Vena felt a tingle in her groin, then a twist of knots in her stomach, the familiar feeling of falling. Now realizing she was falling, and falling fast, she gave no time to thought and began to panic. Time not slowing at all, she felt that she had only seconds to react. After flailing about nonsensically, she instinctively braced herself to land on her feet.

With the sound of wet meat slapping the ground, Vena’s feet hit the asphalt hard. She landed in a half squat and stayed there.

Don’t move! Okay, I’m alive. That’s good. It doesn’t hurt. That’s also good. What if I move? Is it going to hurt if I move? How much will it hurt? Are my legs broken? I don’t think broken legs work like that.

Vena stood up very slowly and then tested her legs just as slowly, wiggling her feet and stretching her toes. Her eyes and face lit up with a big smile. With her arms raised in the air, she yelled, “I’m invincible!” Within an instant of her speaking, a booming voice and excruciating pain exploded into her head, “No you are not!” Her head felt like it was going to split open. She toppled over in pain and grabbed her head. Cripple over on the floor, Vena roared in pain instead of screaming. “I will not die due to your negligence,” the voice in her head boomed. With tears in her eyes and her forehead against the floor, tears rolled down Vena’s face, “What is happening to me?”

She was lightly tapping her head against the ground, feeling the need to get rid of the pain. The female voice began to speak again, “I understand the pain, Vena. I know it all too well. But you must understand, you are not invincible, only stronger. I bestow my abilities to you so that we may both live.” As the voice in her head continued, Vena felt her life wanting to end. The pain was just too unbearable. The voice ended with, “This is the only way to communicate with you directly. So unless you want to feel this pain again, I suggest you wise up, and quickly.”

The pain was suddenly gone. Vena was breathing heavily with her head against the ground. The tears stopped flowing and relaxation enveloped her body. She turned over and laid on her back.

That… That hurt. That hurt so much.

Vena stared at the sky, thinking as her tears dried up.

That voice. That was the voice from the fire. It sounds like she lives inside me. And she gave me this power? Wise up? And how am I supposed to do that? I guess I’ll just need to be cautious. I really gotta figure this thing out. I really don’t need her to come out and “helping me” again. Unless I’m desperate. Maybe she only comes out when she’s desperate too? She said she knew the pain well.

Vena sat up and thought some more.

So, I’m definitely stronger. She said she gave me her abilities. So I think that means speed and strength.

“Weaknesses too,” the mind numbing pain erupted and disappear very quickly. “Jesus! I get it! Holy fuck! Christ, that hurts,” Vena messaged her head.

Jesus, she can hear my thoughts too. Good to know. As if I didn’t have enough to think about. Okay...

Vena crossed her legs.

So. I woke up and remember very little. Woke up in a fire, which was crazy. Oh, that’s right! I can absorb fire! I just touch it and it sort of just flows into me. I can’t get burned by it either! My clothes though…

She stared down at her pants.

Not so much. Next, I fell but it didn’t really hurt much. I did get knocked out though. And that poor girl was in my arms. Damn it, if only I knew. I could have just jumped out the window with the girl. Then what? Could I have protected her from those tree things? I don’t know. I just ran. I didn’t even try. Speaking of, I can sense, “things”. I don’t know what, but I’m able to sense something. A sense of danger or sense something dangerous. I don’t know exactly. It’s something like that though.

Vena hugged her knees and rested her chin on them.

I’m strong, fast, have high endurance. I’m definitely not invincible, as the lady nicely pointed out. If that’s not it then is it high resistance? Resistance to… pain? Injury?

She began staring at a house in front of her.

This is great and all but what do I do now? I don’t know who I am or where to go. I guess finding people would be number one, if there are any... Are there any? What if I’m the only one? No no no, of course there’s people. That would be dumb if there wasn’t. Humans survive everything… I think. What was this anyways? There are creatures, empty houses. Nothing really destroyed. Maybe they evacuated? I did see bodies in that building fire I was in, and the little girl. Maybe they were hiding? Hiding from the trees? But then what could have started the fire?

Vena took a breath as she stood up and stretched.

You know what, I guess that doesn’t matter. That already happened. Memories or not, something’s happened. And it might have happened to the whole world and I’m just in a small part of it. Some kind of tree infection. Or maybe trees gained life and can think now. Revenge of the trees. Maybe some kind of experiment went wrong. Whatever it is, this is my life now. Let’s make the best of it and survive.

