In Love With the Manhunter

I awoke in a field the sky an almost crimson red, but The sky could still be considered to be a reddish blue. I looked around to see the field was burnt to hell. The grass was extremely short and a grey color. I pushed myself to a crouching position as I placed one knee on the grass my fist on the ground too. I shook my head trying to clear the haze I had over my mind. My thoughts were slow and incomplete. I felt slow like my brain you send out an order, but it would take a while until my body completed the order. I flexed my finger finding I was severely slower than I though. It was like I was telling a person to do my actions rather than me doing them. I got up on my feet a slow wind flowed through the field. On the wind I could smell smoke on the wind, but it was weak almost like there had been a fire and it was long gone. I looked around to see burned trees and what looked to be a burned house it was nothing big. It looked like a farm house like a farm family that had a steady stream of income, but not enough to spend widely. I felt major nostalgia, but I did not know why. I slowly made my way toward the burnt farm the smell of burned flesh and the smell of smoke intensified greatly as if this fire was very recent. I looked into the wreckage to see some of the charcoal wood still had red veins shooting through them and they pulsed every so often like a heartbeat, “The heartbeat of that fire.” I said aloud to myself as I stared at the burnt rubble expecting to to give me the slightest clue of what this was about. I saw a glint of something in the far back of the rubble. It glowed a gold as if a star in the knight sky. I stepped into the rubble the sound of crunching charcoal erupted every time I took a step in the. Each step I took also threw up a few embers all glistening with their own light as if to signal my approach with a tiny flare. Kept going into the burned house. What was left of the structure groaned and creaked as if it you fall at any moment. The farther I went in some of the wood still burned like the fire was holding onto it’s last breath as if I was it’s savior. It’s flames weakly reached for me as if I was attracting them. I ignored it as I found myself in what looked to be what was left of a kitchen. All that stood their was a marble counter, a burnt metal oven, a burnt metal fridge, some crumbling chairs, and one wall still standing.

“Burned to ashes, burned to nothing but a shadow of it’s former self.” A voice whispered into my ear. The voice changed pitches rapidly making a gender inferring impossible. Random voice began saying the same line over and over again. I whipped around looking for a person, speaker, droid, anything that I could silence. I reached down to pull out a pistol, but my hand fell on an empty holster. I tried the other finding a similar outcome. I tried all of my pouches, pockets, back plates, everything. It was like someone had stripped me of all of my weapons, or anything that could be used as a weapon. I crouched down to a pile of rubble as a golden object peered through the rubble as if hiding from me. I dug away the rubble revealing a golden bowie knife. I took it out of the rubble examining it. The blade itself wasn’t golden, but a golden sheath over the blade. I took the protective sheath off revealing the rusted bowie.

“Father.” I whispered to myself holding the blade like it was made out of weak glass, “This is my dad’s knife the one he carried on every adventure he took us on in the forest to the lake.” I explained aloud like I was telling a story to another person. I carefully placed the blade back into it’s golden leather sheath. However in doing so I had to take off one of my grenade pouches. The three pouches fell to the ash covered ground, however it landed with a loud metallic bang. Then screams thundered in my ears like two people were screaming in my ears at point blank range. The screams were so loud and filled with suffering like someone was being burned alive. I got up backpedaling covering my helmet’s sides where my ears would have been if I did not have it on. I fell back smashing a table, which turned to ash. I got up raising my fists, but the screaming stopped as soon as it started. My heart pounded in my chest and my breathing was heavy and quick like a startled child. I hit my chest hard I was even able to feel it in through my thick armor, “Ryder pull it to-fucking-gether. You have had bombs, guns, knives, fists, heavy weapons, monster, and who knows what else thrown at you! A god damn scream shouldn’t do this to you! Get yourself together.” I chastise myself rolling my shoulders and cracking my neck, “You are acting like a small child who heard a noise while in the dark.” I hit my helmet the thick knocks ringing through my head. I walked back through the kitchen. I had expected the screaming to continue, but there was nothing. No fire crackling, no groaning or creaking from the house, no heavy winds, there was nothing. It was too quiet. I saw a door that was terribly scared by the fires. The door was half black, and the rest was burned charcoal grey with a dark red veins running through it. I touched the door cautiously testing to see if it was warm, which it was, it had no door knob and I wasn’t touching hot wood even if the heat was dying away. I back away from the door as I hopped a little in place as I prepared myself. I walked to the door quickly as I rose my leg smashing down the door as it turned to ash. I walked into a room that was mostly made of burned glass. Some of the panes of glass were intact, but most we shattered completely, sharp jagged edges jutting out like spikes. The room itself was burned to hell. The wood walls were completely black, and the tiles under my feet suffered the same fate as the wood did. The tiles cracked under my boots so easily, it was like I could breath on one of the tiles so softly and it would still shatter into ash. I slowly walked through the room studying the burned glass. I took a double take as I could roughly see a face in the glass. It was like the glass was a painting and someone had ripped and cut out pieces of the painting.

