Phoenix’s Story: Two Years Earlier

UNKNOWN VIEWPOINT:

Darkness. Everything was void except for the feint light coming from off in the distance.

The light came closer and closer until I was engulfed by this blinding flash.

My consciousness returned and I slowly open my crusted eyelids. My body lay motionless on the stained, shaggy carpeted floor beneath me. I force myself to stand and see a sight that would make anyone uncomfortable.

I spoke in a voice unfamiliar to me yet it felt as though it was supposed to be mine,

"What... happened here?"

Before me stood the charred remains of a room. From where I was, I could tell that I was on the second story and that this place could no longer be called a house.

I fell onto the ash-ridden bed, exhausted from standing for a mere ten seconds. Taking a look at my hand I noticed it was covered with soot, like I had just climbed down a chimney. I sat up, feeling intense pain all over, and caught a glimpse of myself. In the shattered mirror only one piece of glass remained but it was enough to see that it was not my face. Silver irises stared back at me as though to tell me you are not dreaming. The hair was covered with ash but blond streaks peeked out as if struggling for breath. I was a boy.

'Why am in such a place?', I thought. 'Whose body is this?'

Why am I so calm? Shouldn't I be freaking out about how i'm in a weird place with a new body? Yet I feel... comfortable. It's almost as if my heart and soul are one now. I dreamt of becoming someone new, wishing on a star, but did my wish really come true?

I stared at my new face in the mirror as if it would change if I looked away. Suddenly something did change though, my irises turned bronze.

"Wha-"

Before I could finish my sentence a vision appeared in my eyes, something only I could see.

A boy laying in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling above. I could feel the pain in his heart like it was my own. He sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed where he sat there for a long time, lost in thought. I could feel the suffering, the agony, the conflicting storm in his heart. It was like my own. The boy finally moved from his spot. He stood up and began to sluggishly walk towards a window. The window was covered with rain droplets and began to frost. The boy wiped the window clean then stood motionless but with a startled expression. I could feel how uncomfortable he was and I would too if I saw someone standing in the middle of the road staring at me.

The dark hooded figure didn't move from its position and just blankly stared at the boy through the window. I could feel the boy becoming more agitated and felt his pain, only this time was it physical pain. He placed both of his hands on each side of his head and tried to scream but nothing came out. Fear ran wild inside of him as he winced in pain and silently screamed for help.

Then, it stopped. The boy fell to the floor with a thud and became lifeless. He felt cold, a chilling cold like shivering in a warm room.

It happened then. Millions of dancing flames sprouted out of nowhere and tore apart everything. The walls and carpet, the dresser and curtains, everything became engulfed with flames.

'Magic', I thought to myself.

Most people would believe that this was a fire that was started by accident, however I knew this was not the case. Fire doesn't burn naturally in blue, it burns orange. These flames were too perfect for them not to be magic and, of course, the fact that I cast this magic as well.

The fire burned everything except for the boy's body. I noticed then that his irises changed colors. They were gold now. The golden irises shone and extinguished the flames immediately. The hooded figure no longer stood in the street and an eerie silence took over.

The vision ended and I was now looking at my reflection again. These eyes... they almost have a mind of their own. It's like they responded to my thoughts and shared what they saw with me, shared what happened in this place with me.

I heard sirens in the distance that became louder and louder as they approached. I hear the sound of car doors opening and closing with force and I hear voices talking to each other about what to do with this place. I hear civilians opening their doors to see what the commotion was and the sounds of pictures being taken.

I just sit still on the bed, taking in everything that had just happened. Footsteps are heard from downstairs and I feel myself losing grip on my emotions. involuntarily, tears ran down my face, washing away the soot behind it.

The footsteps were closer now, click clacking up the rickety stairway. The door handle turned and the door was pushed open revealing a suited fireman.

The fireman stopped in his tracks and looked at me, a crying kid in this hell hole.

The fireman spoke, "It's okay, you can stop crying now. I'm here to help you."

I stared at him still crying but didn't say a word.

"Can you walk?"

I shook my head considering that I recently collapsed by standing for ten seconds.

"Okay, then here."

The fireman walked up to the side of the bed and knelt on one knee.

"Wrap your arms around me and I'll carry you out okay?"

Since I had no other choice I put my arms around his shoulders and he grabbed my legs to make sure I didn't fall. He stood up and started walking but he stopped when he heard me,

"Ahhhhhhh!"

"Whats the matter!?"

He placed me back down on the bed and I responded, "M-my legs. They're broken."

Even I didn't notice this until now. I guess it was from the adrenaline and since it wore off I now feel this lovely sensation in my legs.

The fireman called for some help in his radio and knelt in front of me again.

He gave a friendly smile, "I'm Logan, what's your name?"

My... name? What is my name? I can't use my old one in this body since it's a girls name.

"I... I don't remember."

Logan replied, "Since you don't have one how about I give you one?"

I decided to let Logan choose since I couldn't think of anything other than wanting to amputate my legs because of the pain. I nodded.

"Hmmm, how about Phoenix?"

I chuckled a bit, "That's a bit of an odd name don't you think?"

Logan spoke, "It fits you perfectly."

"How so?"

"A phoenix rises from the ashes and begins a new life. No matter how many times a phoenix gets knocked down it always stands up and fights for a new life."

My smirk vanished as the realization hit me. This isn't the end of my troubles, it's just starting.

"You're right, it fits perfectly... thank you Logan."

"Any time."

More fireman and paramedics arrived and lifted me onto a stretcher. They rushed me to the ambulance out front and I was accompanied by Logan. I heard him explain to his superior that he wanted to stay with me. His superior agreed and Logan got into the ambulance with me. I began losing consciousness from the pain but Logan sat next to me holding my hand. Somehow this made me feel at ease. As my consciousness faded, the sounds of sirens could still be heard.