Heroes

Chapter 4: A Broken Blaze

   "Run!" I yelled to my friends.

     We all ran outside. Why all of us? Well, I knew the future me would follow us, and I did not want damage to my Lou, my Arianna, and my new house. Suddenly, a blue blur rushed from the house and lunged at me to get me away from my post in front of my future and present friends that the blur was so focused on butchering. In front of me was a giant made of blue flames, swaying in the wind like crops in a field. I didn't feel afraid because it was me. It was my same body, mind, and soul even though the latter two seemed crushed and faded. The tall, fiery silhouette of my future self growled and stared at me with fury. Stepping closer to my future self, I told her fiercely, "If you want to hurt them, you are going to have to go through me. I'm not letting you hurt them. I'm not going to become the monster that you are."

        My future self snarled. I stood up straight and firm. My future self swung a giant, fiery fist at my head. I feel she should've guessed I was going to duck and dodge considering how we were the same people. My eyes glowed red for the first time in 2 years as I jumped and levitated in an attempt to incapacitate my future self by striking her in the eye. My future self growled again and smacked me away with a flame-engulfed hand like I was a fly. I hit the ground violently which formed a crater in the asphalt road. I grunted in pain. I tried to stand up but fell over immediately. I looked down. My left leg was floppy like a slinky. I must've broken it when I fell. My future self looked down at me. Even though I was on the ground and injured, I think she knew she'd have to knock me out to get to my friends. I was dizzy from the fall. As I was trying to get my bearings, my future self lifted her giant, flame-engulfed foot and quickly motioned it down. She was going to squash me like a roasted bug. I, along with my future and present friends, looked on in fear. I looked away, expecting a wave of pain, but what I heard was water splashing, a sound of sizzling like bacon in a pan, and my future self exclaim in pain. I looked up. There was a tall, ocean wave behind her. That was peculiar because the college campus or our house were near the beach or ocean. I should've known what the cause was because as I craned my neck sideways, I saw Dad. My future self shrunk a bit as it wobbled back and forth in discomfort. Dad jumped and landed in front of me. "Kira," he began to ask, "are you ok? What's going on? What is that thing?"

        I forced myself to sit up. "Me. That thing is me in the future. I guess something happened between me and my friends and now she is, or rather, I am hell-bent on destroying them. I don't want to do that," I told him.

       I didn't start crying nor did I look like I was about to, but it seemed Dad sensed a part of me was feeling like it was breaking. Dad patted my head and told me, "It's ok, honey, you won't. I'm here to help."

    I nodded as he pulled me up and held me up. My future self was a bit shorter but still at least 10 feet tall. My future, giant, flame-engulfed self looked down and froze as she saw Dad. Dad looked up at my future self. He seemed apologetic as if he knew about what my future self had been through. My future self looked angry still, but now, a little hesitant to attack. "Kira," Dad began to say to my future self, "it's okay. Whatever you are going through that made you like this, it'll all be okay."

   My future self suddenly looked remorseful. Me and my future and present friends knew why. She had a moment of rage, but she knew deep down that her being left for dead was not anyone's fault given the circumstances. Her chest was going up and down with quick, heavy breaths. I knew, because she was the same person as me, that she was panicking. She suddenly shrunk down and the flames ceased. My future self looked afraid, guilt-ridden, and burned to a crisp. Seriously, from all the fire she used, she was burned all over. She looked at us. "I'm sorry," her doleful voice said as she ran off into the scorched woods.

    I looked sorry for her. I levitated myself so I wouldn't put pressure on my broken leg and I flew after her. I looked around the scalded forest when out of the blue, I heard a woman cough. I looked to the right of me and saw my future self on the ground, lying on a pile of scorched bark on her side. She was coughing up a lot of blood and struggling to keep her eyes open. She, I mean, I was dying right in front of my eyes. I heard running behind me and suddenly, Dad and my future and present friends appeared behind me. Future Lou looked the most distraught as he ran over to her, pleading, "Kira, please! Stay awake! Don't leave me alone! I know I wasn't the best person earlier in life, but I'm so sorry! Please, I can't go through life without you!"

     My future self looked over to him. "Louis," she began to say, "nothing was your fault. What happened just now was my fault and now I have to pay. It's my fault. I'm sorry to all of you."

    "But, what about your, I mean, our kids and our family?" I asked, afraid and sorry for her.

      Chuckling, she said, "Eh, well, they'll be okay. Plus, as long as you're still alive, I'll be ok in the future. Promise me that you won't act like I did?"

       "Of course," I replied with a voice full of sorrow, "I promise."

        My future self chuckled as she closed her eyes and perished. My future friends began to cry as Dad, my present friends, and I looked on in sorrow. Future Lou grabbed my future self's body and Future Briar figeted with a silver and red object that looked like a jam cookie before throwing it on the ground and opening a portal, presumably to their time. My friends walked through as the portal closed behind them. "She wasn't a villain," I said.

      Lou looked at me in confusion and asked, "What are you talking about?"

      "She was just broken," I responded, "She was just a broken blaze."

      ((Wow that took a sad turn))