Rise From The Ashes

By Aryan Singh Nagar

Jadek restrained himself from interfering in the matters of strangers, but there were some limits that even he could not allow people to cross. His face twisted with an expression of disgust, that no one stepped ahead before him to resolve the volatile situation.

Garnet held the scrawny boy by his hair and forced him to look up at her. Her size and her target’s state were of no concern to people like her, lowest of the low, the ones who prey on those beneath them just because they have the ability to.

“So tell me ‘Hero’, what do you think, should I aid these idiots with their stupid festival preparations” she said, her voice grating on his ears as he stepped towards her. The delinquents and other bottom feeders who gathered around people like her had formed a circle around them. He was unsure if they were just that eager to see someone being bullied or they had enough sense to hide their atrocities.

The jet black haired boy she held, Ashel, was an enigma to him, which was odd considering how vast his information networks were. All he knew was that he had been in a terrible accident at the start of the school year that had left his arm mangled and taken away his memories. It turns out God was still testing him, why else would he be treated like this. God was the only moral compass he needed, but something inside him egged him on to step in for the boy.

He pushed open a space between the brown haired Jork & sharp eyed Reina and entered the circle. There was no turning back now. “Cut it out, don’t bother the ones who have done you no harm,” he said, fingering his necklace of meditation beads.

He barely avoided the punch that was thrown at his face, staggering back as he tried to put distance between him and the opponent. Before he realized he had taken up a combat stance.

“We have another wannabe Hero here,” she said, letting go of Ashel who slumped back into his seat like a lifeless puppet and taking a combat stance herself, “You better entertain me more than this one, or you are really gonna regret being born.” Perfect, I have the Devil’s own luck

He didn’t even have enough time to try to resolve the situation in a peaceful way, Garnet lunging at him, her size giving her the advantage in strength. He narrowly avoided blows targeted at his vitals, taking small hits here and there occasionally. His evasive and defensive movements were throwing Garnet for a loop. Good. Now he just had to wait till she tired herself out.

Immediately her blow connected and took him in the face, his vision going white as he stumbled back, one hand seeking support from a nearby bench, the other blocking the blood dripping from his nose. Why do things always have to come to violence, he let out a sigh and surrendered himself to the Void.

Something filled him, something that was not energy, something different, more primal, more stable. He called it Emptiness, made for a good paradoxical name. He felt as his nose set itself back in place, the drops of blood slowly halting. Before he could retaliate she was upon him again, every strike of hers precisely targeted at his vitals and meant to knock him out. Sadly, she was no match for someone filled with Emptiness.

He dodged every single blow she threw at him effortlessly, drawing surprised glances from the crowd which had grown much larger than when he had stepped in. He could see the hallways filled with students from other classes who had caught word of the brawl, or had been drawn by the sounds of conflict. None stepped in to help him.

He received a blow straight between his eyes, his vision going white, he stumbled And then he accidentally let himself loose for an instant. It was only for an instant, he had become one with God, in his ecstasy he forgot that he was to hide this power from the world. He had sinned, had broken his oath, there was still time to not break another. He used all his bodyweight to drive the punch targeted for her heart into the desk between them.

The desk gave way beneath the force of his blow, all four of its legs cracking at their middle and the table top broke into two halves. He still shuddered to think that power such as these could one day be commonplace in the world if he failed his mission.

The crowd around him had dispersed, Garnet had fallen to her knees, her face donning equal parts shock and fear. Everyone looked at him with emotions ranging from astonishment to terror. He walked over to the only one who didn’t care.

Ashel was still slumped in his seat, his face a neutral mask. Does he ever even show any emotions. Well, at-least he wasn't terrified of what just happened. “You okay, boy,” he asked in as gentle a way as he could. “You aren't that much older than me that you can call me boy, but thanks for stepping in, didn’t want things to go out of hand. If what happened wasn't out of hand; seems unlikely,” he said gesturing towards the door where the crowd was slowly dispersing.

A faculty member had called a Disciplinary Committee staff, as the whispers around him told. Well, at-least he would not need to go full force for a while.

Garnet still sat there, shaking at the sight of the broken desk. She flinched with terror when he walked past her to the member of the Disciplinary Committee, a certain ‘Mr. Alfred Hawthorne’, his beard—that looked more like a lion’s mane—covered most of his face giving him an imposing and primal look. And he was tall, taller even than Garnet who he estimated broke 2 meters.

