Burning Phoenix - Saga 1

(Prominis 21, 58 / 1:02AM)

In a park a couple of blocks near the house, a barbeque pit was lit for a special occasion.

(Luke) I know I said this a million times but thank you for saving me!

Bowing clandestinely, Luke arched his back 60 degrees to fully give his thanks to Loraine, which caused her to put her hands on her hips.

(Loraine) I was only really saving you for the chicken. If you died and I stole your chicken then it would leave a nasty taste in my mouth.

(Luke) But still, if you want, you could have the whole chicken to yourself.

(Loraine) Hooray!

Jumping up and down, Loraine continued to cook the chicken on the barbeque pit, her mouth slightly drooling from the fresh and delicious meat that Luke risked his life over. Meanwhile, Luke sat on a wooden table, hunching his back forward as he took in a big breath in and out.

(Luke) So how did you find me?

(Loraine) I heard some crazy boy shouting so I checked to see where it was coming from. And just then … chuckles …it was you who did all the shouting, and … chuckles … you looked like you ran off with a woman’s purse being chased by a group of chickens…

Ignoring the cooking chicken, Loraine gripped her stomach hard as her knees were on the ground, her breath out of place as the scene continued to play on her mind, causing Luke to fluster and to put his hands on his eyes.

(Luke whispering) Why do I always need to be saved?

Loraine giggled softly as she stood up back again with her knees off the ground.

Just as she was about to check on the chicken, she noticed that Luke pulled out a Micro Uzi from his backpack. Curious, she walked towards him.

(Loraine) Why do you have that gun?

(Luke) It’s for protection, why?

(Loraine) To kill a zompire, you have to slice or damage the heart of it. Anywhere else would be a no-go.

(Luke) What are you trying to say?

(Loraine) Unless you have good aim, then guns wouldn’t do much in a fight.

(Luke) Sorry Loraine, but I’m not like you. Come to think of it, the person with the worst accuracy with guns is I think you.

Loraine then started to pull both Luke’s ears, her breathing rapid as she made a heavy pouting face. For Luke, he put the Uzi down and grabbed a hold of Loraine’s arms, trying to get her hands off of his ears.

(Luke) Look I’m sorry! Please stop pulling, you’ll rip them off!

Letting go, Loraine sat on the ground as she looked up at Luke, her face still pouting as she folded her arms.

Luke held the gun to his right hand, using his left hand to point a finger toward the gun while looking at Loraine, a hint of sweat dripping down his right eye.

(Luke) You may not be good at accuracy, but I am. Just let me use this weapon for safety okay? It’s not going to kill me.

(Loraine) Then what about the one that was wearing the commander's uniform…

Luke began to carefully dust off the dust that had ash inside of its mechanisms. The more he dusted off the ash, the more his face was pushed downwards.

(Loraine) Why do you feel so emotional for someone else’s gun? That commander wasn’t human anymore, we did what we had to do.

(Luke) Loraine, he had a family.

(Loraine) You know if it weren’t for me, then you wouldn’t be alive to speak to me!

As Loraine shouted at Luke, Luke remained silent as he continued to stare down at the gun. His fingers traced the blurred blackness of the trigger, his fingertips tracing the fingerprints that were etched into the trigger and grip.

(Luke’s thoughts) Loraine is just a kid, she wouldn’t get it…

(Loraine) You’re probably right … I wouldn’t get it …

Stunned, Luke looked towards Loraine. Not looking at him, she pulled out a picture of her and Boris, the photo black and white filled with unfinished bread crumbs.

(Loraine) I wasn’t raised by normal parents … I didn’t even know what my parents were … all I remember was that I was taken into care by Boris…

The picture showcased little Loraine on top of Boris’s back, her arms wrapped childly around Boris’s chubby neck.

(Loraine) He’s mean, he’s strict and greedy, but …

Loraine’s eyes started to water, as she looked towards Luke with her nose beginning to sniffle.

(Loraine) He’s the only person that took care of me…

(Luke) Loraine…

Standing up, Luke decided to pat Loraine on her head, giving her much-needed reassurance.

(Luke) We all care for each other. You may not be that good to work with, but please …

Bending down to see Loraine’s watery face, Luke looked directly at Loraine’s eyes, his face calm and warm.

(Luke) Don’t do this on your own …

In an instant, Loraine got up from her seat, avoiding eye contact with Luke. As Luke tried to not make it look embarrassing by taking back a couple of steps, Loraine then turned around towards where Luke was and charged forth, similar to a battering ram.

A weak battery ram…

(Luke) Uh, what are you doing?

Because Loraine didn’t have the strength to move Luke at all, his body was still in the same position.

As Loraine took a couple of steps back, she then smiled gleefully towards Luke, her smile cheerful and childish as she put her hands in the air.

(Loraine) It’s my test to see if you’re worthy of becoming a friend! I don’t like weak people so I decided to test if you would either flinch or tumble but you didn’t!

(Luke) Ok?

Luke remained confused about the logic behind Loraine, so he decided to keep his mouth shut and folded his arms to his sides. As Loraine looked over at the chicken, she threw up her hands..

(Loraine) No! It’s burnt!

______________________________________________________________________________

(Prominis 21, 58 / 1:35PM)

As Luke and Loraine walked through the abandoned city after their night dinner, the two managed to get nearer to the center.

(Luke) I still can’t believe Boris managed to spoil you all the ways and functions of The Array…

(Loraine) hehe … He has a soft spot for me, I mean … I knew from the beginning what The Array would be like.

(Luke) But still, you could’ve told us sooner.

