The Charred Lands: Apocalypse of Fire

by Josh A. Murphy

  For a few moments the creature of monstrous proportions circled above Haven. Never, in all if its forty-two year history had a dragon been this close to the settlement. There was no doubt in my mind – or anybody else’s for that matter – that it had seen us. We just didn’t know what it planned on doing yet. I could almost feel the tension pressing down on my throat as almost everyone frantically ran around preparing for the attack, for all the good it would do.

  “Fucking do something then, boy!” Dexter Payne spat at me as he charged past, a large hunting rifle in hand. His voice seemed to hit me like a ton of bricks, snapping me out of my awestruck gaze.

  “What can I do!?” I panicked, looking around for something I could do; only then realising just how much the people here needed me.

  “Well, you could kill that bastard for a start!” He frantically laughed, without so much as breaking his stride as he continued to storm towards the south wall. I knew exactly what he was heading for.

  Above, I heard a monstrous roar that seemed to echo for miles around. I looked up just in time to see the creature swoop down. All I could do was stand and watch as it arched its wings and plummeted towards the earth, Haven in its sights.

  My mother, Antonia Payne and Laura Olsen began to open fire from where they stood, their small automatic machine guns were no match for the dragons armour, it didn’t so much as flinch as it swooped down. The bullets seemed to bounce straight off the creature’s thick grey armour, adding to my growing sense of doom.

  In a single movement the dragon pulled up just before it reached ground level, for a few seconds it glided across the ground like a majestic arrow, heading towards its target. An arm stretched out, and to my horror, I saw its left claw wrap itself around Antonia. I horrid, deafening scream rang out as the beast shot straight back up into the sky without so much as slowing down. Her screams grew distant as it dragged the woman high up above haven, disappearing into the orange and black smoke clouds that constantly cast the earth in shadow. And just like that, she was gone.

  For a few horrifying moments Antonia’s screams fell silent. Everyone in Haven stood completely frozen, their eyes and weapons all locked on the black smoke clouds above. Then finally, Antonia’s screams returned, they grew louder and louder until she fell back into view, this time dragon-less – the creature was nowhere to be seen. I could only watch as she plummeted towards the earth at the speed of a bullet. She hit the barn yard roof with deafening crunch; I heard pretty much everything in her body break on impact, even from all this distance away. She instantly fell silent as she rolled off the barn roof and landed in a broken, tangled heap in the grass beside.

  I heard several screams erupt from around Haven – not from fear of the dragon this time, but from the horror of what it had caused. I turned to see Florence almost collapse to the ground as she wailed out in emotional agony at the sight of her sisters twisted corpse, I quickly sprinted across the farm yard, heading towards Florence. I knew there was absolutely no chance that Antonia had survived the fall, the living were my only concern.

  “Get inside!” I screamed as I ran to the girl that I cared for so deeply. I couldn’t imagine how I would feel if it had been her falling from the skies, rather than her sister. There was no telling how long it would be before the dragon returned to claim another victim, every second we spent outside was another second that our lives were in danger. Even the house would be no match for the dragon, the creature could tear it apart with the slightest of ease, but I wanted Florence out of the beasts immediate sights. It would kill me inside to see her swept up and carried off into the dark clouds above.

  Behind me I noticed Dexter Payne finally reach the harpoon, he jumped on the small chair and spun the weapon around, like a turret, and began scan the skies. Though he was too far away to understand, but I could hear him frantically screaming and cursing the beast, having just seen it murder his wife. Antonia’s death would send shockwaves throughout the entire community. She was a much loved, kind, caring friend to all of us. As well as a wife to Dexter, and a sister and carer for Florence.

  I practically had to drag Florence back to the farm house, just a few moments ago she had been determined to help defend Haven, but seeing her sister’s twisted, broken corpse had destroyed her. She was like a zombie, saying little over a word as I dragged her towards the farm house. Another roar echoed out from above.

  “It’s come back!” I heard Dexter scream as I pushed Florence back inside of the farm house.

  “Be careful, I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.” I said to Florence, before wrapping my hands around her. Though I didn’t believe what I had said, I felt it better to at least say something to her, even if it was a lie. She didn’t hug me back, but I didn’t mind. She was as safe as she could be for the time being.

  I quickly took off running once again, this time towards the barn to equip myself with something to help defend Haven, despite how futile our weapons really were. Andrea Olsen and my mother had since ran to Antonia’s side. After only a few seconds of looking at her corpse, the middle aged women recoiled in disgust. Antonia’s body had landed right in front of the barn door, I dreaded having to step over it – I couldn’t imagine my reaction being much different from of the two women.

  “She’s dead!” Andrea said to me, as though she assumed I was heading over to check on Antonia. I didn’t bother replying, instead I charged straight for the barn door. I slowed my pace a little as I neared Antonia’s corpse, already I could see how mangled her corpse had become. Both of her legs, and both of her arms were twisted horribly out of place, her left leg was bent behind her back, whilst both her arms were cocked at an impossible left angle, shards of bones protruded from almost everywhere, she was hardly even recognisable. Though I only glanced at her corpse for a brief second, the image implanted itself into my mind as I charged into the barn to get my supplies. Though I was disgusted by the sight, I held my stomach. The adrenaline coursing through my veins wouldn’t allow me to be sickened by the sight, not yet anyway.