“You look away for a second and the brats raise a ruckus, makes you think that they are all in on some grand conspiracy that we know no part of, eh, Jork,” he said putting an arm around Jork’s shoulder. “Its spelled York, and I had no part in this.”

“That's for us to decide now innit,” he said with a laughter that was even more threatening than his figure. Jadek walked upto him, looked him in the eye and said with as much Emptiness he could muster, “We had a conflict of opinions and it resulted in the table being broken, I and Garnet are mainly to blame, the rest were spectators,” he could hear sighs of relief from all around him. Cowards.

“See, this is why we still have hope for the world, we need more rational people like you boy, people who can put aside their petty egos and take responsibility for their actions like grown men,” he said, his voice booming across the hallway, “I will need to give you a detention anyways, I hope you understand where I am coming from.”

“And what about her?” Jadek asked, his voice devoid of any unnecessary emotion. “I will take care of her personally,” he said, finally putting all the pieces in place.

Abnormally tall, blonde haired, sturdily built. Garnet Hawthorne was going to have a hard day ahead of her. He picked up his bag and followed Alfred on his way to detention. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, the Emptiness eluding him. He bowed his head low as if in shame, and let the smirk escape his lips. Everything had gone according to his plan.

***

Garnet killed time alone for what seemed like an eternity before something stirred in the empty classroom tinted orange by the light of the setting sun. She immediately wished that she could get her solitude back.

Raisl stood in the hallway, her hand on the door handle as she entered the room. Garnet avoided her gaze, she could no longer maintain her composure around her. Raisl closed the door behind her as she walked slowly as if resisting the notion, but eventually deciding to talk to her.

“You are not going to return home today are you,” Raisl asked in a voice that was a touch concerned.

“What I do is not your concern. I thought I had made it clear last time that we are through, I can no longer be around you. You should also learn to ignore my existence, that is the best for both of us.” It took Garnet everything she had to not break down in tears right at that moment.

“It doesn’t have to be this way Garn, tell me, did I do something that offended you, did I say something that hurt your feelings,” Raisl said, her question sounding like she was pleading.

Garnet ignored her and continued reading the book she had been assigned. She had only heard of Frankenstein in passing but the book the had managed to capture her attention, given the alternative was facing Raisl. Garnet didn’t even look at Raisl’s face and they remained like that for a while. How she wished this silence could last forever.

Raisl walked upto Garnet and picked the book away from here, “Mary Shelley? I didn’t think you were someone who was interested in the classics.” Garnet didn’t meet her eyes.

“It seemed the most fun to read out of the options I was given. Give it back and leave.” Garnet could no longer bottle up her emotions, a touch of anger leaking in her voice.

Raisl just stood there, book in hand, staring at Garnet as if she was waiting for some miracle to happen. “Why have you been like this all year, did the accident affect you this much, I will never know unless you tell me,” she said, sounding as if she was about to start crying any moment now.

I am sorry for doing this, but it has to be done. Garnet got up from her seat in one fluid motion grabbing a hold of Raisl’s right hand, Frankenstein dropping to the wooden floorboards below. Raisl looked at her with a terrified expression, the sun lighting her features with a tinge of orange.

Garnet tightened her grip and as gently as she could twisted her arm. Raisl didn’t react, she just stood there waiting for Garnet to release her. Garnet tightened her grip even more. “Release my hand,” Raisl said, as she bit her lip to hide her grimace.

Garnet kept applying more strain whenever she thought that Raisl had managed to tolerate the current level of pain. Eventually she broke out in tears, falling to her knees. Garnet released her hand, a black ring left where she had grabbed her on the forearm.

“No matter how careful a Tiger is, it will eventually end up breaking the glass doll it had been blessed with,” Garnet said, her face a mask of neutrality, her heart a whirlwind of emotions, “It’s the best for both of us if we end this here.”

Raisl stood up, wiping away the last of her tears. She looked Garnet in the eyes once, and without saying anything anymore she left for the door leading into the hallway. Garnet picked up her novel and slumped back into her chair. She watched as Raisl used her bruised hand to turn the door knob, grimacing at the pain, but not rejecting it.

