Raining Fire
Authors note: This is the first story that I have ever publicly submitted. If you see an area for me to improve on, feel free to leave a comment. Anyways enjoy
The date was July 29th 2009. The sun was high above the crowed streets of New York City. It was a blistering 92 degrees outside with an ever so rare breeze. Everything seemed to be going as it usually would. The newspapers in the stands that lined the sidewalks warned of the most recent threat of nuclear devastation against the US. The TV and radio stations preached about the economy, which had about as much stability as wet paper towel. The traffic in the streets was moving at its usual snails pace, with a wall of slow moving vehicles. Furs of all kinds walked quickly through the streets as they rushed to get to their destination.
10 year old Scar held on to his mothers white, fur covered hand as they walked through the streets. A cool breeze blew by, making the short black fur on his thin arms sway. A shiver ran up his spine as the cool air hit him, his thin black short sleeve shirt and knee length, olive green, cargo shorts did little good against the breeze. He always had preferred warm whether. His mother wore a sundress decorated with pink flower petals scattered over it.
"Hey mom, where are we going again?" he asked in a somewhat innocent tone.
His mother looked down at him with a look of sheer annoyance. Her yellowish green eyes looked straight into his. She towered over him, standing at 6ft 4 inches, while he was only 5 feet 9 inches. "I've told you 10 times already. Did you forget AGAIN?"
"Yes..." the child replied sheepishly looking up at his mother. "I'm sorry. I just forgot." He shrugged his shoulders.
She let go of his hand and knelt down until she was at eye level with Scar. "Ok but this is the last ti..." She was cut off by a strange thunderous roaring noise coming from the sky.
Everyone around them turned their heads toward the sky, trying to see what was causing it. A wave of gasps and murmurs could be heard clearly.
Scar glanced curiously as well, wondering desperately what all of the fuss was about. The sky was filled with hundreds of large objects that left thick trails of pure black smoke behind them. To him they looked like giant fireworks or like some sort of strange plane.
"Mom? Mom what are those things?" He asked her, pointing his clawed finger up to the sky. After a few seconds of silence he looked back at his mother.
A look of pure horror had consumed her face as she stood. He waited a few seconds but she did not reply. "no" she finally whispered to herself, "Good god. This can't be happening."
"Mom? What is going on? Please tell me!" He pleaded. He shook with fear at his mother's reaction. He had never seen her like this before. The normally calm and collected woman was now shaking and repeating the same statement over and over again. "MOM!" He grabbed his mother by the arms and began to shake her, trying to make her snap out of it, but to no avail.
Then it happened. One of the large objects had plummeted from the sky and hit the ground about three blocks away, causing a massive and violent explosion. The ground shook violently and a strong wave of energy swept past him, easily knocking him off of his feet. Shrapnel, debris and the charred remains of those closer to the blast where sent flying in all directions, imbedding themselves in the sides of buildings and vehicles. A cloud of dust had surrounded him. He was on the verge of tears as the sounds of more explosions and the sound of screams filled his ears.
"MOM? MOM WHERE ARE YOU?" he cried as he tried to get back on his feet. His fur was matted and in disarray, covered in dust. The hem and sleeves of his shirt were tattered and slightly singed. His shorts were covered in a thick layer of black soot that blended into his fur and shirt. His body was sore with a few minor cuts and bruises from the fall.
Tears began to flow rapidly out of his eyes as he looked frantically for his mother. As the dust began to settle, he realized just how grim his situation was. Chunks of dead bodies and debris littered the ground, fires roared and spread from building to building. The air around him reeked of smoke and charred flesh. He continued to stand in place as he looked at the hell that had once been his home. However his ordeal was not over yet.
"Scaaaaar...." A weak voice coughed from behind him. His heart sank. "Heeeelp me."
"MOM!" He yelled, quickly turning to the direction of his mother's voice. He quickly wished that he hadn't. His mother sat leaning against brick wall about 20 feet away. Without thinking he ran towards her. That's when he saw just how badly she was injured. A large portion of her fur was singed and burnt, leaving the skin underneath completely exposed but far from unharmed. Large patches of skin were charred and blackened, flakes of black ash blew off of her with each gust of wind. Red patches that oozed clear fluids encircled them. She had several large gashes all over her body. What was left of the flower pattered sundress was blackened and covered in the crimson colored blood. The worst injury of all was a piece of steel an inch in diameter that had run through her stomach, pinning her to the wall.
"Scar..." she said weakly. She coughed, forcing a bit of blood to trickle out of her mouth. "I'm glad that you are alright. I wish I could say the same about myself." She gave a slight chuckle before wincing in pain. He stood next to her then kneed down, looking for any way to help her.
"Mom, just hold on. I'll go get..."
She weakly lifted her arm and put a finger to his lips cutting him off mid sentence. "Honey," she said softly, tears started to trickle from her eyes as she looked deeply into his eyes. "It's too late for me. I love you scar, I always have and always will."
"NO!" He shouted, leaning over quickly to hug her. "Don't say things like that. You can't leave me. You're the only one that I have left." His father had died two years ago in a drunk driving accident, leaving him to live with his mother.
"I'm sorry Scar. I'm so sorry." She wrapped her arms around him weakly, laying her head to rest on his shoulders. She knew that she was slipping away. "Just please be safe..." her voice trailed off and her strength in her arms faded into nothing, her arms dropping slowly to the ground. Her head rested heavily on his shoulders.
"I love you mom..." he whispered as he sobbed. He sat there for what seemed like an eternity with his arms around his mother's corpse. He could smell the sickening odor of her burnt flesh. It was nearly unbearable. He finally pushed away and slowly got to his feet. He reached up and wiped away the tears with his left hand, turning away he started to walk away.