Chapter 1: A Storm Bearer

A person's state of mind can be refashioned by a sharp key on a piano or by a pungent smell of a decayed corpse, fooled to see the beauty in all things or the horror. I ask them which is the truth and which is the lie? A question I find many unable to answer as their consciousness deludes to see what their selfishness wants. The ego is so tactless and greedy that it denies the truth before them, the horror that claimed their souls and the lives of others. Such a question kept me in place, unable to move as the sounds of the end chimed mechanically with tattered strings—like a newborn violinist attempting to serenade me with a hypnotic melody. It articulated a sense of danger and foreshadowed my family's and friends' demise.

There were eight of us in all; Myself, Mom, Dad, Mike, the oldest; Dom, the middle child; and my three closest friends, Sett, Revenant, and Fuse. I was in the middle of Sett and Revenant, who had both held my hands tight. Fuse stood in front of me with his arms out to guard the rest of us. Mom and dad were stopped a little ways ahead with Mike at mom's hip and Dom on dad's shoulder. The day had become night with the strike of lightning and rumbling of thunder. It was too uncanny to call it common; it was only 2:30 pm with a forecast of 90-degree weather with no clouds. Yet, here we stood beneath a rain shower and looming gray clouds that swirled into a vortex overhead.

I was unsure if that brought the pungent smell or if it was the alarming figure that stood to be 10-ft in height with a hunched back and blazing yellow eyes. My heart dropped when it snarled a good morning though it was night and bore teeth in thanks to our patronage. It was odd to see Mike and Dom one second and then not the next. Between the thunder and strikes of lightning, I could hear their muffled screams but couldn't see the monster. Mom had begun moving, ushering for dad to hold tight onto Dom since it was raining. "What is she doing?" Fuse whispered as she tugged and tugged on dads shirt. This couldn't be right, I thought. Today was to be my day. I graduated from third grade with flying colors. I got all the green stickers that smelt of raspberries with hints of sharpie.

I demanded to have a picnic and managed to get my father's permission to invite my friends. I tailored the menu to reflect everyone's likes; Sweet potatoes, twixes, ham sandwiches, and grapes. They were sprawled across the wet grass, dirtied by blood splatters and torn limbs—not fit to eat. My attention was taken by a sharp howl that multiplied a field of decaying daisies and blooming Titan arum. Mom had pulled her hands to her lip while her legs buckled from the cruelty of her dismembered boys. All she could do was wish away the monster ten times over, shaking her head; it all seemed too surreal. Dad tried to reach for her slowly, but she slapped him away.

She blamed it on herself, a dreadful consequence of her abusive drinking. That would've made sense if she hadn't been sober for over three years. It seemed she was reaching for answers. Maybe if she had been more faithful, she wept odiously to her sons, "Mikey baby...Dom honey? Mommies, sorry." She turned her head left and right, and that's when I could confirm that she was gone. She smiled hysterically, patting down the ground for their hands. "Daddy and I will take yall to that show you've always wanted to see. Right, Arnold?" Mom had finally turned to dad with lifeless eyes.

Sett squeezed my hand to grab my attention in which I could see the fear plastered on his face. He mouthed to me as he took a step back; inch by inch, they started to move, and all I could do was follow. On the other hand, Mom kept at it, slowly getting angrier and angrier as dad remained silent. "Mommy doesn't like silence...I thought we discussed this, Arnold!? Dad had since moved from her, backed far against a tree where he remained silent. He looked at me and commanded the boys to stand still as the creature had remerged. The sound of moms heart was like a drum, thumping louder and louder, matching with the sound of the crashing thunder. She screamed her boy's name, yet no one answered.

I expected no more from her as my existence was a bane to hers. She hadn't called for me nor attempted to search. Dad and Revenant were the ones that prepared the outing. My brothers offered no assistance, not a glance or congratulations. I didn't share the same blood as the others, my origins unknown to even the orphanage. Despite their detachment, I still felt sad for them. I still shed tears, worked hard, and helped where I could. This weight on my heart isn't fake. Since the first lightning strike, the desire to help them had been the only thing on my mind, but what could I do? My thoughts fell quiet as the rain stopped for just a moment, and the thunder rolled to nothingness.

