Phoenix Rising

by Anne, Melody

  Drake waited a few moments before he began trailing them. He crept along, staying in the shadows, but the men were clueless, having nothing on their minds except hurting a fellow human being.

  At least Drake knew there were only six of them. It would take nothing on his part to end their lives. Killing had become entirely too easy for him since this war had begun. But the amount of lives he saved by destroying these soldiers made the blood on his hands slightly less gruesome than that on theirs.

  When he arrived at the scene, he had to fight the sickness flowing through him again. They hadn’t bothered taking this woman inside. A man was kicking her trembling body as she lay on the ground whimpering, her clothes ripped, her face bloodied.

  “Hot damn, she’s a pretty one,” Rob said with glee as he quickly approached, leaving his partner behind.

  “She’s not much of a fighter either,” Kyle told Rob.

  “Looks like she might have been,” he said, bending down and running his finger through the blood on her mouth.

  “Nah. We were just having some extra fun. We weren’t thinking we were gonna keep her, but I’ve changed my mind. She’s been fun,” Kyle told him.

  “We can never have too many. I get bored with the same women over and over again,” Rob said, kneeling on the ground, his evil eyes filled with glee.

  Drake scouted the scene, knowing he couldn’t take too long as the woman didn’t have much time left. When he was sure no one else was coming, at least for the next several minutes, he decided to take action.

  Just as Rob bent down to hurt the woman again, Drake lifted his gun, the suppressor on, and fired. Rob crumpled on top of the woman. Before the other men knew what was happening, he shot two more of them, their bodies falling.

  “What the hell?” Kyle shouted as he lifted his gun, his wild eyes scanning the area. The moron didn’t have a clue where Drake was.

  Drake was saving Kyle for last.

  He knocked out the other two men before they even had their guns in hand and then paused as he enjoyed the panic on Kyle’s face. Let the man suffer for a few minutes before his life ended. The man got off on torturing others, so this was his just due.

  Kyle fired near where Drake hid, which only made Drake smile, something he didn’t often do when he was out scouting. Then Drake fired, hitting Kyle in the hand, the man’s gun flying behind him.

  “Who are you?” Kyle screamed as he gripped his wrist, trying to stem the flow of blood.

  Drake stepped out, his gun ready. He normally didn’t play with soldiers, but this was personal. These were men from his old unit, and he knew exactly what transgressions they’d been capable of.

  “Hello, Kyle,” Drake said as he neared him. Drake only had a short time to play with this man before he risked getting caught and enabling this defeated woman to be killed.

  “Drake?” Kyle gasped in shock. “We thought you were dead.”

  “Nope. Your assumption is what has been making it easy to pick you off one by one. You chose the wrong side, Kyle, and you’ve delighted in the pain of your fellow humans. For that, you’re going to die,” Drake told him.

  “Come on, man. You were right there with us for four years,” Kyle whined.

  “No, Kyle. I was never with you. I stayed that long to fight against you from within. Now I still get you, I’m just doing it from the outside,” Drake said.

  “We were friends,” Kyle pleaded.

  “I’d never be friends with anyone who is capable of doing what you’ve done,” Drake snapped.

  Then he was done. There was no more point in this game. Lifting his gun, he watched terror fill Kyle’s eyes before he shot him dead center between his evil eyes. The man crumpled next to the other soldiers.

  Moving quickly, Drake threw Rob off the shaking woman, then leaned down and gave her a gentle smile. She didn’t say a word as her broken eyes gazed at him.

  “I’m here to take you to safety. I’m going to pick you up and carry you to my truck, and then it won’t take us too long to get where you’ll have medical attention and food,” he told her.

  He waited to put his hands on her. He needed to give her time to process his words. Finally, she nodded.

  When he lifted her, fury filled him at how light she was, almost skin and bones. This war had done this to so many. The torture seemed to never end. But saving people each and every day, making their camp stronger, was bringing back some of the humanity that seemed to have disappeared.

  She didn’t cry as he silently moved them back to his truck, staying within the shadows. With his arms full, he had to be careful, not wanting to get caught, unaware if other soldiers came upon the scene he’d left behind.

  When he reached the truck, he saw that the woman had passed out. He needed to hurry. Laying her down in the passenger seat, he made sure she was comfortable before climbing in and then carefully driving through the city.

  Turning one corner, he heard a noise that alerted him they weren’t alone. Shutting down the engine, he quickly stepped from the truck and hid behind a large garbage can and waited.

  His truck was dusty, even the windshield, looking like any other abandoned vehicle that lined the streets. He kept it that way on purpose. Hopefully, the soldiers would pass by. He’d love to take them out, but right now, his priority was getting the woman to safety.

  The men’s voices faded, and soon they were gone, never coming close to the truck. Time was of the essence, but Drake waited about fifteen minutes, to be sure they wouldn’t hear his quieted truck start. He then got back in and continued driving. It took an hour to reach the safety of his home, and his tensed muscles ached.

  The moment he saw Elise though, he felt his anxiety begin to drain. She rushed the truck and ripped open the driver’s door.