Raisl bumped into the figure that had been waiting outside in the hallway, and for a moment Garnet noticed an expression of confusion pass through her face as she apologized and left. The one who had come now was someone she had not expected. Ashel stood there, a can of coffee in one hand orange juice in the other. He tossed the second can at her and she grabbed hold of it right beside her ear. Ashel was still as great at throwing things, that was his one skill if any.

“And why has the ‘Hero’ come out of his little hole, did you not have enough in the morning, are you some kind of masochist?” she said, popping open the can and taking a swig of the orange juice. It was way too sour, just as she liked.

Ashel said nothing, he just stood there for a while taking sips of his coffee and not trying to start a conversation. Well, if he wanted to play Silence then she would indulge him. Garnet returned to her reading.

Ashel spoke out as the sun began to set, just in time for Garnet to finish reading her novel. “Why?” The single word hung heavy in the dimly lit classroom. Garnet said nothing

“Why did you push her away?” Ashel said with a voice that bordered on confusion. He was the last person she expected to be interested in her choices, atleast this new self of his.

She hoped beyond hope that the old Ashel would return someday, that he will wake up and realize it had been one long nightmare that he had been stuck in. Her hopes were rarely answered.

“You finally choose to step out of your rut and that's the first question you have. You owe me an explanation for the way you have been since that accident.

Ashel grabbed his right arm with his left hand, as if the mere mention of it had flared the pain. His right arm was completely wrapped up in bandages with a long section jutting past his elbow and above his head. The doctors had tried their best, but the damage was too severe. It was a miracle that he hadn't lost the his hand completely.

“Raisl is upto something,” he said in a voice that expected her to understand. She didn’t. “She has her own life, she can do whatever she wishes without concerning us.” She was shocked by how cold her own voice was.

“I think she has gone and gotten herself wrapped up with some really dangerous individuals. Word is that she visited The Wit today,” Ashel said, never breaking his neutral face.

“That hooded coward thinks pretty highly of himself just because he has been able to solve a few issues,” Garnet said, making her lack of trust in The Wit as clear as she could.

“Thwarting a potential school shooter from going on a rampage,” he said lifting one finger, “Rescuing a student who had been kidnapped and delivering him safely to the academy,” he raised another finger, “Putting a stop to the Terrorists who planned to blow up the school, on the day of the cultural festival. I say he has done enough to be considered as a player in the greater scheme of things.”

Ashel looked up from his soliloquy and met her gaze head on. There is no doubt about it. “Your eyes, they are smoldering with sparks I had long believed dead,” she said, This sudden development had surprised her.

Ashel looked at her as if someone had told him that he did not exist anymore, or something equally improbable. His eyes soon assumed their dead state again. “Someone has been messing with the water supply system of the academy. I have a bad feeling about this, they might have angered the wrong beast this time. That monk kid is also linked to all of this.”

Even the mention of him evoked bad memories for Garnet. She had been beaten down too often to not know when someone had completely outmatched her. She had lost after a very long while. It hadn't gotten a single bit easier.

“I will watch out for him,” Garnet said, trying hard to contain her excitement at this golden opportunity. She would event the odds with baldy. She would do it alone.

“I think expecting you to help me out would be a bit too much, even though I really wish I am wrong for once,” she said as Ashel finished his coffee. She tossed her empty juice can at him and he caught hold of it between his index and middle fingers. His dexterity had not degraded, the same couldn’t be said for his will.

“It don’t want to care, everything is set in stone anyways. Nothing we do matters. You cannot fight causality,” Ashel said, as he left for the door to the hallway.

“Then what was the reason you came here to talk?” Her question was answered by the door slamming shut behind him as he left her alone in the classroom that had been enveloped in darkness.

Garnet packed up her stuff and began to leave, only to stop and realize she hadn't asked any of her friends if she could stay over. The thought of returning home was enough to make her shudder. She would no longer be tormented by that monster. And what about the monster you yourself are becoming. It was a dangerous line of thought.

She left the classroom to notice a bald figure slinking away deeper inside the school. Strange, even the Astronomy Club members should be preparing to leave now, and they have special permission to be on school grounds after dark.

She followed the direction the bald figure had gone in, and was almost spotted when she made a turn without first making sure that there was no one down the hallway. She could clearly see who it was. The monk brat, the one who had made her look like a loser in front of her whole class. She had special measures planned for him.

She peeked over the edge of the corner and saw Jadek talking to someone, except there was no one else she could see, atleast not from her current vantage point.