(Loraine) Boris told me to never say anything about it until now. If I did, then he told me I would be kicked out of the program immediately…

Luke started to breathe slightly off tempo, his fists tightened for a bit until he let go. Meanwhile, Loraine just casually walked with her arms moving back and forth in large gaps, similar to how a robot would walk.

(Luke) Hey Loraine? You said that The Array had three stages right?

(Loraine) Yup! We are in the first stage, or the suburbs of the city! You won’t be seeing zompires any time soon unless you’re unlucky!

Ouch…

(Luke) What about the second stage?

(Loraine) The second stage is the downtown area, where many offices and shops are located! You better have enough ammo, because Boris told me it’s common to run into a zompire!

(Luke) What about the third stage?

Loraine then stopped walking, putting her hand on Luke’s arm. As Luke felt the smoothness and purity of Loraine’s hand, he also felt her hand shake with uneasiness.

(Loraine) It’s … the third stage is in the military complex … at the center of the city …

(Luke) How many zompires would we run into there?

(Loraine) … Boris didn’t say anything about how many zompires would appear, so he just …

Loraine then remembered something from her past…

(Boris in Loraine’s thoughts) Promise me that you’ll shoot the crates! Promise you’ll stick together with someone! Anyone!

Luke started to turn a little pale as even Loraine couldn’t grasp how many enemies the military complex would hold since all she did was just look down with her face, even more paler than his. Walking towards her, Luke put both his arms on Loraine’s shoulders, looking at her directly.

(Luke) I think I know what Boris meant … he wanted us to stick together huh.

(Loraine) Y-Yeah…

(Luke) But to improve our chances for survival … or for everyone … then …

Luke then turned around and grabbed Loraine by her hand, dragging her while running closer to the center.

(Luke) We just have to find the right company to stick with…

Luke, running with Loraine through the almost suburban landscape of Fort Damns, started to scan every inch of the abandoned buildings so that he might find someone either with a group or alone.

Running more and more, Luke’s stamina was in perfect condition, since he had many hellish experiences before training and during training.

But for Loraine, she has started to slack off, her stamina isn’t as well built as Luke’s…

(Luke) Loraine, do you want me to slow down?

(Loraine) Yes! I’m starting to feel tired—

Out from a random garbage can was—

(Zompire #1) Save us!

Jumping with fear, Luke with Loraine in tow, jumped sideways as a zompire appeared to the side of them. For Luke was pale, his body quivering with fear as the zompire managed to ambush them, Loraine wasn’t scared … but …

She smiled…

(Loraine) Fighting time!

Letting go of Luke’s hand, she then charged forward to hone in on the zompire, its black hair and no eyes, not even putting a mark of fear onto the 12-year-old girl. Pulling out her Swiss army knife, she made sure her arm was stretching with her knife in tow, with a smile still stuck on her face.

(Luke) Be careful!

Loraine lunged to the right side of her to get a cleaner angle for its heart. By bending down, she then put her left hand on the zompire’s chin, to push it so that it wouldn’t take a bite from her. Now using her right hand, she lodged with enough force so that the knife would sink deep into its heart.

By twisting her knife, she managed to stab right into the zompire’s heart, pushing against the black tar that leaked out of the creature. As Loraine pulled back her hand, the zompire collapsed onto itself and started to die out.

But on its death, it started to glitch out…

And upon death, it started to form black ash—

Loraine then was tackled onto the ground by another zompire…

(Zompire #2) Save us!

(Loraine) Aah!

The zompire pressed its body onto Loraine, the creature licking its lips like some sick weirdo as it eyed the barely teenage girl. Twisting its head so that it would take a huge chunk off of Loraine’s head, it bared its fangs as it got closer and closer to Loraines—

A bullet was shot…

As the piercing sound clashed across the city, where would that bullet hit?

The answer to that would be the zompire’s temple, where a bullet was lodged inside the creature’s skull. The bullet looked to be tiny compared to other cartridges, as it trickled down the creature’s shoulder and onto the paved dirt.

The zompire looked towards the direction of where the bullet was shot, and it was none other than…

(Luke’s thoughts) Just need a clean shot!

As Luke aimed his uzi in his right hand, his right arm started to shake intensely as the fear and panic from four years ago started to flood in. His face was drenched with chivalrous sweat, and his palms weren’t gripped well enough to hold a gun accurately, but…

Luke put his left hand supporting his right arm.

The zompire started to run towards Luke with superhuman speed, making Luke’s job of aiming for the creature’s heart much harder than it needed it to be. His hand shaking nervously, he wanted to jump out of the way, he wanted to run away, he wanted—

(Luke’s thoughts) Focus! Focus! Focus!

The zompire was mere feet away from where Luke stood, and in a flash, Luke shot another bullet, aiming at the zompire’s heart. Upon shooting the creature, Luke waited for the creature to die, since, unlike metal objects like knives or swords, the creature didn’t move like it would normally, the creature not wanting to move—

The zompire then started to glitch out like the first one, its little ceremonial death taking place as the zompire melted into pure black tar and black ash.

(Luke’s thoughts) I got one … my first zompire kill…

With the creature dead, Luke and Loraine looked at each other with exhausted eyes, their bodies drenched with cold sweat to cool them off.

But the night was already cold enough to begin with.

Luke then extended his hand towards Loraine, wanting to help her get back up on her feet. Loraine accepted Luke’s hand, her smooth hands grabbing onto Luke’s sweaty and nervous ones.

(Loraine) Why are you so sweaty?

(Luke) I just got my first kill, that’s all.

(Cameron) Oh crap, you guys alright?

(Ryan) Hey Cam, let’s check them out!

Two beast people who happened to hear the gunshot ran towards where Luke and Loraine were.

(Luke) Cam! Ryan!

(Loraine) Ew, beast humans!

Luke smacked Loraine’s head hard.