  “You were gone too long,” she scolded him as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him before noticing the woman in the seat next to him.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, but Elise was in full care mode now.

  She called out to the medical crew, who brought a stretcher and soon had the woman on it, her shivering body covered while they took her vitals.

  “She has a weak pulse and is banged up. Looks like a couple of broken ribs and a sprained wrist, but her face is also cut up, but at least it appears there are no broken bones there,” one of the men called out as they continued moving toward the house where a medical room was ready and waiting.

  “Let’s get an IV in her and clean her up,” another man said.

  And then they were in the house, taking care of the woman.

  “She’ll heal,” Drake assured Elise.

  “Physically she’ll heal, but we don’t know if mentally she’ll ever be the same again,” Elise said with sadness.

  “She will, Elise, because she has you and this group now,” Drake assured her.

  “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Drake,” she said.

  “You’d survive and continue to help others, because that’s who you are,” he said, his hand cupping her cheek as he gazed into her beautiful brown eyes. “I love you so much.”

  “I love how much faith you have in me,” she said with a soft smile.

  “We’re building a new world together, Elise.”

  “Yes, we are,” she agreed.

  They stopped talking as his lips gently caressed hers. The horrors of the world faded away for just a few moments, as they were lost in each other’s arms.

  Chapter Eight

  Evelyn

  It was all coming back. But confusion was her only companion. She felt her breathing pick up, yet she didn’t feel she was getting enough oxygen; panic was setting in. The brightness was too much.

  She squinted her eyes in an attempt to scan her surroundings. Ever so slowly, blurry shapes were taking form, followed by steady noise all around her.

  People.

  She flinched when a cold hand touched her cheek. It had been so long since someone
had touched her with good intention; so many people had tried to harm her throughout these horrible years.

  She felt helpless, having left her home, but her abandonment meant she didn’t have the strength she once had. She was as weak as any mortal, and she now realized just how evil some of them could be. There had been a time she’d forgotten.

  She pulled herself from her thoughts and focused on the people around her. The noise was becoming clearer. They were trying to communicate. She scrunched her face, trying to pull herself out of this daze. It wasn’t safe to be unaware of her surroundings.

  “I’ve wrapped the ribs. They’re going to hurt like hell, but they will mend,” one person said.

  “Her breathing is better already, and though her eye is black, no facial bones have been broken,” another called out.

  “The wrist and ankle are sprained, but they should be fine within a week with proper nutrition in her.”

  “Good job, team.”

  “I think she’s waking,” a man said. Then she felt a gentle touch on her skin.

  “Miss, you’re safe now. Everything is going to be okay,” the man holding her cheek said. She hadn’t realized people could talk so kindly anymore. She swallowed and nodded her head, feeling for once in a very long time she might have found a place to call home.

  Evelyn could finally find herself again.

  Chapter Nine

  Allison

  The heavy oak door, riddled with wide cracks, was definitely not a welcomed sight. The creepy bronze lion knocker, a spider nest wedged into its opened mouth, made Ali want to run screaming in the opposite direction.

  Despite her initial reaction, she knew this was the place her mother would have chosen, so she stretched onto the tip of her toes and twisted the door knob, both relieved and frustrated when it opened. It seemed the owners hadn’t been overly concerned about their home in their effort to leave for safety.

  With a heavy sigh Ali stepped into the large house, releasing a plume of dust into the air as she stepped onto the plush welcome matt. Ali coughed heavily, unable to adapt to the amount of dust, or the level of abandonment.

  Ali closed the door behind her, as her mother had always taught her the extra creek of an opening door could be warning enough to find a safe place to hide. With that task done, she moved toward the kitchen, hoping that it wasn’t empty. The room was beautiful, even with dust and cobwebs coating it.

  Her mother had always sighed when looking at amazing kitchens like the one she was standing in. The cabinets must have been custom-made; it seemed as though the patterns in the wood meshed from one to the next, matching and coexisting in a perfect union. The cherry wood complemented the dark granite to create a striking look. All appliances were stainless steel, and would probably create a nice futuristic effect if not for the thick layer of dust covering the entire house.

  Ali never saw the appeal, but she didn’t even remember long days of cooking in a kitchen either. Her nicest mealtime moments were small campfires where she had something hot to eat. A kitchen seemed foreign, and a bit frightening. Houses, she had learned, were not safe places to stay for a long time. Too many people came, and the bad men would find her.

  Ali slowly moved through the kitchen, searching for a pantry. Her mother said that most people kept their extra food there. The large door by the fridge looked promising, so Ali stepped forward and opened it. To her delight, cans of all shapes and sizes lined the walls. There were fruits, vegetables, canned meats, and even some jars of peanut butter and jelly!

  Ali dug in with gusto, polishing off cans of peaches, pears, and green beans. She might regret her gluttony later, but who knew if she would even be alive in a week? For right now, she allowed herself to live in the moment.

  When her belly was full, she decided to stay inside for the night. It was already dark outside, and she couldn’t possibly carry all of this food. With her decision made, Ali searched the house and grabbed a few pillows and a blanket. They were dusty, but much better than what she had in her small backpack.

