Unspeakable horrors swirled in my head, just outside the borders of conscious thought. I was master at putting unpleasantries out of my mind.
I and the bonfire made our way back to the bunker. That's right, the pile of embers was mobile – which wasn't entirely surprising seeing as it got here all on its own – but I still startled when burning heap began piling itself up higher. It grew and grew and was almost my height when the jarring blackness stopped rearranging.
It had vague human shape if one wasn't overly fussy with the definition. It balanced on two angular legs. Rib-like cage of haphazard material guarded the rustling heart inside. Occasionally, new items got incorporated into the jagged physique. It stood taller the longer we walked.
Animal paw was sticking out and oozed darkness. Not one of natives, then. My sparky friend informed me that the ambulatory locals were a terrible kindling. I wasn't worried – big part of me was past caring - but statement did not relieve any tension either. It could roast me on the spot if fancy struck it.
The two-legged blaze lumbered behind me. It fell sometimes, especially when descending into the precarious crater, but reassembled itself just fine at the bottom. For all I knew it was preferred mode of traversing, because it sure saved time. I considered plummeting once or twice myself. Landing barely concerned me.
I did not relish going back in even if it was whole and my captivity had little to do with the reservation. It was depressing place. Pristine abundance which was only ever accessible to likes of me only in the state of decay and abandon. The sight of it demolished made my insides churn.
The stressed structure had caved in some more in my absence. All this water we could never really afford trickled out of busted pipes and down the walls and deeper. Nobody would come looking for the leaks.
Sparky did not seem bothered to wade through, but damp kindling began smoking in black plumes and it was everywhere in moments. I coughed out my complaints and fireman turned the blaze down. It didn't help.
"Won't you be smothered without fresh air as well?" I asked in the next, clearer pathway. Perhaps it wasn't entirely bright of me to go indoors with a man-sized torch... But I was already deep in an infirm structure, my capacity for sound decisions was thoroughly exhausted.
I need to break out of this haze and start thinking and planning properly.
"... Just need heat heat heat," flames whispered insistently. There was something about humans before that, but I didn't quite catch it over the noise of our steps. I took a hard guess. Creature wandering so close to town could not have been not apprehended once or twice before. Containing a fire sprite must have been harder than flesh and blood. Surely they have not released it unprompted.
"So it's not your first tour around here either?" I motioned around us, albeit I had no idea whether it could see. Hell, I could barely see and my unlikely companion was the light source - some areas had no more electricity.
Couldn't hear the reply if there was any, which was fine - I didn't care either way. Hearing my surroundings just helped me stay out of my own head. Talking to myself worked just fine.
I stopped at an intersection of sprawling corridors and wondered which way armoury could possibly be.
"If it is buried under rubble can you... do anything about that?" I glanced at my barely smouldering companion. Could it manipulate concrete same way it held all the scattered pieces of itself together?
"Yesss," I thought I heard the hiss. I later learned that meant passing through blockages in the form of magma. Fireball stumbling upon the explosive jackpot didn't bother me as much as it probably should have. After all, I wouldn't even have time to panic.
We wandered for hours. I stuck my nose in every broom closet and unlocked room, since I had no idea how the armoury should look like or where they'd put it. The clueless sprite was of no help either. At least it was having fun destroying the fully furnished rooms I've left behind.
I'd come across so much luxury in the shiny, spotless facilities. There was so much of everything. Neatly stacked shelves of food, uniforms, towels, linen, trinkets I had no name for. It would have set me up for life... All of us. If only he left the city intact. A part of it. Smallest one. That distant street by the wall. Why did he even check the shitty part of town? There was barely anyone! Just several handfuls of unfortunates.
I had no use for any of it now. Slammed the door and ceiling bestowed shower of concrete upon me. It was all his fault. He did this.
When the bounty was finally discovered I was beyond exhausted. It had to have been at least night on the surface, if not whole other day. Whoever built this base was compensating for something. Survivability? Point in fact, my vitality disproportionately dwarfed that scrawny ass I sported.
Armoured entrance did not stop the fire fiend from checking. I peeked in too. Before I could get over my awe of finally finding this secluded place an explosion rapped, followed by dozens of little pops. Sparks whizzed through the air.