Between this calm interval came a roar. A ghastly bay that rattled our ears and forced our bodies to jolt. We could feel for the first time its steps. The Earth shook, riped, and creaked as it came near us. Dad did his best not to yell, but his whisper croaked and cracked; "Run!" Mom turned toward the direction of dad—"Arnold!?" Her voice shook with happiness, her hand reaching out in the direction she believed him to be. "Why didn't you say—" Her teeth pulled at her lips as her eyes fell into a state of nystagmus. Beneath her was a head with eyes rolled back. Its face was ripped and torn asunder, but she knew who it was. "No. No. No." Her ears twitched to a sudden snarl, a chuckle she had sworn as she raised her head in impiety.

Before she could say anything, black talons separated her head from her neck swiftly and precisely. Her body fell limp seconds after, but it'd soon become unsalvageable. The paw of the menacing beast had slammed down on top of it, her breast caved and forced to play the piece of the puzzle that'd never fit. The giant looked up from his mess and narrowed his eyes at me. Fuse shrieked, turning around to push Sett, Revenant, and me away. "Go go go, fuck, fuck!" Sett yanked me back as we turned to run. I gave no lip to either of them as they shoved me to the front of the line, pushing and guiding me back into the forest from whence we came.

Don't look back, Vix, ya got it." Fuse stuttered as he watched the monster take a step forward.

"Fucks sake, your legs are like rocks. Hurry!" Revenant growled as he took the lead to pull me faster. "But dad! Dad!" Fuse's eyes were glued to the monster as he feared that it would be the end of them if he looked away. "He's ok, I swear." Fuse gritted his teeth as he kept pushing. "Dad! Dad!" I yelled but no response. "Where is he?" My tears began to well as I mustered the courage to look over my shoulder. "Eh...Dad..." My legs had stopped moving as my jaw dropped to the floor. There he was with only one arm hanging from the creature's canines. "Vixen!" Sett screamed as he grabbed the back of my hair to string me forward.

He did his best, but I couldn't; I couldn't look away. "It's coming! It's coming!" Revenant jerked my hand as he tried to dig into the mudded ground to push off into a burst of speed. "Move. Move!" Fuse gave one final push before he heard the sounds of each rib break. Fuse's screams were defining as his feet tried to stay planted on the ground. Sett had fallen from the sheer fear of spikes protruding from Fuse's stomach. "Shit...Shit..." "What the fuck is it doing!" Revenant panicked as the ends had wriggled into two sets of three. "F...Fuse." I reached my hand out to grab him, but he was cold to the touch. The creature's talons had slid into place where each knuckle knocked together as the tips speared what flesh it could.

Before I could tug, the talons pried and pried, ripping every muscle and vein in half. I had lost all sense of reason, all sense of bowel, as the creature peaked through the hole it had made with Fues's body. My tears overflowed with anger as the creature leaned in with eyes as blind as the sun. Its breath wreaked of rot and still harbored a finger or two from dad. It grinned from ear to ear as it opened its maw to reveal six rows of jagged teeth. Without hesitation, it tugged on Fuses's body to bring me closer—to watch it chomp down and masticate his head. Still, I sat, devoid of emotion other than loss. Revenant rushed to me, slamming his hands over my eyes as he stared down the creature with vehemence.

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The creature's smile was filled with pleasure as it flicked one-half of the torn body away, leaving no weight in my hands. The monster's next target was Revenant if it was for Sett, that had jumped to his feet and ran with his shoulder knocking against the mouth of the creature. I could hear Sett's struggle and the thudding of his tiny fists that, as a child, could hurt no one. I could feel Revenant's tense muscles and the quick beats of his heart. We were young children who'd barely seen the world. What could we do in the face of something alien? There was no hope. No rescue. Revenant leaned down to kiss my tears. "Don't worry." But I am! Please don't leave me! Please don't leave me! I bit my chapped lips as I felt him reposition himself in front of me, holding me close to his chest.

