Third world.

Pt 1 Sickness

“This time, we give it everything,” Mina said clutching her pendant and watching the black clouds approach. “The ways this simp finds us is above me,” I curse crushing my hand into the concrete floor, and my left wall falls into the next room. We hid on floor 10 of this barely stable building for the last 12 days, and I felt in my soul Mina was close to going half on a love nest…. but now, just another what if. Maybe the building was a bustling office before the First Wave, but I saw it as a cozy tiny home, minus the sandstorms smashing stone, now and then. There weren’t many places left with buildings as tall. About 6yrs ago, the Sun pointed a solar-super storm in Earth’s direction, tearing a Moon sized hole in the atmosphere above the Pacific. Half of humanity was wiped out at the First; so many fell unconscious as oxygen dropped then fires, tsunamis, and storms destroyed a lot of our structures while preventing rebuilding. Watered areas would become deserts and deserts became wetlands. Within weeks our maps changed. I shake the screams out my head and try to focus on the clouds. Mina continues to speak, “No more running Daunte, we win, or we lose.” While she said this, I heard her open the heart-shaped locket and knew her mind was about to drift away. It was hard to tell if she was crying or sweating these days. We were always in grime from head to toe, but her locket was the one thing Mina would clean consistently. It held a picture of her brother Gregory who died at the Second Wave. 5 years after the First, with remnant populations scattered, a Second smaller storm hit. I’m guessing another half didn’t make it or only a 3rd lived through it, hard to tell. I think I was probably 20 during that time. The Second was weird, aurora lights filled every sky for days, and large numbers of people and animals showed strange symptoms. Some grew extra limbs that didn’t work, and masses lost their lives to stage 4 cancers, like Gregory. Those days were sad, but the Third Wave brought real fear- 400 days after the Second, the night sky lit up a brilliant red orange, like Earth had been dropped into a fire. At the time, I was moving with a survival camp through a dead forest. The few people in the camp started crying, collecting belongings, or were fixated at the blazing sky like myself. The last thing I recall about that night was sitting against a tree, struggling to hold onto consciousness, my eyes attempted to focus through a haze of dust and debris, lifting my head I heard hysterical laughter and saw Eric: he was 18, had been travelling with the camp for a couple days. He stood in the middle of what looked like the epicenter of an explosion. I blacked out after that and when I came to, the camp was decimated, and Eric gone. Gathering myself, I left to search for him, Eric was an elitist because he had no ailments, but it didn’t make sense how we survived that type of blast. After travelling for a day, I felt tremors in one direction and followed. When I arrived at the source, I saw Eric locked in struggle with a slightly larger man towards the center of a field of pits. Each was trying to overpower the other, both were on their feet, sleeves and pants torn pass the elbows and knees, with black veins tracing underneath their skin. Every time the pair moved, they fired into the air, and then broke sound to land creating new depressions. My gut twisted with fear, it wasn’t safe, not anywhere with no one. The Third changed people. Black veins drew through our skin forming unique patterns. Our bodies became tougher, and it varied for each person. At my best, I could crumble bricks like loafs of bread, outrun rushing water, and go weeks without nutrients remaining stronger than 10 men. However, I soon found that with new bodies, some could do devastating things like igniting mini hydrogen explosions, just by flicking the wrist. There were those who could absorb a targets heat, pulling it from every cell or materialize an entire flood the size of a mountain and drop it 50 kilometers in the air. What’s worst, as our abilities grew, we became emotionless and insane. It is a sickness, and the black veins spread like ink. This world has become a battlefield of monsters. I drifted for 200 days after getting away from Eric’s scene avoiding fights, spectated a few, tricked others. I learned everything I could. It was during that time that I found Mina running down a dry strip of land that connected 2 peninsulas. Behind her was an enormous black cloud the size of a small island, lightning arced inside, and some flashes were bright enough to show a human silhouette floating in the middle. Every few meters, Mina would spin to perform a double underhanded pitch towards the sky. Then, like cannon fire, two bus sized boulders blasted out the waters on either side of the strip rocketing into the storm. She moved like a professional dancer, with long dark loose curls that fanned out with each graceful step. She was wearing a torn shirt over black overalls, they lifted when she twisted to reveal a burgundy one piece. Her overalls, worn midway up the thighs, exposed two large patterns of veins that swirled like thorns down her caramel legs. Mina’s boulders were blocked with earthshattering bolts. Faster than my reaction time, a counter bolt the size of a house struck out at Mina’s position. Earth and water erupted, sending bullets of rock in every direction. I flew 3 kilometers backwards holding something soft. After sliding for some time, I focused into a gorgeous woman with slighted eyes, curled in the fetal position laying on my chest. Literally breathe taking. I knew the moment was true divine intervention, and the start of our island paradise for two, till hands squeezing my head crushed out my dream as Mina demanded, “Help me or we die!” The next second almost passed as hairs on my body began to stand. Without thinking, I closed my eyes, wrapped my arms around Mina… and we moved. When I looked, we were atop the ice in the middle of a frozen lake that swarmed with twin-head viper piranha. I can pull apart living matter, and reform it at a new point. “Whoa.”

