“Why did they take us?” Olga absently muttered as we walked through the ruinous outskirts of the small city. The ground was strewn about with massive craters, corpses, and random bits of hollow metal. The constant sounds of gunfire and explosives had become more akin to a muffled background noise than anything else. It was terrifying at one point, but now I’d gotten used to it. My ears rang a bit, but the ringing slowly abated the further we walked away from the city.
Once or twice, something would explode near us, but the flesh monster was always there to shield us with its bulk. By now, its form was covered and pierced by tiny pieces of rocks and metal; though, it didn’t seem to notice any of that as it rolled and followed us. Despite its grotesque form and the stench it exuded, I could not help but be thankful for its presence; I would have already died if it hadn’t emerged from the corpses and protected me.
Ahead was a long stretch of woods and trees. Hiding in there would be far easier than hiding in a town that was crawling with soldiers. The only problem would be finding food and water for the two of us.
“I don’t know….” I answered, my eyes glued to the ground underneath us. I had an idea why they might’ve taken us. The simplest answer was that they took us because no one would remember us if we went missing. They took us because no one would mourn our absence. We were nobody. We had nothing. Then again, things might’ve been different for Olga. There were hundreds of children in that place; at least some of us might’ve had better lives than the others. “But I’m guessing it’s because most of us are probably orphans.”
“No one’s going to miss me,” She said, nodding; her blue eyes dark and dead as she spoke. “My mother died giving birth to me. And my father died in Stalingrad; because he made sure I got all the food, while he starved to death. I was taken shortly after the Red Army liberated the city.”
I could only nod in turn, though I had no idea where this Stalingrad place was. “We’re alike, I suppose; the Japanese killed my parents and my sister. I survived, because I hid under the floorboards. After that, I survived as a street urchin for years, before they took me.”
The little girl’s bloodied remains flashed in my mind’s eye, the first life I’d ever taken. And, if Mato’s words were to be believed, it’s likely that she wouldn’t be the last – not by a long shot. If I wanted to survive in that place, then I needed to learn to kill, without flinching, without hesitating. I needed to become stronger than everyone.
“But… the people who caught us said something about potential. Magic… have you discovered yours?” I asked her. By now, I was more or less convinced that it was by my power that the flesh monsters came into being; their obedience was proof of that. Still, that didn’t mean I even understood just what it was I was capable of. I’d only learned about magic a few hours ago, like all the other children. I saw the gigantic flaming bird, earlier; someone equally magical must’ve been responsible for that thing.
She nodded and raised her left hand for me to see. A faint, multi-colored flame rested atop her palm, hovering just above the skin. When she closed her hand, the rainbow fire disappeared. She didn’t seem surprised by what she’d done or curious. “I can do that. It’s magic – I think.”
Olga glanced at the flesh monster. She wasn’t afraid of it. “Did you make this thing?”
I nodded. “I think I did… though, I’m not exactly sure what I did to create it. I was afraid… I panicked… and then… something just seems to burn inside me, like a fire, but in my belly. And then, the corpses started moving, ripping themselves apart and joining together into… this thing.”
“I… see.” She turned and pointed at the trees. “I think I caught the scent of rotten apples; there might be a few apple trees over there.”
“Alright,” Apples were… uncommon where I’m from. I’d occasionally find them being sold in the odd stall here and there, but they were expensive; from what I understood, the Philippines couldn’t grow its own apples and had to import them from overseas, which made the stuff very expensive as opposed to mangoes and other local fruits. I’ve stolen a few of them when I could, but they didn’t taste anything special. Still, food was food and I wasn’t about to turn down a juicy piece of fruit.
My stomach growled in agreement. And my parched throat ached for anything with the barest traces of water. “I’d like an apple.”
Just as we reached the tree line, a massive boom came from behind us, from the city. There was a brief moment of absolute stillness and silence, just before I was sent hurling and tumbling into the ground as a cloud of dust and debris exploded outwards towards the trees. I screamed and covered my head with my arms. Olga disappeared somewhere, but a faint feeling in my gut told me she was probably fine. The flesh monster rushed towards me, before rolling over me and covering my form with its bulk. The ground shook and the world spun. The air itself seemed to shriek and wail. And a rain of ash and dirt fell across the landscape.
It continued for nearly five seconds, before the shaking stopped and the screams of the air dissipated.
When the flesh monster moved away, I took it as my cue to stand. “Olga, are you alright?”
I received no answer. I glanced over my shoulder just in time to witness a massive plume of fire rising to the clouds and dissipating. Almost the entire city was burning. The buildings that’d stood, even in the onslaught of the solders, were now leveled and reduced to nothing more than rubble. The sounds of gunfire had stopped entirely. The wrecks of cars that’d lined the streets were gone. The only structures left standing were the ones that stood far from the plume of fire, scorched black and just barely intact.
What happened in there? The last thing of interest was the clash between the giant, fiery bird and the giant mass of flesh that I might’ve accidentally created. Did the soldiers detonate a giant bomb that destroyed both creatures? It seemed unlikely, given how my flesh monster appeared to be invulnerable to harm. Then again, I also felt my connection to the gigantic variant disappear.