I could no longer hear the thudding of Sett's fists or the grunts and curses he swore to the demonic creature. "Don't go..." Revenant hushed me as he held onto me tighter. "Remember that time when we first saw each other in first grade. You were a complete weirdo decked out in your beads and bracelets." My lips quivered as I wished to anyone—to anything for help. "You were easy to pick on, so I felt like I needed to protect you. Eventually, Sett and Fuse joined, and we became this weird trio." Someone! Please! I will give everything to you. My life, my soul, even my next life if it means I can at least save one. Somebody! "We all made stupid promises, but they were our promises, so don't you forget them." If you die, let me die with you! Somebody! PLEASE!

SNAP. My thoughts faded back as my stomach grew tight. If I could've screamed out in pain, I would have, but even that was taken from me. I could feel its talon wedged into my stomach, which only meant that it had to go through Revenant to reach me. I could think no longer. I wanted nothing of this world. How could this happen? "Rev..." The corner of my lips trickled blood as I raised my head weakly to nuzzle him beneath his chin. So cold..."Rev..."I whimpered as I could hear the crackling of the monster. Do you think this is funny!? Scumbag. Scumbag SCUMBAG. Lightning hurled from the prised heaven above in summons to her anger. It flared intensely below as if the sun was yanked into the Earth's atmosphere.

It brought a flash of light that could neither dim nor vanish for it possessed immeasurable and boundless presence. It engulfed the creature before blanketing it with fire, and all I could hear was its moaning. I was afraid to open my eyes, to look at the others who had tried to protect me. There was something in me that wanted me to do so and though I tried to refuse, the force shepherd me to the sight of a lifeless Revenant. My eyes flinched as he left me with a smile. I held him closer, squeezing his corpse, not caring for the blood that had soaked my white dress. This wasn't fair. "But it is a part of history." My eyes shot toward the creature who had fallen and burnt to a crisp. "Who's there!" I could see nothing but the rod of lightning that shimmered brightly.

"You are looking at me." I narrowed my eyes toward the rod that hummed with nostalgia. "You said you would offer me anything, even your next life. I've come to collect." To kill me? "I don't understand." I tried to muster strength in my legs, but I couldn't. " Your ancestors prayed to me during their troubled times, and I offered them the means to solve them. You belong to a long line of Storm Bearers, though nearly all have been wiped out. I've come to collect the last of the bloodline." What nonsense was this thing speaking? "A war will be waged soon against the powers of your world. My creator has called upon my creation in this time of need." Is he fucking kidding? I squeezed Revennat harder as he turned away from the light.

"Asking a child to save the world. What a joke. You have power. I refuse to be a meat shield. What are you even? Who are you!? A god? Why couldn't you come sooner? Useless! Stupid! Good for nothing!" I was lost in my words and didn't realize the absence of weight in my arms. Everything's been turned upside down, and my heart seemed frigid and beaten. "Open your eyes," it spoke. "Fuck you." He sealed my lips quickly after, and my eyes pried open to marvel at the silhouette of a broad muscule-like figure. "I understand your loss, but I will not tolerate disrespect. If I could do it myself, I would, but I can not. I will give you everything I have to offer in exchange that you keep to your promise. Years from now, you will set out on a journey to find nine others like yourself. Come together to defeat the powers of this Earth and restore order."

I wanted to speak, but he wouldn't let me; instead, he kept rambling and rambling until—"I am the god of thunder and lightning, Shango; when I created the Storm Bearers, I gave them half of my power. This power resides in you. You have until your journey to awaken these powers. If successful, I will return you one thing." One thing? "yes. Something invaluable. You have my word. Time here runs short for me, so I will dispose of this scene and send you on your way." My lips felt light. Could I? "To where! Where am I going! My family has died, do you not understand!!" Shango did quick work of cleaning up the mess so fast that I had no time to think.

"Back to where you started." "The orphanage! Send me anywhere else but there." Shango snapped his finger as lightning hurled down to strike where I sat. "It's painful to see the youth of today. You've sat pretty in a house that hardly tolerated you but paid just enough attention to keep you ignorant. All our people know are the struggles and sufferings, yet we continue to move forward despite everything against us. Stop complaining. Move forward."

"Move forward."

The light that engulfed me had flared in the same manner as his, and before I knew it, I was blinded by the light, unable to see anything.

Move forward.

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