The city had forgotten the sky. A thick blanket of grey clouds suffocated the remains of life, crushing the hearts of surviving humans.
Buildings that once stood tall and proud were now ruins, depleted and left to crumble to dust like wounded giants.
Jackie tightened her scarf around her face as her fingers trembled,not from fear but cold which had become her second skin.
"Just another scavenging run",she thought to herself as she threaded on broken pieces of glass.
She stumbled on a fallen sign board covered with dust as she stooped down to clean it off to see the words written boldly on it.
"BESSIE'S BAKERY",the sign board wrote as memories flooded in.
This sign board was that of a bakery that stood tall inviting everyone to come have a taste of their sweet delicacies. She could remember vividly how she used to drag,beg and plead with her mum to get her some freshly baked bread.
"Mummy can we get some bread today, pretty please,you promised this time",young Jackie pleaded.
"Honey I don't think we could afford any today",her mum replied her sadly .
"oh ok, I was thinking that we could get some for breakfast tomorrow since you promised",she said downcast.
Her mum looked at her in pity and said "You know what I think I just might have some little change to spare this time",she said as she held her little girls hand walking happily.
Now even memories left were nostalgic and dangerous. She had to focus she hadn't come this far by sulking but by surviving. Sulking was for the weak and the weak died in this world of hunger and she wasn't part of them (the weak).
It had been ten years since the outage,when the streets once basked with brilliant light reflecting polished woods and cobble stones were now dead.
Where children played and lovers whispered their vows and secrets to each other,now everything was in ruins as the sky had turned black and humanities cries were drowned beneath the growls of hungry desperate demons.
Some how Jackie had managed to survive this long,manoeuvring her way through hardships as suffering had become her second name.
"Sweetness wasn't in this world anymore" she told herself so she had to focus on her ongoing task.
She threaded in the darkness as her boots crunched on more shattered glass. She kept her hands tightly on her blade on her waist belt,it was old,full of blunt places but it had saved her life on so many occasions than she could count. She trusted it more than she trusted people.
She felt a presence lurking in the dark as she heard a rustling sound and from what she had learnt from all these years of survival experience in this waste land, it was that if you feel you were being watched then definitely you were, whether human or demon.
The demons were now better adapted than before, they were no longer growling or snarling like they did before but instead they stalked their prey and waited for the closest opportunity to strike using the dark to their advantage, some demons were now Soo adapted that they even took on the human form as humans seeking help or assistance,it only took expert eyes to tell them out.
Who ever it is come out",she screamed into the darkness as she strained her ears harder to pick out a sound or movement.
She heard nothing but didn't want to brush it off as anything so with arms tightly held to her blade she said"Go in get some supplies and go back to base".
It sounded easy but easy things were hard to come by this days as one had to fight and scrape for anything or die trying.
Her predator was in the dark watching her for any mistake and her mistake came when she turned as a whisp of air knocked her down senseless as she crashed on a wall.
She drew out her blade for combat as her attacker came this time as she managed to slash at it.
Her attack seemed to have yielded no effect as her attacker came again in full force knocking the breath from her side as she managed to dodge just a little of it.
A shade demon she gasped as she had now seen her attacker in full.
It wasn't an ordinary demon it appeared thin almost skeletal as it's smooth leathery skin glistened and stretched through its body,fangs and claws ready for attack.
Although fragile looking it was one of the most deadly demons known for not leaving survivors, their speed and deadly accurate blow left them untouchable.
Now here she was alone with this monster,one thing she was sure of was she wasn't going down without a fight.
The demon observed her as predator observed it's prey amused by her unwavering determination as it stalked.
" Come on now I don't have time for this"she said as the demon sprang to her.
She fought with all her might but the demon was stronger than her knocking her into the pile of broken glasses giving her a deadly cut which caused cold blood drip down onto the floor.
This seemed to have pleased it for now it grinned in delight at the sight of blood and it's helpless victim on the floor.
She was weak and helpless as she was loosing blood and the breath had been knocked out of her lungs.