Pt 2 Madness

Daunte has saved me from this battle for the last 500 days and I know its frustrating. It doesn’t make sense how this creep finds us between the other power-mad weirdos. Well, I am not game to be hunted. I see Daunte has started to focus; if he stood up he’s still an inch shorter than me at 6’1, wearing ripped jeans, a sleeve tied around his head, matted twist of hair spinning out the top, with a torn blazer providing some cover for his slim figure. I prefer a bulky build, but he’s more tone. Daunte is useful though, the fool can run, and he already has his head in the clouds scheming on how he's about recon us off to safety. That’s what this man-child named his ability, Reconnaissance. I didn’t care to give mine a name, I moved nonliving things when I danced, and that’s all I needed to understand. I think into my locket and allow the thoughts to steal me, dancing, and Gregory. My brother survived at the First, he saved me when a flood came and swept our home away. Gregory told me I was 16yrs old, knocked unconscious for days until the rescue. My brother always took care of me, and I hope I showed enough kindness when he became ill at the Second. Gregory, before I buried you, I promised to always perform like the stories you told me about Mother and Father. I promised, to inspire the world. I am certain I cant do that if I keep hiding. I have spent the last 500 days running and teaching this gauche, sleuth footed, spineless lump to focus and move “ENOUGH,” I shout away the images before becoming agitated. Placing my locket around my neck and standing, I look down to Daunte, saying solemnly “Take us to the roof.” Daunte remains crouched, focused on the sky, lifts his hand to brush fingers against mine. In an instant, we materialize on top of a tall building overlooking a destroyed city. Sand and dust whips across the grey sky, and a massive black cloud is over head. A body slowly descends from the storm like a doll held by one string, clothed in ripped slacks, with a sack covering its head down to the waist where a rope tied off. Its arms free through 2 holes, and all four limbs black as tar. The arms begin to rise awkwardly, and the clouds which had doubled in size since I met Daunte, coalesced into a hideous sphere. My hair begins to stand, and the next moment we are a mile away at new ruins, witnessing dozens of lightning bolts crash down onto our previous shelter. Molten pieces of concrete and metal rain at the surrounding area. My hair raises again. Another roof top, watching our last spot obliterated. “Offense,” Daunte says, and I close my eyes as he takes us to another location. In my mind’s darkness I hear a soft voice “Plie’ into Arabesque.” I see a beautiful girl in the single spotlight, and then, cheers as three near buildings erupt from the ground. At the start of my Plie’ Daunte lands and prepares to lunge into an ark above my head, just before the Arabesque. He leaps, hand reaching to save me, his gaze never leaving the enemy. We brush fingers at the last second before the next bolt. Another position, a new dance, more last seconds. One of the bolts glances my shoulder, it burns, and Daunte coughs blood. I shoot him a glare at the next landing, signaling him to focus as we move again. If Daunte just focused on the battle, I can perform my best. Here, in this clash of lightning and stone, I will inspire the world! Suddenly, sharp pain courses deep in my legs, and I wince. My eyes open to us airborne, 30ft apart and above the ruins where Daunte aimed his Reconnaissance. It was my error that threw us off. “No,” gasping, looking in Daunte’s eyes wide at me, my heart deafening. I'm outstretching my hands, but am too far to reach him! The hairs on my body stand.

Pt 3 Fear

“Mina,” I cry! Using everything, I reach for her, but she is so far. I feel the next second almost here. My hairs are starting to stand, then, I open my eyes in a dark veiled dream; brightness, my right hand extends forward, the light vanishes, I turn holding something soft, rest. Rain wakes me next, and I focus into a long ponytail bouncing in the distance across rubble, its Mina. She's heading towards a smoldering crater underneath the huge sphere- sunlight beamed through a gaping hole that pierced the center. My gut says the battle is over. I recon to Mina, and instantly take us to the crater to see our opponent. On the ground, a body with greyish skin faces the Sun. This world is laughing mad but… I cant say I understood cruelty, until now. I look at Mina knowing that I shouldn’t speak. Her eyes glued to our attacker, her left hand rested on the pendant, and she wrapped the other arm around her waist. With a painfilled voice that crushed out the long silence, Mina whispers, “Gregory.”