Vena started walking, following the road signs leading her out of the city while staying within sight of the sea.

The memory of that boy though. It must be important. For me not to have forgotten it. Maybe I can ask around if I find people. I don’t know, maybe it would be better to assume he’s gone. I mean, look at what’s happened. I’ll just keep him in my heart. Always thinking of you little boy, whoever you are…

It was too early to be called morning but too late to be called night time. Vena spent the time before dawn making her way through four cities, the first of which was the small village of Sopyne. Vena’s eye brightened up when she saw the town buildings from a distance. She was walking alone with her thoughts a little too long for her comfort.

Finally, the next city!

Vena’s excitement had her switch up her pace to what she felt was a light jog. Her jogging speed was equal to that of a sprinter at max performance.

I hope there are people here. I doubt it, but it’s possible. I can’t wait! At least I can see somewhere new.

With speeds reaching up to forty kilometers per hour, she reached the town within minutes. Upon entering the town, she slowed back down to a walk and saw that this was not like the city she was in before.

Oh no...

She saw people here, but they were all dead. Cars were wrecked, buildings were damaged, and bodies laid about. The city was quiet, but not unnaturally so.

Damn it. They’re all gone. I’m sorry guys. It’s different from the last city though. The trees seem fine. Something definitely crazy happened here though. The last city was like a ghost town, but this one… I’m glad I’m not getting any weird feelings. Just the normal, sad, creepy feelings. The bodies...

The dead bodies horrified her when she focused on them. But she became desensitized to them, as long as she kept her distance. The damage done to the bodies and the blood that followed were unnoticeable as long as she didn’t spend time analyzing. Vena started to understand that the city she woke up in might just be an anomaly. She used this to give herself a little hope and relief.

Out of curiosity, she took some time to look through some of the buildings for anything she felt she might need. The small village was against a beach that was likely to look beautiful in the daytime. She noticed a soccer field nearby and assumed a school was attached to it. Most of the buildings were residential with small, family owned businesses here and there.

Man, what a nice little town. Growing up here must be amazing… Oo, stores! Not really hungry. Maybe I can find tools? I don’t really know what kind of tools I should be looking for. Maybe I should find a bag? For all of my tools! Actually, I assume I’ll be walking a while. Mm, I kind of want to stay light. It would have sucked if I had a bag earlier. I probably would of ditched it. Or it would of torn or something. I’m just gonna pocket things.

Vena was slightly intrigued when she found a clothing store. Her clothes were very uncomfortable; worn down, wet, and filthy.

I might need some new clothes. I’m not make excuses but the clothes I got don’t make the cut. They’re all burnt and black and stuff. And even if they weren’t, what’s wrong with new clothes? Also, shoes would be nice...

She looked at her feet and wiggled her toes. She made her way into the store, chiming a bell above the door as she entered. She looked around and spotted some jeans she liked.

Hm, these look okay. The butt looks fine. Let’s see how they look.

She quickly took off her worn out, burnt jeans and then noticed her panties.

Why, hello plain old panties. Didn’t see you there. You want an upgrade too? You know what…

She made for a discrete sniff of her lady parts.

I am surprisingly fresh down here. I don’t know when my next period is but pretty undies would be bomb right now. When was my last period? Whatever. I’ll worry about it when it happens…

Her underwear didn’t smell bad but they were slightly dirty. Seeing there wasn’t any harm in getting new ones, she did a quick look-around to see if anyone was watching.

Oh god, this is weird. I’m sure nobody’s watching, but still. I really hope nobody’s watching. This would be so fucking embarrassing. But why though? It’s just skin. We all got it. Hell, we’d all be naked if Eve didn’t fuck it up for everyone. Welp, if I’m alone for long enough, I’m sure I’ll get used to it. What if I just walked around naked? I could do that if I was the last one on Earth. Well, I could do that regardless…

She took her underwear off and left them on the floor next to her jeans. She uncomfortably tiptoed over to the underwear section. She found some pretty, black and pink lace panties and tried them on.

What!? Girl these are cute as fuck!

Nobody would ever see them but the confidence they gave her was irresistible. She followed up with the jeans she found earlier. After trying a couple of different sizes, she found a pair that fit her perfectly without a belt. She found a mirror in the back of the store to evaluate. There wasn’t much light but her eyes abnormally adjusted to the dark fairly easily.

