49 Life

A dull ache consumes the entirety of my body; my muscles protest with pain when I attempt to move. Soft, damp dirt mixed with dark blood shrouds my hands like a soft blanket. A small groan escapes my lips as I force my eyes to squint open and glance at my bright surroundings.

The glare of the sun is harsh on my pounding head, but once I get used to the light I regard the area with interest. Piles of rubble lay at the bottom of the sheer slopes that once defined an ancient river and a black curtain of smoke begins to loom above me. In the distance, embers of never-ending flames flick around a teetering skeleton of a filthy building.

Whispering winds whip across my face, swirling my hair into a tornado. I sigh in relief as a cacophony of unseen jumbled noise gradually fades away from my ringing ears, allowing me a moment of peace and quiet. It doesn't last long.

Murky clouds of ash cover up the clear blue skies in fear as a silhouetted figure slowly creeps towards me. Each step they take seems to become more hesitant, as if terror is churning inside expectantly, waiting to be released. After only a few more paces, they stand dead still, unwilling to move any nearer to me.

I smile.

My mucky hands clench into a tight fist and I dig my nails hard into my palm. With a quite grunt, I force one leg up, then the other. As I make eye contact with this frightened monster, I only have one thing to say.

"Bet you didn't think that I'd come back to life."