She followed him deeper into the academy, passing by the generic labs. There was no one to be seen other than her and the ‘Ponk’. She maintained enough distance to avoid alerting him with any rough movement. Her size and build did not make her the best person to sneak around.

She saw as he vanished at a corner and slowly made her way, hugging the wall and trying to look over. She found only a dead end. The Ponk was nowhere to be seen. She noticed that someone had removed the grate from the air vent. The vents were large enough for someone of his stature to sneak through. Same couldn’t be said for her.

Suddenly she felt a chill run through her body as if she had lost something, and before she could even turn, her body weakly gave away as she slumped on the ground. The only thing she managed to notice was a color. Blue.

***

Jadek got rammed into the wall by the full force of the giant’s body weight. He had thought Garnet would be in his position, turns out Alfred had other plans. He lowered himself to the floor and rolled away as he received a kick to his nape. This man had no notion of martial conduct, he was just a barbarian swinging his gifted body around.

“A pity, we need more self-responsible people like you, I meant that. But you had to come here and run into me. I cannot allow you to leave, not until the ritual is done atleast,” Alfred said, his voice showing hints of exhaustion.

Jadek fingered his necklace, these pagans were upto something, and he had to get past this man to discover what. His left collarbone was broken. A lucky punch, only that it was enough. He couldn’t risk himself anymore than he already had. For the second time today, he let the Emptiness fill him.

All of his senses sharpened like the edge of a newly whetted knife, every single hair on his body rising. He could feel himself becoming a vessel for God. He surrendered himself to the power, letting it douse him and chill him to the bone. He could feel his left collarbone knitting itself, a sharp pain spreading slowly over his whole body. God’s favor was not granted to those who could not bear a little pain.

“In any other scenario I would have loved to fight you in a fair duel, but as you have no honor, I am forced to end this here,” he said, his voice reverberating in the empty hallway.

Alfred lunged at him , his face strained as he put every last ounce of his power in his punch. Jadek twisted a little and the blow slid off his cheek, leaving a shallow cut.

“It’s over,” he said as he rammed his fist into the left side of Alfred’s chest. His killer counter was not called that just to sound scary. It was a testament to this man’s strength that he stayed conscious enough, to give him one final hateful look.

Jadek let go of the Emptiness, a feeling of loss spreading throughout him. He opened the door Alfred had been guarding and found himself staring into a darkened hallway

Jadek moved deeper down the hallway and found himself facing something whose existence inspired such terror in him that his legs gave way. It was neither man nor beast, words inadequate to explain this thing, if it even had an explanation. Long thin tendrils extended from its core, latched to the chests of the unfortunate ones who had been in its proximity.

The thing just stayed where it was, slowly drinking from their essence. Jadek noticed some students mixed in among the sacrifices. York’s face didn’t have his signature grin anymore.

When he had stolen the keycard from the head of POReS, he had not expected this. Smuggling, human trafficking, unethical experiments were all on his list, but this thing made those problems feel juvenile. Its very existence was blasphemy.

Jadek walked away from the chamber, the keycard still in his pocket. The coolant from the vent had stained his shirt when he had used it to stay in the school after closing hours. The stain was catching. Any thought was better than that thing. His head hurt at the slightest of thoughts. The pain was better than that thing.

He made his way to the storage shed on B5F, the explosives he had requested were there, delivered by his superiors, the terrorists had just been a ruse to get these in undetected.

He quietly set about his task of rigging every room from the lowest floor to the roof. He could not even begin to comprehend what he had seen, the creature defying everything he thought he knew. This cannot be allowed to go on. This place had to be destroyed. He would make sure of that even if it killed him.

He distracted himself with his task of planting explosives, his face face a cold mask, his insides a jumble of questions, doubts and raw unchecked fear. He hugged the sack of dynamite. It was more comforting than the subject of his thoughts. He wanted to burn today, it might lessen his pain.

Jadek laughed, his face twisting in a threatening grin. Blowing things up was an amazing feeling. He mocked himself for ever considering himself a pacifist. This banquet of flames was going to be his greatest service as a child of God. He hugged the explosives once again as his mad cackle reverberated throughout the hallway, but there was no one left to hear.

***

“So you task me with something this dangerous and try to get away with fake recompense,” the voice came from everywhere all at once, “I am somewhat more than offended by this obvious act of fraud.”

