Heart Fire
Chapter 2: Black as coal
The smell of smoke, sweat, and metal greeted Kaiya's nose as the rusty doors of the elevator creaked shut behind her. Black coal dust filled the air and the noise was deafening. People shouted and pickaxes bit into the solid walls. The coal mines. The black heart that fueled their town. Gritting her teeth Kaiya stepped forward, expecting a cave in at any moment. When nothing happened she hustled out of the way, scolding herself for being squeamish. But that did not stop her from flinching at every unusually loud noise, or tremor that ran beneath her feet. Everyone was skittish after what happened. The largest explosion in the history of the mines. It killed the majority of the workers and all the others that somehow made it out were not unscathed. Kaiya's mind kept straying to the gravestone at her town cemetery. Under all that dirt and rock was her father. Someone she thought could never die. A single tear slid down her grimy cheek, leaving a trail through all the soot. She wanted to run from the mines and sit in her mother's workshop, playing with the scrap metal on the floor, or watching the flames of the furnace heat the metal until it was red hot. She wanted her father to walk in through the door, coal dust still covering his face, smiling at his daughter. But that could never happen. He was gone. Kaiya choked down a sob. This was no place to start crying. She swallowed her grief and kept working, determined now to do the best she could. She thought of her dad, how he never complained about his work. He simply excepted what he had to do and did the best he could. She put all her effort into that one precise swing of the pickaxe until the bell's ring stopped her labor. Walking home, she felt happy. She had done the best she could and had kept her promise. She thought dad would be proud.
Kaiya sat at her desk, working on some sort of contraption. She had locked herself in her room with blueprints scattered around her desk and poking out of drawers. She wanted to finish before her father got home. She leaned closer, examining a loose part when an explosion knocked the machine from her hands. It crashed to the floor as she rushed out the door. People already crowded the streets when Kaiya emerged with her mother and young Liz. Everyone headed in one direction. The mines. Doctors appeared here and there, their white coats vanishing in the sea of panicking people. It all seemed to go in slow motion for Kaiya. The screams of shock, the anguished sobs. And then a cart rolled by on squeaky wheels, a white blanket covering the body beneath. As the cart hit a rock, a familiar hand now cold and lifeless fell out of it's covering. Kaiya screamed.
Bolting upright, Kaiya covered her ears still, hearing the screams from her nightmare. A small face at her door made her realize the screams were not from her dream. Kaiya dashed off her bed and over to the window, Liz running after her. Throwing open the curtains, the two gasped in shock. Outside, flames illuminated the hideous shape of a monster. It had the appearance of a machine but a single tortured human face Glared down at people below it as bullets flew from long gun muzzles. Kaiya backed away from the window pushing Liz behind her. The door burst open and their mother rushed in, closing the curtains and turning to look at her two frightened daughters.
“Get out now!” She commanded. Kaiya and Liz obliged, stumbling out of the room. Skidding down the stairs Kaiya and Liz sprinted for the front door. Fire suddenly burst from the ceiling and wood rained down on the two siblings. The stairs collapsed and flames licked up the wood. Kaiya thought about her mother. Had she managed to get out? Liz next to her began to sob. Kaiya scooped her up and ran to the door. Throwing it open she made her way towards the stables. As she rounded a corner, one of the monsters from earlier loomed over her. She lept out of the way as bullets hit the spot she used to be occupying. She covered Liz as more debris rained down on them.
“Mom! Where is mom” Liz sobbed, reaching a hand towards the house. Kaiya scooped her up again and resumed her course for the stables. If she could just get Liz on a horse out of town, she could go back and look for mom. Kaiya's path was interrupted by the burning remains of a house blocking the road. She swerved in an attempt to get around the obstacle but found nothing. She did however notice a small crack in the reckage that was not yet burning. Setting Liz down she looked into her terrified face.
“Liz. I want you to squeeze through that crack and make your way to the stables. Then I want you to get on a horse and ride out of town.”
“What about you! I can't loose you.” she began to cry again. Kaiya shook her shoulders.
“Listen, I want you safe. I'm going to go check the house for mom and then follow you out. I made a promise remember? I can't leave you alone.” Liz looked into her sister's eyes. She sniffed then made her way to the crack and squeezed through. She looked back once, then hurried on. Kaiya stared after her, wishing with all her heart this had never happened. Then she turned and sprinted for her burning house. People ran in all different directions, running from the merciless bullets of the monsters that pursued them. Kaiya looked towards her house and stood stunned. Everything was ablaze. Only the sign was not on fire, but even that was ruined by blood stains covering it's glossy surface. Kaiya began to cry, she was in a living nightmare. Tuning away from her old life, she ran back towards the stables. She had to protect Liz. When she arrived at the burning rubble, she noticed the blaze had dwindled to a small flame. Kaiya backed up, then lept over the remains of the house, feeling the heat scorch her legs. She hit the ground hard on the other side and crumpled, clutching her burnt legs. Forcing herself to stand, she shambled on to her destination. As she skidded to a halt in the barn doors, she saw Liz, small and helpless, surrounded by three of the monsters. They turned, looking at Kaiya. Liz reached out a desperate hand and Kaiya ran towards her. The monsters smiled in unison and fired their guns. Kaiya screamed as she was blasted backwards from the force of the blow. She felt a stabbing pain in her shoulder and blood leaking from the wound. Kaiya lay there, paralyzed from pain and shock. She could not believe Liz was dead. She vaguely heard the monsters approach but did not move to run away. She had lost everything dear to her and had no reason left to live.
"What a cruel world," she thought, "It's heart must be black as coal." And then she slipped into unconsciousness.
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