  Outside I heard a hail of bullets from several different weapons, instantly I knew the dragon was returning. I frantically looked around, spotting my handgun straight away. I picked up the piece and didn’t even bother to holster it. I saw several other, more powerful weapons lying around, but I hadn’t been trained with them. I felt more comfortable with the handgun. I quickly made sure it was loaded before running back outside.

  “Look out!” Andrea screamed as I exited the barn, I turned around just in time to see the dragon swooping back down once again. Without so much as thinking I dove to the ground in a heap, less than a few seconds later the dragon soared over me. I felt the wind run over my body as it swept past, leaving the smell of burning and fire behind it. I glanced up from the grass, just in time to see it heading towards my Grandpa. Every inch of my body seemed to fall ice cold.

  My Grandpa, at the age of eighty-four years old wasn’t capable of out running the monster, though nobody was for that matter. He turned around and spotted the creature gliding above the ground, its eyes fixed on him. Without so much as a hint of panic, he pushed his child companions aside. Toby, Amber and William were sent flying as Grandpa threw them out of harm’s way. He seemed to turn to the beast, ready to meet his fate. Moments before the creature would have been upon him, it slowed down somewhat before rapidly veering up into the sky at the last possible second.

  It felt as though my heart hadn’t hit a single beat the whole time that I had been watching the dragon heading towards my Grandpa, finally I began to feel it bounce in my chest as the creature disappeared back into the clouds. But I knew I couldn’t relax just yet, it would no doubt be coming back soon. We had to act quickly.

  “Zachary, get the children out of here!” My mother screamed, I turned to face her – in the distance I spotted the dragon turn around and begin double back towards haven.

  “It’s heading back!” I heard Dexter Payne roar from the harpoon turret, he desperately followe
d the creature with his weapon, hysterically trying to get a true shot. He only had one bullet – he couldn’t afford to miss.

  Once again I found myself frozen in fear, I could only watch as the creature of epic proportions returned for a third time, I didn’t know if it was just my paranoia, but it seemed as though, once again, it’s eyes were focused on my little old grandpa.

  “Look after the children!” My Grandpa frail voice screamed to me, from across the yard, echoing his daughter in law’s earlier orders. The dragon flew in his direction, only this time it didn’t stoop as low, remaining high above Haven.

  Without warning, fire erupted from its mouth. A hail of flames were sent hurtling in my Grandpa’s direction. One second he was stood there, his arms flat by his side in a manner of utter defeat, the next, he was consumed by the flames. The fire seemed to disappear as quickly as it had appeared, leaving only a charred skeleton with a few scraps of sizzling skin remaining where my Grandpa had stood just a brief moment ago.

  I instantly grew lightheaded as I watched my Grandpa’s charred corpse collapse in a cindering, smoking heap in the middle of the burning grass, ending his eighty-four year long life so abruptly.

  I felt my knees go weak and my stomach flip ten times over as I watched the murderous dragon disappear into the clouds above once again. For a few seconds I could hear only white noise, then suddenly another sound began to fade in – it was the sound of screaming. As the screaming grew louder I realised that the sounds were coming from me. Other screams began to fade into my consciousness, these coming from my younger brother and sister. Grandpa was gone now, he was dead. Just like Antonia, there would be a time for mourning later – assuming anybody survived this attack – right now I had to focus on the living. I had to focus on Amber, Tony and my mother. They were still out in the open, and in the creature’s sights.

  “Stay back from him!” I screamed, tears dripping down my face as I took off running for my younger siblings. I don’t know if Toby hadn’t heard me, or if he simply opted to ignore me, but he didn’t stop, instead he continued to slowly edge his way closer to my grandpa’s body as tears streamed down his face like a river of sadness. He was almost right besides my Grandpa’s black, charred bones when I reached him. In a single motion I swooped my eleven year old brother in my arms and dragged him away from my Grandpa. The smell of burning flesh seeped into my nostrils, threatening to send the contents of my stomach hurling out.

  Ignoring the hideous smell and the overwhelming heat from the still burning grass, I placed Toby down besides Amber and wrapped my arms around them both. They were both sobbing relentlessly. All I could do for a moment was lock them in a tight embrace and kiss each one of them. There were no words adequate for this moment.

  “Here he is again!” Dexter screamed out from the other side of the farm yard, his voice nothing more than a distant echo.

  “Get to the barn, don’t come out until someone tells you to, okay?” I whispered to my quivering siblings. I gave them a final squeeze before releasing them, without question they took off running towards the barn, hand in hand with seven year old William Payne by their side. I gave my Grandpa’s burnt, charred corpse a final glance before turning my attentions to the dragon that so savagely murdered him.

  Already the beast was circling back towards Haven, this time flying directly over Dexter and his harpoon turret. I know it was now, it had to be now. Dexter had to fire that thing, and his aim had to be true, or else we were all doomed. There was no running from this beast, no hiding, this was an Elder Dragon, one of eleven responsibly for the destruction of humanity.