Instead of crouching down like a sensible person I crossed my arms and shouted at the fire man who was joyfully licking the tall ceiling, "Changed your mind about keeping me alive now that you got your toys?"
There was no way to tell if otherworldly creatures had concept of a bargain. Best to keep the incentive alive, "I'll show more once you lead me to the... other mouth."
The abashed blaze marginally subsided. Rustling attempted speech but barely audible words were too muffled by countless racks of firearms. It couldn't be important anyway.
Did I know any other bases? No. Could I point in a random direction and hope to never come across this fireball again? Sure. Likely won't even need to worry about that if things go right. I had no reason to survive the coming encounter. There only ever was us or them. And now I was all alone. I was ready to watch other cities get razed to the ground if need be.
"Gimme some time, okay? Gonna pick up some toys too!" I shouted towards the warm oranges at the other end of the room. Lights still worked in this structurally sound area, but the racks cast a lot of darkness. Shadows jumped up around the creature in lieu of audible answer.
Considered picking up a gun for the journey. Even forgetting the fact I didn't know how to use them, they all seemed clunky and would be in the way during the trek. My strength has always been stealth and speed. Not that I could outrun a determined monster.
I walked past the half-emptied isles of increasingly bigger weapons when those abruptly ended. Back of the hall was crates. Munitions. Some as big as my forearm. Some bigger. Walls had shelves with smaller boxes for presumably grenades. Order was disturbed everywhere I looked. A lot of containers were opened and strewn about. Nothing seemed to be effective against Great No-Longer-Asleep Brain.
Except that one thing, at least marginally. This would be perfect gift to the snail. Perhaps exactly what it needed to gain an upper hand.
I began checking contents frantically until finally coming across a tightly sealed packaging. I relentlessly clawed at it. I was after pinkish canisters. There was no way I could forget those.
Box popped open and chunky bulk revealed only two containers inside. I huffed. That's not nearly enough to take out a monster of monumental proportions. I emptied crate of hurtful calibre and fit sixteen death cloud flasks. Then couldn't lift it. World always had to be cruel to my plans.
One or a bunch, probably won't make a difference. But perhaps snail could precision spray him? Ended up strolling out with two of original boxes in each hand. "Make some noise when you're ready to leave. I'll be deeper in the city," I shouted in the increasing cacophony of mishandled ammo. I needed to be far away when fireling set everything ablaze and turned this place into a hellish spa.
Whether portable fireplace patiently waited until I was on the other side of the planet or just indulged in smaller calibre appetizers, when the explosion finally hit sometime the next day, all the windows shattered and the ghost town finally looked the part. Before that the city looked so disgustingly normal. I could delude myself into thinking the unreasonable. I still waited. But now it was clear - nobody would be coming back.
I could not stand being around empty houses any longer. I gone back to wait by the crater. It grew. There was not a sign of life. Could the walking hazard even be counted alive? I began worrying that taking entire roomful of dynamite to the face could have been a little too ambitious for the little pile of embers. The military had to have tried heavy artillery on it though, right? But not everything all at once. Should have at least asked which way he'd seen the traces of another.
My teeth were chattering in the breaking dawn when the crumbling woke me from the light slumber. Sounds of shifting boulders changed into roar of boiling liquid. Something was spilling out, making a way through the indiscernible mass. As much as I hoped for it to be an errant volcano, a giant pillar made me want to run and not look back. I forced myself to be still and watch it. After all, this was what I waited for.
One thick trunk made up from unexploded munitions and boulders lifted up a mass of radiant, still swirling lava atop it, then the other leg stepped out of the glowing depths. The sight of the towering rock made my heart race.
Something will fall on my head. The animate rock will trample me and won't even notice.
It gurgled along ominously. The sound alone forced a shudder, the longer I listened the more it sounded like burbling of a stomach - something I had been intimately reacquainted in the deathly still cell. Giant creature's outer layer began to cool and crack.
I needed to get out of here. To be somewhere else. What the fuck was I thinking? Why am I getting involved with monsters? Again?! I stood up but my legs refused to do anything else. When the giant climbed all the way out of the pit, its size was even more staggering. And it walked. Away.
"Hey," I croaked out in a whisper, feeling all my opportunities slip away. I wasn't doing this for myself. It didn't matter what became of me.