Raisl bit her lip, her eyes still hurt but she had to appear strong. “I do not know what happened, but the keycard I gave you was undoubtedly the one in possession of my father, Soren “Suneye” Uldrik, the head of POReS, up until this morning. This is what I am certain of.”

“You aren’t catching my drift, do you realize now how far behind we are compared to the Endseekers,” the voice said, “They had already procured the card before you even had the chance to take it. I bet they have already obtained access to whatever they wanted.”

“So?” she asked keeping her voice level as best as she could. “Are you going to use that as your reason for inaction?”

“As I have already told you many times, it doesn’t matter. You cannot change what is bound to happen,” the voice said with a biting edge, “You will die to a sniper’s bullet on the rooftop today, the other two won’t have such kind deaths, a pity, but that is the way things have to be.”

“So you will just sit here and keep wasting yourself away, worse even than those who wish to redo their lives, how do you manage to live with this thought process of yours,” she said, her anger slipping past her icy facade.

“I have seen the world end, twice. I have seen it born anew, both times. I have made kings and unmade gods. I have dined with the finest of sapient life, I have lived and survived among the most barbaric. I have done a billion things, just there is one incongruency. Everything I did still would have happened any way. People like us are not even significant in this great game of the higher ones. We are nothing. You are nothing,” the voice stopped abruptly and the figure in blue appeared slumped in front of the crates, “Damn that tigress, wasn't expecting her to be the one this time.”

“I do not know what you mean by your words, I am no longer sure they aren’t just delusions, but even then. Even if the path to the future is fixed, can you forgive yourself for giving up and doing nothing, Ashel,” she knelt to bring her face to level with The Wit’s, who had not gotten up from his crouch. He had been clutching at his side as if in intense pain, but stopped when her words registered in his mind.

“How long have you known?” he asked, his voice defeated, his will extinguished, At this point she was not certain if even a single spark remained in him.

“Since I ran into you earlier; Garnet might also have figured it out by now,” it hurt to even think of their last meeting. “Things never go according to plan, there will always be factors beyond your influence that still deeply matter to you, I know how it feels to be powerless as the world carries you forward with its chaotic current, but that is no excuse for inaction.”

Ashel revealed his face, removing his hood and mask. The illusion broke revealing his mangled right arm with the giant spike of bone sticking out of his right shoulder. His face bore no expression, always a mask of calm. She still felt guilty for causing the accident. She felt worse for how it had mangled his psyche.

“You think I have not tried, you think I am giving up after just a single failure, To you it might look that way, but I have failed more than you can ever think. I create changes, but the flow of causality is strong, at the end the results are the same, no matter my will. You will die today on the rooftop, with a gunshot wound to your head. Garnet will choke to death from all the smoke of the fires, the flames eventually slowly melting her as she is unable to escape from captivity, the Monk will fall to his death, having been driven insane by an avatar of The Weeping Mother.” He stopped speaking, letting the silence help in sinking in all that information.

“And what about you, what happens to you, if you do nothing,” she asked.

“I will just kill myself and let it start over. If I have to die I can choose to go by less grisly means,” his words were delivered in a matter-of-fact tone.

“So you do have a choice”

“Leave,” he didn’t say anything more, there was no need to. Raisl left the storehouse and started to make her way to the main school building. There was a way to get in even after closing, she had seen the plans for the vents and memorized them. Crawling in the vents was going to be uncomfortable. Good, she needed something to occupy her mind.

***

Garnet woke up and found herself on the roof of the academy. She hated heights like these. Just looking at how far below the ground was, was enough to make her feel lightheaded.

Someone had gone through all that trouble to knock her out, but then had just chosen to leave her there on the roof. Yeah, as if. She didn’t expect Ashel to act this way, but if this is where he thought she needs to be, then this will be where she will stay.

***

Raisl dusted herself as she landed on the tiled floor below the vent. Navigating them had been much harder than she had expected. Well, it is sorted now, let’s focus on something more important.

She had barely taken a few steps forward, when suddenly the ground lurched beneath her, tossing her high up. She landed on a pile of cleaning equipment that had been left carelessly strewn across the floor. The ground continued to heave as if the very foundations of the building had chosen to collapse.