  She made a little nest in one of the empty kitchen cupboards and burrowed in to rest. She felt safe in the cupboard, hidden away from the world. Whether it was an illusion or not, she fell asleep.

  Chapter Ten

  Vyco

  Everything was spinning. He couldn’t grasp where he was or what was happening. He felt free, like there were no restrictions, yet there was this sense of entrapment at the same time.

  He had no choice but to just float, sensations rushing through him. He couldn’t muster the energy for more than that, but he knew he would get there. Soon, people would know his true power.

  Days passed — weeks — months. Time stopped having any meaning at all. Slowly, his power began to return, and he was finally able to push past the confinement he was in — to allow an aspect of reality to dribble into his being.

  One minute at a time the confusion and spinning faded. He became aware of the colors first. Bright blue dominated his vision. The earth’s sky, his mind reminded him. He saw puffy white clouds slowly moving along. But they weren’t all that was moving.

  He became aware that his presence was gently floating with the soft breeze that moved through the air. He brushed past leafy green trees and tall yellow stalks of wheat. He allowed himself to relax and take in the sensations as he tried to bring back a sense of self.

  More time passed. The memories slowly made their way back. He remembered power, anger, despair — fighting. He remembered pain and death. At last he had a purpose. He had an identity.

  Johnathan would pay for bringing about the death of his body. Phoenix would pay for surviving his assault. The planet would suffer through his revenge. They were fools to think he could be vanquished so easily.

  Vyco wondered how his kingdom was faring without his strong leadership. Had Falcon made sure his assets were safe, as he’d been instructed? Had he secured the chamber?

  Jayden might have been Vyco’s most important follower, but that didn’t mean Vyco trusted anyone with all of his secrets. Falcon knew the underworld, and he knew Vyco’s main vulnerability, although he had no true way to exploit it. Vyco had made sure of that.

  Vyco drifted along, not quite sure where he was, or how he would manage to get back to his kingdom, to take back control. After such a violent assault he didn’t have his usual strength. The energy needed to return to his kingdom and take it back was missing. But given time, he would be back. They could all count on that.

  This was not the first body Vyco had lost. Each time was similar, although it didn’t make the process any easier. No, Vyco would much rather not face death, but he’d rather face this weak humiliating state than the eternity of death that all of the weaker individuals below him were faced with.

  Vyco had become paranoid after the war among the heavens had finally ceased. He was in the underworld with plenty of immortals constantly battling, but that wasn’t a reassurance, as many evil beings in that realm were there for punishment.

  Loyalty was sparse, given the chance, half of the beings in the underworld would stab him in the back. More than half actually.

  Because of that, Vyco knew he needed to create a safeguard to protect himself against the fate of a short life. When research led him nowhere, he dwelled within his soul, and realized that with slow and coaxed effort it could be relinquished from his body.

  It was a bit more difficult to take his powers with him, but eventually he had gotten to the point where that wasn’t a problem either. He finally had his backup. Vyco allowed his mind to wander to the first time he had faced death, the first time his backup became useful.

  Vyco leaned back and stretched, taking in the sights of earth. After such a battle over the specifics of the mortals, it was surreal watching them play, laugh, and live their pathetic lives, and the destruction they caused upon their home planet, and even upon one another.

  Vyco couldn’t comprehend why each and every light force wasn�
�t on board with his plan for the inhabitants of this planet, as they proved time and time again they didn’t have the ability to choose right on their own.

  Vyco moved forward and almost laughed when he saw confirmation to his claim again and again in each new place he visited. Two separate groups of people, noteworthy due to their line of dress on either side of the battlefield, continued to go after each other violently.

  The individuals were dropping by the hundreds, the thousands, a new body landed on the ground every second. Vyco laughed, loving the creativity in the violence that these humans used. Decapitation, fire, bludgeoning, so much imagination. He should take notes.

  “Quite the bunch, aren’t they?”

  Vyco jumped and swiftly turned. In front of him stood a small blond being. She was practically blinding from the white glow surrounding her.

  “What are you doing here?” Vyco snarled, feeling on edge around the new arrival, unsure of her purpose for the visit.

  “I was curious. I wanted to witness the beautiful creation of this land. I hadn’t realized I’d encounter you along the way,” she responded, shrugging her tiny shoulders.

  “Have you realized just how destructive this race of humans are?” Vyco asked, satisfied as a pained shout echoed through the air. Music to his ears.

  “I’ve realized that just like the immortals, they exercise their free will. Some use that will to fight, while some advocate for peace, while still others stay out of the conflict at all costs,” she responded without missing a beat. “Your perception of this world is sadly skewed.”

  “The fighting in the heavens was only once. And only because a few there were too stupid to realize what was best in this universe for the beings that had been created,” Vyco snarled, angry that once again his ideas were being shot down.

  “Once was enough for me to witness people dying slow and painful deaths,” the being responded sadly. “We aren’t too different from the mortals.”