January's Gold Winner for Short Story.
After Fire
Mitch Dearsins’ hell
By: Daniel Dean Young
Prologue
Here we find Mitch still in the dark. Both in his mind and in the physical world. Not just dark, No not even close. The complete absence of light, making it impossible to see. Mitch brings his arm towards his face, touches his forehead and never sees his hand.
Am I dead? Maybe I’ve gone blind? Is this insanity? Just about to loose hope when thru a dark green horizon light begins to consume the darkness and inside knows he is about to face a hell like nothing ever described or seen………
Last known date:
Wednesday, June 24, 2010
The color of the sky is a grotesque shade of green. So putrid it was making
Me sick to my stomach like a bite of rotten meat. I begin hearing what sounded like the intestinal growling of a stomach that has gone to long with nothing to eat. Thinking to my self that I have never felt so fearful. My knees began to shake, my heart beating like a run away train. STOP IT! I screamed out loud breaking the grip of fear and gaining some control of myself. Enough light had filtered into the air that I can see for a few feet around me. Got to assess my surroundings and make a plan of action. Deciding the best thing to do is to stay put until I can see for a greater distance. I crouched down and waited. For what, I do not know.
It seemed like an eternity before I could make out what remained of HRT. What was once an expansive facility was now reduced to a couple of stone
Pillars and a smoldering mass of debris. Suddenly remembering the freak
That was created from my biochemical compounds and the reactor meltdown by which I destroyed the beast. I heard growling again and began feeling my core temperature rise at an extraordinary rate. Anger, stronger than the wrath of a god of war, began to consume me. Anger over my life’s work being destroyed by that idiot Thelm. What did he think he was going to
gain. I screamed in a voice that sounded nothing like my own “God I feel like I am on fire” and realized my hands where ablaze with a magnificent blue fire. Then as quickly as it began it was gone, anger and all.
Whoa, come on Dearsin get a grip! That had to have been a hallucination
Because a flame that burns blue is a least 600 degrees and the hair on my hands isn’t even singed. Pushing these thought out of mind I began exploring the rubble that used to be HRT.
Where the cooler used to be there was a scrap of Pelonasium alloy. A metal
I had invented to power the refrigeration units. Even this little piece could
Light a small city if I had the means to tap it. Further on were I believe the living facilities stood, there where body parts here and there, personal items
Strewn about, nothing useful. I heard a whimpering cry from off to my left
And turned to see a hand poking thru a gap in the stones. Hurrying over I began to frantically dig with all of my might screaming “hold on, I’ll get
You out, just hold on.” For close to an hour I turned and tossed stone after stone and had barely reached the elbow. I thought I was to late.
Again there was a growl and my temperature spiked, blue brilliant flame
From my palms glowed. I found my self lifting stones 10 times heavier
Than me and in just seconds I had uncovered the person trapped below. It
was Sherri and she wasn’t breathing. I began cpr and within a few moments
she coughed and began breathing on her own. I covered her with my jacket
and sat down to think.
Twice now I have been consumed by heat from the inside out. Then
Elevated anger proceeded flames coming from the palms of my hands and
Incredible strength. There must have been a molecular change to my body
Being in close proximity to the reactor meltdown. In a typical situation all
That would result is death but with all of the compounds contained in the freak and #66 in the mix there is no telling what may have happened. Now
I am the freak.
I constructed a make shift shelter out of the few useful scraps I could find.
Still unconscious, I laid Sherri down and continued my exploration of the grounds. As I walked I began sorting thru every aspect of my current situation. There had been a nuclear meltdown and normally everything in
A fifty mile radius should be dead. I had been changed at a molecular level
And now possessed some extraordinary abilities. Sherri had also survived
But was unconscious. Food and water will have to be a priority or we’ll
Never survive to find out what this altered world has in store.
Further on I came across the lower half of a metal locker. Now if I could
Find some copper and salt I would be able to fabricate a pelonasium reactor.
It would be crude but, functional. Then I spotted the guards office and the front gate still intact. I thought it amazing that it was still standing. Inside
I found some canned goods, three gallons of water and by the grace of God,
Salt and pepper. I stowed all of my booty and went to get Sherri.
Upon arriving at the shelter I heard moaning and found her semi-conscience. Lifting her head I gave her a little water before picking her
Up with the intention of taking her back the guard’s office. I turned and found myself face to face with what I think used to be a mountain lion or
Cougar. It was standing on its hind legs while its front legs where rubbing
Its hands together. I use hands loosely but the thing had thumbs so hands
They would be. I quickly set Sherri back down and before I turn back around
It was on me and I felt it tear the flesh on my right shoulder and for a moment I thought I was doomed. Then I let out a growl and felt my heart racing faster than should be possible. Blue flame encompassed my entire body as I struck back at the beast catching it on the neck with a deafening thud! It let out a gasp as it tried to suck in its next breath. Wasting no time, I grabbed the beast by the head and with one swift motion flipped it off its feet onto its back snapping its neck half way through the maneuver. I stood, proudly grunting, over my kill and felt an animalistic power unlike anything I had I felt before.
My heat beginning to slow and the flame extinguished I turned back toward
Sherri to find she had back away about 10 feet. She was trembling, eyes as
Big as a full size buffet plate, stuttering over and over “wha wha wha….t the
Hel hel hell is going on!” Finally spitting out “wh wh wh…o are you?”
“ What do you mean who am I?” Trying to keep my voice calm “ its Mitch”
“Then how do explain how you were just covered in fire and now your not? Your not even burned! Your face looks nothing like Mitch. God this has to be a dream”
“whether I am Mitch or not, at least I am not trying to kill you like what ever the hell that was” pointing to the dead creature. “you’ll just have to trust
me”
She reluctantly nodded and we began our way to the guards shack as darkness began to creep into the sky. Inside we at a small meal and laid
Down to try and get some rest. Drifting off I thought maybe this all just a
Dream………
