said, pointing to his cheek, "As for your parents ... I presume they have arranged someone to erase your memory. They are rare, but for kings, it makes no difference. I don’t judge them."

  "What better world will we have if we succumb to the darkness? Is not killing the one who opposes you the opposite of what you want? Why are you doing this?" Lucy asked again. Without Cristopher repairing small trunks they were preparing to fasten his foot whose sole was on the ground.

  "You come out to me, you know? At your age, too, I was reactionary. I wanted to change the world by being good, and then I realized that it was impossible. It took a hand of iron, someone who would take the world for assault and force it upon him. Until she succeeds in sustaining herself. I did what I had to do so that the young people of the next generation will live without knowing the agony of being able to die just around the corner if they are born in the wrong city." He replied and paused before continuing, "Is that so wrong?"

  Lucy opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted. Eva used what was left of her energy to rise. Her knees and shoulders were flayed, her voice almost sharp. Molly tried to get up to help her but one of the soldiers stopped her. He controlled her body with one hand, moving it to the right and left as he wished. She was a mere puppet in his hands and he rejoiced with the power he had over her, tossing her body into the air and stopping her just before landing. Her hair covered her face and her lips twitched, showing the red gum and saliva that came from her mouth and fell on her clothes.

  "I'm going to kill that guy," James said, gritting his teeth, bracing himself for a brutal onslaught despite the long distance.

  "Covert, stop. Leave the girl." Christopher commanded, "One of you young men help Eva. I don’t want her to die. On the contrary, I want her alive to see what she has created. After all, it all started when she invited me to join Drexus. This is all because of her."

  Neil came to her aid. He put one of her shoulders around her neck, his hand on one of her hips and helped her to her feet. Meanwhile, Lucy glanced at Alec and winked at him, moving her eyes to the floor, where the thin trunk lay, so he could see her plan. It was all fitting in the shafts and they knew they would only have one chance to raise their chances. Alec leaned against James and gave him a subtle elbow in the belly.

  "I know, I know. I have to be calm." James replied, exalted, the light in his hand blinking non-stop. He couldn’t keep his emotions stable and he had lost control of his energy.

  "No. Look at the floor. As soon as Lucy advances, so will we," he explained,
receiving a slight nod.

  "Take me to him," Eva asked. She couldn’t speak loudly and had the mark of Christopher's fingers on her neck.

  Neil carried her. The distance between them being a few feet. When she opened her mouth, Neil was troubled by the strong smell of wine. Sometimes her legs would lose their strength and crawl across the floor, following the body.

  "Christopher, if you wanted peace so much why did you killed your colleagues? Why did you begin your journey of peace with a black stain and blood? What evil did they do to you?" Eve asked, trying to scream but couldn’t.

  "Even today I regret it, even if you don’t believe it. I didn’t want to kill them, but they caught me reading banned books. They threatened to tell everyone. I couldn’t leave them, you understand that, right? I remember their funerals. It cost me more than you can think of, Evanora." Christopher answered her, looking at her, his eyes never closing.

  "So you understand what you're doing is wrong, right? This is not the right way. You may not see it now, but the darkness is using you. You can’t succumb to it." Eve spoke, her voice growing louder, "They told me you have soldiers using their own blood to make themselves strong. This is forbidden. You know the consequences and the danger. The chip will eventually overwhelm them and erase their personality," she said. As soon as she slipped off Neil's shoulder, she fell back to the floor. The dust entered Neil's eyes as he reached down to catch her. He coughed, even covering his mouth and half-closed his eyes until he could catch it again.