Tisis

Going out with a bang (N)

When I arrive at Sera's stable in the dead of the night, she is already awake and definitely antsy about something.

Could Sirus really be on to something?
Did the god of Tisis really send him a warning?
Or maybe another disaster like the flames raining from the heavens was coming...the last time, Sera refused to leave her stable, knowing full well what was coming.

But this here is different...she seems rattled by something.
As if she feels that something is wrong, but she doesn't know what it is.

"Hey there, easy now girl. Sirus says, we need to get out of here...so, how about it? Feeling like a little midnight stroll?

Sera neighs nervously, but still presses her head against the palm of my hand, seeking solace from her anxiety in my presence.

I fetch the saddle, my weapons and after fastening all of them, Sera grows very restless.
If not for the bridles restraining her, I'm sure she would've ditched me right then and there, but fortunately I manage to hold her down.

Whatever is going to happen, it'll happen soon.
I should hurry.

I quickly lead Sera out of the small cavern, mount her and direct her towards the exit on the far side of the cone, when all of a sudden, the ground beneath us starts shaking.

An Earthquake?! Wait a second...not just an earthquake, it's an earthquake beneath an inactive volcano! Oh bloody...

"Go Sera, go! This thing's going to blow!" I yell and drive my heels into her flanks, while we all but fly above the shaking grassy ground.

Just before we reach the exit however, a large crack opens up in front of us, the fiery light from beneath the ground telling of the terrors to come.

Sera shies away from the gap, but I quickly get her back under control and shout, "Sera, you must jump! We're toast if you don't jump!"

Of course I know that she doesn't understand me, but I want to believe that she at least understands my intentions.

I turn her around, while the shaking grows more violently by the minute. I force myself to stay calm as more and more cracks break open, ejecting sealed up gases left and right.

"Alright Sera. This is nothing. Just a three meter jump. Even Sirus can do that easily. Don't think about the flaming death beneath your hooves or that the earth is breaking apart more and more. Now, once again, just you and me. Get us out of here!"

I drive my heels into her flanks again and hold on the best I can.
I feel the hot breath of death as toxic fumes rise from the bowels of Tisis and I swear to Garkla, I felt a ghastly hand reach out for me as Sera leaped across the molten inferno on the brink of reaching the surface.

We chase through the narrow pathway and Sera, in a flurry of panic, just bursts through the barrier we once called 'door' and keeps running.

And not a moment too soon, for just behind me a pillar of fire shoots into the skies, blasting the cone we had lived in for almost a year now to pieces.

Sera keeps running while the molten death begins to seep out from the cracks in the rock and a great and black cloud blots out the moon and the stars for miles to come.

I see countless animals running alongside us, both predator and prey, none of them showing any sort of interest in each other.
In this crisis, we are all just animals on the run from the wrath of nature.

My airways are burning.
Without a doubt, my lung implants are having a hard time dealing with the sudden increase of polluted oxygen...I'll suffocate if this keeps up!

I don't know how much time has passed, when I see the tranquil surface of the wondrous lake that heals injuries.

Water!

"Sorry bout this, girl, but it's time for us to split. I hope I'll see you again," I say to Sera before taking a deep breath and jumping off her back, relieving her of my weight.

I roll over the still trembling ground and hurry over to the shore, almost getting trampled down by the still fleeing animals numerous times.

Breathing gets harder my sight blurs more and more with every cough.

Come on Nym...you can do this.
You just...need to reach...the water...

I stumble as the oxygen in my system grows increasingly scarce.

Another explosion in the distance and I take a look at the volcano.

"Oh f..." I mutter, as a piece of burning debris heads straight for my current position.
I was a fool to think I could get away without Sera...but this is just overkill!

The debris impacts a few meters behind me, creating a pressure shockwave which hits me into my back with full force.

I curl up the best I can and roll down a soft slope for what feels like forever.

When I finally stop, I feel the grit beneath my face.
I can pieces of debris fall into the water.
The trampling of the countless animals on the high route.

My eyes...they won't open any more.
My subsystems are giving me so many alerts right now, I don't even know which one to ignore first.

And then, at long last, my lights go out from the sensory overload.

Heh...to have survived all of the shit Tisis threw at me, to now die of Asphyxiation at the shore of the lake that could have saved me.

Just like my mother...I too seem to have been destined to perish a victim of the flames.