Wow, okay. I can actually see this. Okay. Alright well, my butt looks good. Jesus, my hair is looking crazy! First thing’s first Vena. Pants! My butt looks good. My thighs look good. Hug my ankles. Not too low. I love the squeeze on my tummy. Let’s make sure they’ll stretch...

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

She did a few stretches and exercises and surprised herself.

Damn! I am flexible! Oh, the pants. Okay. Maybe I should get some workout clothes instead? Oh, yoga pants? I could wear leggings and get myself a cute ass dress? Skirt? Mm, maybe next time. Let’s see how this goes first. Now, back to this hair.

Vena pulled out the band loosely holding her hair up and let down her light brown hair. She gave her head a nice scratch, combed her hair with her fingers, then quickly redid her ponytail while referencing the mirror. She looked her hair over facing left, right, then continued back to the clothing section. She took her long sleeve shirt off, dropping it to the floor as she walked and did the same with her annoying bra. She exhaled with relief as her size B chest was finally free and breathing. She hid her nipples before glancing around then let them free. She gave a nervous glance over the store every now and then to make sure she was still alone. Being nude in public was new and fun for her, but it still made her nervous despite the absence of people. Looking over the bra selection, she went with a comfortable bandeau bra. She didn’t want anything fancy, just a black, stretchable fabric to cover up. After passing the undergarments, Vena’s eyes locked onto a jacket nearby.

Oh my god! This is the cutest jacket I’ve ever seen! Not that I remember much. But still! Oh my god, I need it!

In the coat section was a pale, form fitted aviator jacket with faux white fur. The white, bushy, fur was soft and silky, unlike most faux fur. The difference was very noticeable comparing it to others furs on other jackets. She tried it on and fell in love with the fur’s feel on her skin. She zipped it up and hooked the buckle along her hips.

Oh my god this feels so good! It’s so god damn comfortable! How does it look?

She jogged over to the mirror and posed.

Oh my god, this is my jacket! I’m never gonna leave it. It’s so damn cute. This is my favorite jacket, starting today.

She did a twirl and jogged back to where she was.

What was I doing again? Oh right, shoes...

She went to the corner of the store, grabbed some socks and looked over the shoes.

Let’s see. Something cute, something that matches. Damn, I probably need a running shoe.

She found a pair of running shoes she gravitated towards. They weren’t her favorite but they were the only ones she liked in the store. They were a light pink with a grey mesh and black sole. She found a box of them in her size using corresponding codes near the barcode. She quickly put them on and did a quick jog in place.

Good enough, I guess.

Feeling accomplished, Vena head outside. The sight of the dark blue sky gave her a refreshing feeling of freedom. She took in the air, loosened up her legs, arms, and neck, then put her hands on her hips. She felt like she could conquer anything. That was until she was reintroduced with the village’s grim scene of death. A breeze akin to the cold chill of death topped off the mood killing atmosphere.

Jeez, dead people. I’m sorry but you sure know how to ruin the mood… Wait, that’s a soldier. Maybe he’s got a gun or something. Even a knife would be useful. Or I could just leave. That sounds good. An adult would look for weapons though. Man, this is gonna suck. This sucks.

The soldiers ahead of her either had a weapon on or near them. After taking a deep breath to steel her nerves, she walked towards the closest soldier. On his back with glazed eyes, the soldier had an assault rifle in his right hand laying along the ground.

Oh god, this is disturbing. I’m sorry Mr. Dead-Man. What if he moves. Don’t breath in the air. Dead man particles. Please don’t move. If I breathe in, I’m gonna throw up. Gross. I don’t wanna throw up… A big gun. Too big though. I want to be able to move. I don’t know how to use it anyway. Oh my god, okay, time to woman up.

Despite there being no visible wounds or blood, she still didn’t want to touch the body. She shut her brain off so she could combed through the jacket and pants of the soldier.

A smaller gun. Don’t know how to use this either but smaller means easier, right? Yeah, definitely. I’ll figure it out. Regular gun this time. Bigger gun next time. After I know where people are.