“See- See t-they did it! They brought it upon themselves! Yes- y- yes they did it, not me N-NOT ME! I’m so sorry…” I heard a young boy’s voice whisper like he was insane. He muttered through the whispers as I saw the picture in the glass shift to face me. The voice was eerily familiar, but I could not put my finger on how’s voice it was.

I back up and step on something hard and sturdy. I looked behind me to see a rifle. It was nothing fancy just a simple rifle. The stock and body were mostly made of a white wood flawlessly crafted into one piece. The only thing that different was the black barrel and sight rail. The barrel did not stick out more than nine or eight inches from the white wood gun body. The sight rail was bare only the glistening silver iron sights were on the gun. I picked up the rifle. A patch of soot hiding something on the rifle’s stock. I used my thumb to rub it away to see the name in gold name, “Martha,” I read aloud tightening my grip on the rifle, “Gale.” I placed it on my back as it magnetically connected. I studied the face closer see the rough outlining of a human woman’s face. “Mom I- I’m sorry.” I said under my breath as the face vanished like water on glass. I opened up a sliding glass door. It’s glass was cracked in three locations and black handprints over the cracks. It was like someone was smashing on the glass door in a vain attempt to get out of the room. I weakly shrugged it off as I stepped outside. The wind picked up immensely as ashes began to move around the scorched yard. The smoke raised into the air stinging my senses. It was so strong I began coughing hard as my lungs filled with the smoke. I put my filters on in my helmet on as a small buzzing began to sound as the air began to become breathable. I stopped coughing for a second before the filters died and the choking inducing smoke took over my senses once again tenfold. My eyes watered, and my lungs burned. I began to cough violently as I felt my lungs tighten extensively like someone was crushing them. I began to run back into the house seeking refuge, but the door slammed shut on it’s own as the room ignited in flames out of nowhere. The flames swayed back and forth as if mocking me, “W-wh-what the f-fuck!” I coughed out as I ran in the opposite direction my eyes burning so much that I had to close them, but still the burning continued like someone was burning them with a lighter from the inside out. I began to stumble my way through a forest as my body’s senses were shutting down in an attempt to save themselves. I tripped over something as I began to roll down a steep hill. Bashing my body on rocks and trees before the ground leveled out, and I rolled to a halt on the warm ground. The smoke slowly dissipated as I pushed myself up to a seated position my eyes and lungs still burning. Wheezing and coughing I took off my helmet wiping my eyes. (What the hell is going on? H-how did- why? Why is this place giving me so much deja vu? Why does that place seem so familiar?) I thought as my eyes began to clear. My vision was still a bit fuzzy, but I could manage. I got up on my feet walked over to what looked like a lake. I knelt down as I put my hands in the water and splashed some of it on my face.

Suddenly my vision took on a blue blurry hue as I saw four people sitting on the opposite side of the somewhat small lake. It was a Reptilion adult and a kid, and two female girls. The adult I could put at at least in his mid seventies, and the two girls at fifteen and sixteen. The Reptilion boy was maybe eight give or take a few, “Dad why couldn’t Mom come with us?” the younger girl asked as she looked into the glistening blue water of the lake.

“Mom is not feeling well sweety.” the adult Reptilion said as he casted a fishing line into the water, “She’s expecting to have twins a boy and a girl, and mom is a bit tired too.”

“Were going to have a younger brother and sister? I won’t be the youngest anymore?” The Reptilian boy asked looking up to his Dad as if in shock.

“That’s right, you will not be the youngest anymore.” The Dad said as he slowly reeled in his line a bit, “And that means you have to look after them like your sister do to you.”

“Ok Dad! I’ll try the absolute hardest ever!” the boy said as he walked over to his father, “You catching anything?”

“No it seems they’re not interested today.” He said as he rolled his shoulders a bit, “But we can say out here as long as you three want.”

“You think we can ride in the truck into town tomorrow with you?” The older girl said also approaching her Dad.

“I guess you all can, but it depends if your Mom needs you three.” He said as he pulled out his fishing hook from the water placing it to the side of a bag, “We’ll see.”