Her blade was knocked out of her hands too as she panicked,was this how she was going to end up dead,being the dinner of this monster and having my body desecrated,no! not like this,she said managing to get herself up to a staggering stance.
But something moved within her.
A heat deep, ancient and fierce,coiled in her chest and pulsed through her veins causing her nerves to alight. The air around her began to shimmer as the cold turned into a sudden warmth.
The shade demon lunged again but this time her body acted in instinct as she thrust her hand forward not with a blade but bare skinned and trembling.
A blue flame erupted, this flames didn't flicker like normal fire but spun and danced with a will of its own latching onto they demon not it's flesh but it's shadow burning it with an eerie crackling sound.
The demon shrieked in pain and horror as it's form convulsed violently. Seconds later, there was nothing left but a charred silhouette etched on the wall a haunting reminder of its existence.
Jackie stared at her shaky hands,"What...what had she done?she asked herself as silence engulfed the room.
Her heart pounded as her breath came in shallow gasps,each breath drawing panic,she hadn't done anything like this before.
Sure she had fought, killed and survived-but this? This was something else, something unnatural and impossible.
And yet it felt natural, like the fire had been there waiting to be summoned.
But why now?
As she was still trying to gather her thoughts a figure observed her,she wasn't alone. It looked at her with eyes narrowed in a visor from the top a depleted skyscraper.
"She survived"he said to himself in a murmured to himself as the wind carried it away,"impossible".
But yet there was the impossible just beneath him confused,not knowing the kind attention she attracted to herself.
She managed to pick herself up and walked out of her building with her dagger back in place.
Her body protested in pain begging her to rest but she couldn't as the streets were not safe.
SURVIVE,MOVE, DON'T STOP.
She staggered ahead as the streets which once boomed with life was now lonely and lifeless as humans now lived as rats hiding in the shadows being hunted.
There was silence everywhere, this silence was different as if the world held its breath.
She staggered as she reached a cross road,her eyes darting from alley to alley searching for movement. She could feel something was watching her not a demon but not human either.
Before she could react she heard a thud echoed behind her,as she pulled her knife in defence mode but it wasn't a demon that greeted her .....it was a man
Tall and draped in layers of dark fabric,half his face were covered with a mask. His posture was calm but alert, tension was all over his body like a spring ready to attack.
"You shouldn't have survived",he said with voice devoid of emotion.
" Well tell that to the demon I torched",she clapped back eyes narrowed in defiance and suspicion.
There was a moment of silence between them as each stared each other down as a faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"No.... I meant that thing should have killed you. Shade demons don't leave survivors and you were alone"
"Well lucky me"she snapped back again not lowering her blade." Who they hell are you".
He eyed her for a moment, checking to see if she was worthy or not to tell.
"A ghost, a shadow, choose which ever one makes you sleep better at night,his voice sounded mocking but he was serious.
"The main point is you have power which makes you dangerous to both them and yourself",he continued.
"Well I can manage on my own since I have come this far and I don't know who the hell them are".she spat out.
"I see you have a foul temper but it won't get you anywhere,the demon lords are on the lookout for you and if you are smart enough you would join the resistance"
"Resistance?"she asked puzzled.
"They will help you harness your powers in the right ways, that's if you survive till tomorrow".
He stepped closer his presence overwhelming she wanted to step back but decided to hold her ground.
"Which demon lords and what's this resistance all about?",but before she could finish her question he had already vanished leaving her in a pool or thoughts.
He had just left into the ruins like he was never there,as she spun around and found nothing but just the wind picking up the ash into the air.
What was this power and why did it awaken now?who was this man?And what was this Resistance?Were there people like her out there?
A sharp cold whisper curled around her ear, A voice not human,not from this world said.
"YOU HAVE BEEN MARKED CHILD OF FIRE YOUR TIME HAS COME FOR YOU BEAR MY MARK".
She spun around and found no one there,the ground beneath her feet began to pulse glowing with ancient symbols before vanishing into dust.
Her tummy twisted in anxiety, something ancient has awoken and it knew her name.