She took a pistol off of the soldier’s leg, unzipped her right jacket pocket and zipped it back up after storing the weapon. While looking through the rest of the soldier’s pockets and pouches, she found corresponding ammo for her new weapon and stowed it in her left jacket pocket. She left everything else alone, thinking it was all useless stuff to her, and stood up. The weapon and ammo hugging her body was tight but comfortable enough. She took one last look at the soldier.

That wasn’t too bad. So dramatic. I need to do better… I didn’t know you. But I guess everyone deserves a prayer. If not for this life, then for the next.

She took a deep, relaxing breath and said a little pray for the soldier in front of her, then for the rest of the soldiers and village. Sadness enveloped her for that moment. After a time of stillness, she felt ready to move on.

After under an hour of walking outside of Sopyne, less than three kilometers, Vena made it to the next town. She found time passed by rather quickly for her while traveling in silence. She passed a sign with the city’s name: Shyrokyne. After some time exploring, Vena came to the conclusion that there wasn’t much beauty to be found in this village. She would describe it as a place of conflict and struggle. The roads were made of mud and dirt. Buildings were either collapsed or damaged, filled with holes and decorated with trash and rubble. Trenches seemed to be strategically placed along the flat lands available. A berm was blocking the town’s muddied beach and abandoned military equipment, such as tanks, trucks, artillery and weapons, trickled throughout the village.

Jesus, what the hell happened here? Damn. Some kind of civil war or something? Or maybe it has something to do with those tree monsters. Crazy.

Vena found bodies here too but most were soldiers and none were left in plain sight. She avoided the bodies and tried playing around with the military equipment, avoiding anything that could potentially get herself killed. She didn’t want to get scolded again by the voice in her head again.

What was she anyway? A demon? A witch? Some kind of telepath? All totally possible. Especially after what I’ve seen. Was she inside of me? Is she inside of me right now?

Chills ran down Vena’s spine. Unlike before, these chills felt familiar, normal. Then a random idea hit her: she could steal a car! Inconveniently, every vehicle Vena checked was too damaged to start up, so she was forced to continue on foot.

Of course none of them work. Why would it work? Don’t want things to be too convenient.

Vena pouted for a while as she made her way out of the town.

I bet that last village had some running cars. I can’t believe my brain waited till now to give me the idea. Well, seeing those poor towns people really fucked with me. So sad. And sudden. And unexpected…

Vena cheered up halfway to the next town, Bezimenne. She was glad to see that this next city was absent of death and blood.

Wow, look at how big this city is. Finally, some tall buildings. But the quietness is giving me flashbacks. I’m sure it’s fine, but still. It’s hard to forget what happened the last time there was a quietness. At least the blue sky is brightening the place up… I wonder why some cities have people and some are like this? I think evacuation again. But then, why wouldn’t the cities in between be empty? I could understand the soldiers, but all those regular people. Why didn’t they run? Well, it looked like they tried. Did they wait too long to evacuate? I need answers! It’s killin me… I gotta find where everyone went.

This town was the biggest of the two she has seen so far, although that wasn’t saying much. The sky painted the village in cool colors, revealing the town’s beauty and subtle detail.

This is by far the prettiest town so far. I’d definitely vacation here. The brick and stone ground. The architecture and statues. And this beach is the prettiest. I love it.

Halfway through the village, she was noticing quite a few hotels. One in particular had brick red walkways leading to bridges, stairs, and an open central area with a fountain of playful stone cherubs. More stairs lead further towards a giant pool and the beach far off to the distance.

Oh my god, I can’t believe how nice this place is. Bezimenne? I wonder if I’ll ever get to come back to see any of these places again. When things are normal. I really love this sightseeing. Not my main goal but it sure is memorable. I’m liking it. I bet if I didn’t have the endurance I do it’d be a different story. I could go on forever.

Vena spent a little time hopping on, off, and across buildings, enjoying the verticality of the town’s buildings. As time flies when you’re having fun, her time in this village went by rather quickly and put her in high spirits. She jogged and bounded to and past the next town, which was close by. She ended up passing the town of Samsonove in minutes before slowing to a leisure stroll. Being small with only four or five blocks of residence along the coast, the area was surrounded by miles of farmland.

I guess they’d call this the countryside. Nothing but farmers here. Very boring. I guess I’m not a farm girl…

After passing the blocks of houses, Vena noticed a familiar sight: holes in the ground where trees once stood. Vena gave a long sigh, “God damn it.”