I shook my head as the scene disappeared. I smacked the side of my head looking around trying to figure out if the vision was real or not. “I’m going mad.” I said to myself looking into the grey lake. The water was clouded and dirty, and was not in anyway like the scene’s water was, “I’m going mad…. Yep it’s official. I mean my life is so fucked up so far so why the hell not? Madness… It seems…. Okay…” I stood up placing my helmet on. I walked over to the spot where the family was. I saw only a rotting fishing rod and nothing else. I picked up the fishing rod or what was left of it. The silver fishing line barely held onto the rod as if it was on it’s last legs. Most of the rod was burned off only leaving only the handle and less than a foot of the wooden rod. I placed it carefully on the ground where it was like it was some sacred artifact. I looked up the steep hill to see just the tips of the burnt house smoke slowly clawing it’s up up to the sink grey sky. All of a sudden it hit me like a train. It had dawned on me what this place was. I fell to my knees looking up at the grey sky, “T-This is- m-my home.” I said quietly to myself weakly, “I-I- I can’t see this again. These memories are a effing scourge to my soul.” falling to my side in the fetal position my hands clawing at my helmet, “I can’t do this. I can’t look at my greatest failure. It’s too much…” I trailed off. Then it dawned on me again as I scrambled up to my feet punching the sides of my helmet multiple times, “Ryder this is not the time for a blasted, fucking, god damn breakdown!!! You kill people on a daily basis, and never-the-less you’ve gotta get out of this nightmare.” I said stomping the ground angrily, “You have gone through far worse. From war, torture, and cold blooded murder.” I explained to myself hitting my stomach hard able to feel the blow as I rubbed my stomach looking around, “I should be over this.” I said walking back up to the house, “I will always remember them, but I can not let it bother me so much.” I went up the steep hill the smell of smoke, ash, and burnt flesh struck my senses trying to take me down. “Rather this is going to save me, or it’s going to kill me… Hopefully it is not the latter.” I pushed through the smoke coughing and wheezing all the way. I brought my arms and hands up in an attempt to block or at least slow the smoke hitting my face, but I soon began to feel unmeasurable heat striking my body. I backed away a little as I opened my eyes to see I was directly at the glass sliding door leading into the room I found my mother’s rifle. I went to open the sliding door when the metal turned a bright white and I pulled my hand away quickly feeling the searing heat from the handle.

“You can’t go back, there gone. There gone!” A female voice said

“Let me save them!” a young male voice said as it echoed

“That’s how I was then. Never knew when things were over.” I growled as I kicked the glass door. The glass shattered on impact with my boot as the shards disappeared into the flames, “Whelp here goes nothing.” I walked into the flames my vision turning black and then everything stopped and it was completely silent.

“They're gone it’s okay… It’s okay.” the female voice cooed sadly. The voice sounded like someone was holding back tears.

I gritted my teeth as I pushed into the flames. My armor began to glow as the fire consumed me literally melting my armor. I began to feel pain explode in my body as if there were tiny daggers being driven and twisted throughout my whole body at once. I growled in pain as I began to slow my death march. The orange flames licked and clawed at my body like it was an animal clawing the hide off of it’s prey to quench its eternal hunger. The pain intensified as my vision blurred into a yellow and orange haze. My legs gave out from under me as I fell down on my stomach. A muffled voice reaching my ears, “He’s body is rejecting the serum.”

“I told you it’s a thirty-five C not a twenty-five S. I have been in his head for over nine years so just listen to me!”

“No offence, but I don’t exactly trust a New Tranquility manufactured AI.”

“Can we focus at the fucking task at hand?”

“Stay out of this I’m trained in mechanics, medicine, and field surgery and patch up. What exactly do you bring to the table?”

“She might not have anything, but I do have some training in mechanics and field surgery. So if you want the problem the size of a baseball in your head I ‘suggest’ you focus ‘doc’.”

“Okay okay I got it. I’ll focus.”

“That’s a good doctor now do your job I’m not losing him over a petty argument.”

“Now give he a two-hundred ccs of the thirty-five C mechanic bonding serum.”

“What?! I- I- I can’t! That stuff is like carbon acid on steroids if place in to quickly, which I have to do!”

“I said no more arguing over petty things!”

“Whoa whoa whoa! Okay okay no need to act hastily, but if he dies by melting, burning, sudden combustion, or all of the above for the record. It was not my fault!”

“Duly noted… No effing do it all ready you twitchy mother fucker!”

“Two-hundred ccs of thirty-five C serum nurse.”

“That much? Are you sure?”

“Y-yes just get it.”

“Very well Doctor I will have to go empty all of the stored and rationed ones if you need that much. Are you sure.”

“Y-yes nurse. I’m in a bit of a situation just do it would you?”

“Very well Doctor.”

I began to crawl slowly as the fire began to bite and tear at my skin like a hungry animal. I cried out in pain as I felt something claw into my back as I began to convulse wildly in in the flames. It was like the flames were fight over who could burn me to death as they tugged and clawed at me. “Hold him down it’s entertaining with his body. He can not be moving this much while it does it’s work. You grab his leg, you his arm, Nurse and you his body.”

I felt the wind being crushed out of my as the smoke filled my lungs. I was like a serpent that was going down my throat into my lungs. Then everything stopped as I went limp and my vision blurred as the flames swallowed me into darkness.