  I charged hopelessly towards Dexter, feeling utterly useless. All I had was this one handgun, with a single clip of ammunition. Even if I loaded every bullet into the Dragon’s exposed underside, I doubted it would even cause enough damage to make it so much as flinch, yet I continued on anyway.

  “Fuck you, mother fucker!” Dexter screamed, sounding like an utter madman before squeezing down hard on the turrets trigger. The harpoon was sent launching out of the handmade weapon, at precisely the same second the dragon unleashed a second wave of flames from the depths of its stomach.

  The flames were sent flying right in Dexter’s direction, travelling at a much greater speed than the large, wooden harpoon. The spear passed through the flames, catching fire as it did so. I could only watch and stare as the dragons flames engulfed yet another member of Haven. A moment later, the fire soaked harpoon hit its target.

  The weapon sunk deep into the soft underside of the dragon, causing it to let out a monumental scream which seemed to echo for miles around the baron countryside. It seemed to have a greater effect on the monster than any of us ever could have imagined. It almost instantly fell limp and dropped to the sky. Like a meteor it fell towards earth, heading right towards Haven.

  “Everyone get down!” I screamed aloud, though only my mother was actually still outside, everyone else was either hiding away inside, or dead. I jumped to the ground as the limp dragon fell down from above. All I could do was hold my head down and watch as it fell directly on to the farm house. The old building was no match for the humongous weight of the beast. I watched the house that I had grown up in crumble and collapse under the weight of the best. Bricks, glass and wood exploded outwards, covering me in debris, I clenched my eyes shut and prayed that nothing would hit me. The ground seemed to shake beneath my feet at the impact of the creature crashing down to earth, as though the entire planet had been shifted by the impact. Noise, louder than anything I had ever heard threatened to burst my ear drums as the buildings support beams snapped, its walls crumbled and the glass shattered.

  That’s when I felt a brick strike my skull, everything turned black.

  Chapter Nine

  I dreamt of my Grandpa. I was right back in my youth, when the world was just that little bit more innocent and carefree. He was telling me one of his stories, my favourite one. I felt his soft, warm voice caress me as I sunk back into my bed, drifting off to sleep. My eyes grew heavy and slowly closed shut, I slowly began to feel weightless as I seemed to drift off to sleep – then suddenly my Grandpa abruptly stopped, mid-sentence. I opened my eyes to what could only have been a nightmare. My Grandpa was gone; all that remained was a cindering pile of human bones. I tried to let out a scream, but nothing would come out.

  Then I woke up, face down with a clump of grass in my mouth. My head hurt like a son of a bitch, I felt as though someone had stomped on my skull a thousand times over. I could feel dried blood down the side of my face. Slowly, I raised my head and looked around. My broken glasses slipped off my face and landed in two pieces in the grass below.

  Fire, fire everywhere. Smoke rose high up into the sky, thickening the ever lingering black clouds above. Haven was no more. The dragon had killed, or destroyed everything. The farm house was nothing more than a pile of rubble, under the lifeless corpse of the Dragon that had rained hell down on our peaceful little community. A tear came to my eye as I remembered that I had told Florence to hide inside the farm house. I told her to stay in there. I said I’d look after her. The building was practically flat – there was no way she would have survived that. If falling debris from the house didn’t crush her, the dragon’s humongous body most likely did.

  The walls cracked and fell as fire ravaged them. Any defence that Haven had was now nothing more than burning rubble. The flames that had consumed Dexter Payne had ignited the walls. I didn’t know how long I had been unconscious for, in that time the fire had spread around pretty much all of the perimeter. There was nothing I could do now, any attempts to stem the spread of the fire would be useless, the damage had already been done.

  The barn still stood, that’s where Toby and Amber had stayed, under my instructions. If only I had told Florence to hide in there too, perhaps she’d still be alive now.

  Despite the blistering pain in my head, I slowly staggered to my feet, the world around me spun as I desperately tried to gather my balance. I s
canned my surroundings; I couldn’t see a single living soul around me. Dexter’s charred corpse remained sat in the harpoon turret, just as Grandpa and Antonia remained where they fell. But my mother was nowhere to be seen. I didn’t see what had happened when the dragon crashed down upon the farm house, for all I knew, the monster could have landed directly atop of her, or worse; she could have been crushed by any number of the debris that had been sent flying when the farmhouse collapsed. The Haven grounds were covered from one end to another in bricks, wood and glass. Not too far from where the building had once stood lay a large pile of rubble. I couldn’t help but imagine my mother’s broken, tangled corpse under it.

  “Mum?” I called out, my voice croaky and dry. I felt ready to pass out as I began stumbling towards the barn, the world around me continued to spin.

  “Toby? Amber?” I tried, once again I was met with nothing but the sounds of Haven’s walls crackling under the flames.

  I stumbled up to the barn door and almost collapsed against it. My entire body felt weak and my head throbbed like nothing I had ever felt before. I held myself against the door frame and looked inside. I felt like my heart had been tore from my chest when I realised that neither of my siblings were inside. I noticed that several of the guns and other supplies from before were gone. This gave me hope, though only a little.