All her logic screamed for her to run away outside, get as far away from the building as she could. But something tugged at her, a desire to be at the roof. Is this what Ashel had been referring to. She started to walk as if the trembling ground was of no concern to her, and she noticed a path clearing itself for her, leading straight to the elevator. Surely fate wasn't stupid enough to tell her to take the lift during an earthquake. Or could it be.

She strengthened her resolve and began her journey to the top, entering the elevator and inputting 137F. She was gambling everything on fate, She only wished that Ashel wasn't just a delusional madman.

The elevator lurched multiple times during her trip upwards, but strangely, it did not crash. The doors opened up. She stepped out and saw the extent of devastation. Flames slowly consumed the floor, equipment strewn everywhere. She steeled her resolve once again and walked upto the door leading to the roof. She had stepped into the midst of a contest of monsters.

***

Garnet cursed Ashel for bringing her here as the roof lurched beneath her feet. Heights were among the few things she ever was terrified by, that and her father when she was younger.

She grabbed hold of one of the pipes running along the center region of the roof as she tried to stay standing. The trembling halted after a while.

The door to the roof opened, revealing a lone figure in flowing robes. His bald head seemed bigger than the last she had seen of him. Jadek walked onto the roof, completely oblivious to her presence, cackling like a madman.

The remote in his hand instantly drew her attention. She soon got to know what it was for when the floor just below the roof blew up in time with one of his button press.

She sneaked around him, and managed to get behind. Now it began.

She rushed out at him, delivering a strong kick to his left shoulder. It cracked with surprising ease. Jadek dropped the detonator and finally seemed to really observe the situation he had found himself in. Garnet kicked the detonator away and continued her offensive against Jadek.

The Ponk recovered exceptionally quickly and assumed a defensive stance. He was going to be a hard barrier to overcome. Garnet pulled back to where the detonator had dropped. She quickly kicked it away towards the roof door behind her.

“Why does it always have to be one of you damned monsters I end up facing,” he said, his voice shrill and broken. She did not understand what it meant. She continued her offensive against him but her hopes were shattered when he delivered a blow to her flank. She thought she had heard her ribs crack.

She dropped down to the gravely surface of the roof. Her right side throbbing wildly with pain. The door opened behind her and she heard someone call her name. It was the voice of someone she had not wanted to be here. Raisl quickly assessed the situation and grabbed the detonator.

Jadek lunged at her but Garnet forced herself to stand in his way, her body crying out in pain. What was even going on anymore, she was not sure. She was assaulted by a flurry of blows from Jadek and with each she staggered back a little towards Raisl. This is bad. She saw Raisl run to her side and thrust something at Jadek.

Jadek leaped away, cautious of the Taser that sparked in her hand. “Can you stand?,” she asked, her voice showing her exhaustion.

“Of course, I can. I ain't going down as long as you are standing,” she said, “Haven't you heard, a wounded tigress is ten times more dangerous than her normal.”

“If you can still act like that, then I think you can still fight. I will try not to push you too much.”

Jadek lunged at them targeting Raisl, but Garnet prevented him from focusing his attention completely on her. This was going to be a long fight.

***

Ashel walked slowly up the stairs. It hurt to breathe, the air thick with smoke. Bother. He trudged on, climbing floor after floor until he stopped keeping count. He was not in his best state this time around. He planned to stall the end a little more next time.

He forced open a door and found himself in the destroyed 137F. He walked towards the door leading to the roof. He found the 2 of them facing off, just like every time. But there was someone more, someone who wasn't supposed to be here. Garnet lay with her back to an edge of the roof. Her body bruised and broken, yet her eyes still burning with a will to go on. Such a waste. She will die slowly, he intended to spare her the pain.

Raisl stood looking down on Jadek, his body unable to move after being tased. Everything was just slightly off, it wouldn't matter in the end anyway. Raisl ignored him, wary of her surroundings, waiting for the inevitable.

Jadek lunged at her and she leaped back, the section of the roof giving away beneath her. The bullet would come anytime now.

It came, and it shattered everything Ashel believed. The bullet tunneled through Jadek’s head leaving a gruesome flower on the roof’s surface. Raisl had no time to react as she fell of the building. Garnet giving a pained gasp.

“You just gonna stand there, ‘Hero’”, she said as the flames surrounded her. Her end was the same, if not worse. Jadek was not supposed to be shot, it was just illogical, but it did happen. Raisl was not supposed to fall off.

Ashel leaped off the roof, one more time could not be that bad.

By Aryan Singh Nagar