You have got to be kidding me…

Tracing the road with her eyes, Vena couldn’t see a single tree. She felt for her gun as she continued walking.

Man, how’s a gun gonna kill a tree? Makes me feel safe though… Maybe I could set them on fire somehow? I basically need a fucking flamethrower for that!

She paced deep in thought for a few minutes, hesitant to make any more progress.

Maybe I should ask the voice. I really don’t want to, but what if I have to? What if she’s the only one with answers? What if it’s the only way? But that pain… That pain… What if I knock myself out somehow? Sounds stupid. But it could be easy. I could just hold my breath… I’m gonna feel so dumb doing this.

Vena stopped to the side of the road and sat in a patch of cool, moist, browning, grass. Her fear was getting the best of her. She hugged her legs, leaned her forehead onto her knees and held her breath. She started by counting. She got to ten, then thirty, and then sixty.

Um, what the heck? This is taking way too long. Have I always been able to hold my breath like this? It really shouldn’t be this hard…

She got to one hundred and twenty, then one hundred and eighty.

Wow. Okay, something’s not right.

She lifted her head and breathed in fresh air through her nose as if she didn’t need it. After taking in a small bit of air and continuing to breathe as normal, she was thoroughly confused.

I feel like I haven’t lost any breath at all. Alright, let’s get serious.

She took a deep breath then tried to force it out while plugging her nose and mouth. She sat like that for a while and then felt the tiniest bit like she was turning red. It was still taking too long to pass out, so she relaxed and instantly started breathing in her normal rhythm.

Am I in a dream? Why the hell can I hold my breath for so long? This is creepy. And weird. I guess I’ll just add this to the list of things I can do.

Despite beginning to feel like a martyr, Vena was willing to make one last attempt. She grabbed both sides of her neck and began squeezing and pressing as hard as she could. She was blocking the blood flow to her brain and it was working; she felt her head and face getting hotter and fatter as blood pooled. Her eyes were feeling fat and heavy like they were bulging and being forced closed. Her sight blurred and darkened.

“Vena Serafini. You managed a way for me to communicate freely to you. Impressive,” the beautiful deep voice began, “Self-destructive, but impressive. My name is Grid.” A vision of Grid passed through Vena’s mind and sight, “With limited time, let us lay out the important points quickly. We are called spires. You might consider us spirits, although we are not. The wood creatures you will encounter are spires called barkers. They manipulate plants. They grow and heal using the nearby flora. They enjoy the sport of stealthily hunting and consume other creatures for pleasure. The heart in their chest cavity is their weakness, as is fire. They howl for nearby reinforcements. Next, an unfriendly spire of darkness follows you closely. Although the ability to sense it escapes you, you will begin to notice it in the future. Do not fret about it as of now, but stay cautious. This is all knowledge you will require to survive. My physical abilities include creation, shaping, and manipulation of fire. I was amongst the strongest in my dimension. I was a tactical fighter armed with two daggers. My strengths are my speed and elemental ability. My weaknesses include my physical strength and the element of water. It’s the element’s ability to consume heat that makes it lethal, so being wary of other elements that can do the same is wise. We are fusing into a single being called an evital: part human and part spire. You only have a fraction of my power right now. But with time and effort, everything that was once me will now be you. That is why I detailed my abilities to you. I apologize but this was the only way for me to survive. It was not I who lifted your memories, but the dark spire I mentioned earlier. The fusion shouldn’t affected memories. The only way for you recover them is by the spire’s choosing. In the end Vena, stop running and fight.” Grid’s voice began fading at this point. Vena didn’t know if it was because her memory was hazy or because she started gaining consciousness. It was all like a dream, “Your body is a weapon. My daggers will find you. Evital power is literally in your veins. Use that knowledge to help control the power…“

Vena’s dream and the view of grass blurred and blended together as one. Her sight was spinning as she saw stars and dark colors in front of her eyes. She couldn’t control her body movements. She fell over trying to get up and rolled about on the floor as she tried to find her barings. As the stars and colors faded, her world became more clear and the spinning slowed. Her head was pounding. She held still and waited for the world to stop moving. Her many hands started to look like two. When she found she could focus on a single blade of grass, she relaxed and sat down. She took in a big breath of air and laid down.

That… Was crazy…