Still, it hardly concerned me.
“Olga, where are you?!” I asked, much louder this time. A soft haze of dust obscured my vision.
“I’m alive,” She limped out of the tree line. My eyes widened. Her right arm was bleeding and her left leg appeared to be broken. A line of crimson streamed over her left eye from the gash on her forehead. Her left hand shook. Her skin was far paler and whiter than it was, bearing a strange shade of grey. And yet, her eyes stayed the same, even as she bled.
What the hell was up with this girl?
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I rushed towards her, my flesh monster barreling after me. I caught her in my arms, just as she took another step and fell. She was lighter than I imagined, even as she held onto me. Her frame was mostly skin and bone, and her hands were filled with callouses. She hacked and coughed into my shoulder. Almost absently, I ran a hand across her back and made little circles. “Easy, there… it’s alright. I got you.”
“Everything hurts,” She whispered. But I saw no pain in her eyes or her face. “I can’t walk properly. I think you might have to leave me behind.”
I shook my head immediately. The very thought of letting her die did not sit right with me. I didn’t personally care about Olga – not really; I barely knew her and, at best, she’d be a nuisance, considering her injuries. No, it was the idea that I would essentially be killing another little girl that bothered me so; the idea that I could have chosen to save her, but instead chose to turn my back on her. It would haunt my dreams. “No, we stay and make it out of this together. I’m not letting you die, just because it might be easier.”
“But-”
“Zip it.”
Honestly, she wouldn’t even have to walk, provided she wasn’t squeamish, which she probably wasn’t. I turned to the flesh monster. “Carry her gently and ensure her bones aren’t further damaged; protect the both of us to the best of your ability.”
The flesh monster gurgled and pulsated, and produced a hammock of sinew and flesh, dripping with cold, dead blood, from its form. Tendrils extended from its mass and tenderly wrapped around Olga, pulling her from me and placing her within the confines of the flesh hammock. For her part, Olga did not appear perturbed in the slightest; her face was devoid of emotions. “Are you alright?”
She nodded. “I’ll be fine; this is incredibly soft and comfortable; the stench is terrible, but it is a familiar one.”
We continued on and walked into the woods. I didn’t recognize any of the trees in here, but I figured that was to be expected. What I did recognize almost immediately, however, were the numerous apples and other fruits on the forest floor, rotten and covered in insects they were, but their presence meant there were fruit-bearing trees all around us. When I glanced up, however, I found nothing but branches and leaves.
I had no idea where I was or where I was walking towards. My feet ached and my stomach growled. My exhaustion chose to catch up with me then and my steps slowly faltered. The cold crept in slowly, but it was now far too noticeable to ignore. I shuddered and shivered, and the breaths that came out of my nose and mouth were like puffs of smoke. To make matters worse were the shouts, whistles, and booms that rang in the distance, the telltale sign of an army in motion, the subtle shaking of the ground as thousands upon thousands of boots marched in a single direction.
I just hoped they wouldn’t catch up to us. My flesh monster was powerful, but Olga and I were squishy enough that one stray bullet would kill either of us in an instant – and she was already injured.
“Over there,” Olga’s voice caught my attention. I turned and found her pointing at a massive bush, whereupon tiny, red things lay nestled in its numerous branches. “Those are gooseberries; they’re sweet and edible. It should be enough to feed the both of us.”
I nodded. I had no idea what gooseberries were, but if she said they were edible then they were probably edible. And, truth be told, they did kind of resemble tiny apples. I was hoping for actual apples, but anything was better than nothing. “Right….”
I plucked them off their branches, one by one, until I held more food in my arms than I’d ever held in my entire life. They had a faint, but sweet smell about them. I set the berries on the ground, near Olga, who laid on the hammock of sinew and flesh, and there we ate. I offered one to the flesh monster, but it didn’t seem interested in eating fruits, which was fine, since that left more for us, including the ones I still haven’t plucked.
After eating our fill, we moved onwards, until we reached a clearing that was surrounded – on all sides – by tall and ancient trees, whose thick and gnarly roots dug deep into the bowels of the earth, drinking for the moist soil. The air also grew colder and colder as the sun dipped further and further away. I could no longer stop shaking by that point, and each breath from my mouth was ragged and steamy.
“We need a fire,” Olga declared, shivering even as her face remained impassive. How was she doing that? “We’ll freeze to death if we don’t have a fire.”
I shook my head. The flesh monster wrapped several tendrils around me, but it proved useless as its flesh was almost as cold as ice. But it was the thought that counted, I guess. “I don’t know how to start a fire.”
Olga raised a burning hand of multi-colored flames, banishing the soft shadows that lingered around us. “Can you gather some wood for us? I think I can start one.”
“Alright,” I nodded.
We would survive, no matter what.
Just as I stood up to gather the few dead branches around us to make a fire, I heard something shuffling through the woods, the ruffling of dried leaves and the snapping of twigs.