"Hey, wait!" I said little firmer and started walking the perimeter of the explosive indentation. Then ran. Few steps and the golem was outside of the base's perimeter. I won't catch up. No no no no. I picked up some speed and cursed with all my might.
"This way, this," once the pounding of my heart retreated from the ears I could finally distinguish words in the ominous roar of the lava.
Swirling mass cracked and piece fell down with a boom, to my relief nowhere near me. After that I was content to trail far behind. Distance grew when I couldn't keep the pace up and then I just walked, especially when plains changed into a god damn forest. The giant unabashedly ploughed through the thicket, stomping it out of existence, singeing or burying under misplaced rocks altogether. It wasn't difficult to follow, but clambering through the obstacles a different matter altogether.
The trek wasn't too bad during the day, however those were growing awfully short now. Darkness fell and I started noticing hell of a lot dearly missed noises from all directions. Forest wasn't as quiet as city of the dead but it wasn't as comforting as I had imagined. I tried to not make a sound.
This was all so dangerous. This was a terrible idea. I was so alone. The last monster I travelled with at least bothered to keep me safe. I then cursed, not wanting to remember the rat bastard fondly. I could see my breath and that meant the moment I stop I'll get to enjoy a bone-chilling, restless sleep. So much to look forward to.
Being the sole survivor out of entire city I contemplated luck. Did that mean I had it, after all? Didn't feel like such a win. Couldn't I have found a thick wallet instead? My fingers noted an absence of flat round object in the pocket. Did walking through all those shards count as seven hundred years of bad luck? Sole survivor... Was I the bad luck itself?
At least the moon was out and I wasn't forced to stop, albeit my face was still getting scritch scratched by branches every whichever way. Not that I cared, it was a fine addition to the nail marks. There goes my sale value and the career prospects. Of course, I could still wear a bag over my head. Felt myself grimacing like a loon. I won't need to. There was no coming back from this. Me being alive this long was already stretching it.
Was I alive? It was far more likely I was trapped inside one monster or another and made to run in circles. I stopped, breathless. This was a definite possibility. Maybe everyone was okay then? Oh, how great would that be! I'd embrace the option wholeheartedly. I said so to the trees and whoever has been making those awful sounds all around.
"You hear me?! Isn't this enough? This much is fine, right? You've convinced me!" I shouted on and on but nothing popped out of the dark. Which was suspicious on its own.
Having exhausted my screaming potential I resumed the ordeal, putting one leg in front of the other and again. I wasn't afraid of the rustling anymore. Talked to it more often than not.
Came across an animal... or was it two? It wasn't like anything I've ever seen before. Both toothy undulating parts looked in a hurry to be somewhere else. Figuring out I would not be joining it in its endeavours from within the stomach pouch I also made my rapid disappearance.
Eventually came across what appeared to be landslide and a dead end. The ground wafted heat and embers glowed in the centre of the unnatural pile-up. As far as traps went, this one was at least cosy. Completely spent I climbed up and, after nothing swallowed me whole, I plopped my ass down. My feet burned with pain of overuse and I groaned in relief to be off them however briefly. Shrugged out of the bag pack, pulled up the jacket's hoodie and lied down in the ashes. Warmth helped me relax and unconsciousness took me immediately.
After that impressive showing of the first day, the fireling kept to a much smaller body and it was harder to track it. It still waited for me to catch up in some irregular intervals. The days it didn't burn bright and had shorter legs were easier. Other times I'd find uprooted patches in the forest and sweat for it. It was hard to hold conversations when the companion wasn't a roaring fire pit and I was always too exhausted to even bother, so we didn't talk.
This fine morning I found the fireball walked no more. The hearth on legs stood still near an odd patch of discoloured grass. Since it was early and I wasn't yet buried deep in my permanent fatigue and looping thoughts, I planted my heavy legs next to it and turned head to inquire.
"Here, here, here," flames hissed in the drizzle. Here? I turned back lazily. There was a smattering of trees. And that was about it.
The pines in the distance were darker. Wet wood usually was, so I didn't pay much attention at the start. However... The whole region ahead seemed off-kilter. There was a red tint to this. "Oh," I've gasped out.