The Wolf and Rabbits
His legs became a blur as he sped through the trash-filled ground towards the epicentre of the explosion, the heat charring the clothing he was wearing and the shockwave ripping it off cleanly. But that did not stop him, he had to save his mother, or at least confirm that she was still alive somewhere near the blast. He peeled his ears and concentrated his eyes on any shape that resembled her body.
Every second that passed only added to the worry in his heart, it beat faster and faster, reaching inhuman numbers to supply the body with the oxygen it needed to keep going.
''MOTHER!'' He screamed out in a pained voice, he listened harder but only the sizzling of hot garbage broke the silence as a thick cloud of smoke quickly approached him. His body ducked onto the ground, nearly being peeled away like a banana and carried by the wind like a piece of paper.
His eyes darted from side to side searching for her slender figure among the trash, but the smell of burning flesh and mouldy food caused him to tear up, his vision growing blurry in the sea of helplessness. Until a sharp ''HELP-!'' pierced through his ears reaching his brain, kicking off the electrons travelling at the speed of light to move his legs faster than they have ever moved before towards her location.
Like a pair of shovels, he started scooping up the trash that obstructed the faint voice that reached out to him from below the ocean of trash. The heat started eroding his eyes, salty tears were replaced with those of burgundy and his fingernails were ripped off by metallic scraps blocking his path to his mother.
A gasp of air escaped his lips as he found his mother - rather, half of his mother - she smiled weakly at him as she reached her quivering arms towards his chest to be lifted.
''Come on Don, we must get out of here in the event there is another bomb like that..'' She grabbed his arm trying to pull herself up, but Don could not move, it was like he had entered a state of paralysis at the sight of his mother. Her lower half was completely gone, and the area below her waist was charred close from the intense heat of the blast, somehow she hadn't lost that much blood, but she was fading in and out of consciousness.
''DON!'' He snapped out of his trance, looking into her eyes that only stored pity for the man looking down at them. A hand grasped at his heart, crushing it until every last drop of blood and emotion left, leaving him a shell of a man. His heartbeat returned to normal levels as if he hadn't witnessed his mother get blown in half.
He cradled her in his arms as he readied himself to run towards the Wolf's playground where she could be treated for her wounds, normally the legs could be reattached but in this case, they were missing. Assuming a lunging position, he launched himself forward carrying the corpse-to-be away from the blistering heat that reduced his clothing to nothing but his pair of trousers with several large holes burned through.
Don licked his chapped lips as he sped across the desolate landscape, aside from trash nothing noteworthy could be seen of interest, most hideouts were located underground. They had been dug by their predecessors in order for Aris not to come down and kill them, this world was their trash shoot, a place where no matter how much trash was thrown away it would never build up and never get full.
The distance between them and the Wolf's playground was quite large as it was the most important den of operations in all of Sira. Unlike the market of arms where even residents of Aris went, the Wolf's playground was a place where mercenaries, bounty hunters and those seeking medical attention came to. But they always had one goal in mind which has been clear since the beginning...
''OI!!'' A burly man screamed out at Don as he ran through nearly missing the small shack located in the middle of nowhere.
''What is it? I am in a hurry!'' He pointed his gaze down at his mother before turning his eyes back at him.
''Well I wanted you to take these to the Wolf, you are going there aren't you?'' The burly man pulled a satchel from a shelf inside of his hut with a smile.
''Fine, what's your name?''
''Lorkan.'' Don nodded at him as he left, leaping towards the den as fast as he could. It was far enough away from Aris that it wouldn't matter if he showed off his mutation a little. Each leap covered hundreds of meters leaving a large cloud of green smoke behind that could kill any citizen in Aris with just the smell.
Don's eyes caught a white figure far in the distance, something very unusual of Sira but this was no time to explore irregularities, that figure can wait. He checked his wrist with the half-melted compass that pointed towards the direction of the den, only three kilometres left he thought to himself.
''A-Are we nearly there?'' Don's mother asked meekly as she placed her weak hand on his cheek. He simply nodded at her, leaving a smile, a pained one, but a smile nonetheless. The corner of his mouth quivered as he tried running faster, something pulled him back, like a chain holding him back despite trying to speed up.
Her arms fell to her side, her breathing stopping just as he reached the large hole that led to the den inside. Tears began forming, but he jumped down nonetheless, speeding past all of the gates and doors towards the emergency room. A scruffy man welcomed him as he stopped Don dead in his tracks. A short look into his eyes told him everything Don was feeling, his glowing green eyes reverted back into their usual brown hue.
''I will take her from here, you can wait on the benches over there kid.'' The scruffy man plucked her from Don's arms and headed into the operating room. Several other men scrambled out panicking at the man's sudden appearance. All Don could do was wait there waiting on his knees, pleading to the heavens above that they would spare his mother just this once.
''I plead with you Lady Aurora, just this once allow her a chance to live. I will give you everything I own. Money, my body, my soul. Anything, ask and it is yours for the taking!''
Small giggles rang from the back of the halls as the lights dimmed and flickered, he continued praying to the goddess sitting atop the clouds. ''Anything you say?''
His head snapped back to an empty hallway where the voices came from, Don's eyes scanned the walls and doors in case it was one of the trickster children. He sighed as his gaze turned back towards the operating room where they met with a second pair of eyes that were crystal blue and shining brighter than any diamond.
''I have heard your prayer, in terms of payment...I will take it another time.'' And with that, the ghostly figure that had appeared before vanished as he blinked his eyes. Maybe the heat had caused some psychological damage he thought sitting back against the wall. Slowly the drowsiness took him over as he entered the land of dreams that could rob him of all of his anguish.
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''Hey, pup wake up.'' The scruffy man called out to Don who was sleeping on the side of the corridor. At the sight of him, he jumped to his feet cleaning up his hair as if he were in the army in front of a head officer. Don's eyes shifted from the man to the operating room and back to the scruffy man.
''So, good news and bad news.''
''What is the good news?''
''She is alive.''
Don breathed a sigh of relief at the good news, his eyes turning back on him again to ask. ''What's the bad news.''
The scruffy man looked deeply into Don's eyes, his hands holstered onto his shoulders as he pulled him into a hug before pushing back out. ''You are one of my top men here, you know that right Don?''
''What's wrong?? Just tell me the bad news.''
''Fine. Your mother is alive, but not for long. She has a year left which leads you to two options.''
Don nodded.
''The first option is to just spend the last year together, she won't be the same and she will be resting for sixteen hours of the day until eventually she fades into...''
''Eternal slumber.'' Don finished the scruffy man's sentence leading him to nod.
''The second option is to venture into Aris and retrieve an artefact, it is said to hold incredible healing effects and I believe that it could even regrow her legs.''
Don looked into his brown eyes.
''The Rabbit's den. Right Wolf?''