Fire and rain collided. Screams of horror and madness clashed with the sound of the roaring wind. People of all ages ran, men, women, children. Some escaped terror, some left behind. All died.598Please respect copyright.PENANApXzyv0rJSG
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Bodies upon bodies, the mountain of vacant vessels grew, a river of red flowing from it.598Please respect copyright.PENANAJZYJcoIPFj
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Rain fell harder, flashes of lightning illuminating the fresh blood. The roaring thunder boomed in the sky, like the sound of angels and demons in spiritual battle. Like the sound of crying. Like the sound of screaming.598Please respect copyright.PENANADA88DsijoH
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Like the sound of a loving King, watching His children suffer horrible deaths, enraged and in tears, crying out:598Please respect copyright.PENANAMagXRc0Fmq
“Why do you endlessly torture my people, My children? Why, cruel and horrible World, why do you not even try to listen to the cries? Surely, I do not cry for just My Church, I cry for you, the world, the persecutors. A celebratory reunion will be held as My children leave their pains and sorrows behind, as they come home to the place they belong. Angels will sing them here, World. You have tortured my children, but they have won. World, you have lost, and your sin brings Me to tears.”598Please respect copyright.PENANAIfYbXIvWAI
A figure ran through the crimson rain, holding a small child in his arms. Dark silhouettes of the trees swayed in the mighty storm, scaring the already frightened child.598Please respect copyright.PENANAq5CBrzfdKJ
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The figure and the child arrived at a gazebo that was covered in vines and thorns, with chipped paint and wood as its scars from its battle with time.598Please respect copyright.PENANAMNB1dUsUNw
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“I cannot stay here, so you need to stay until chaos dies down.” said the figure, setting down the small child on a bench that resided in the gazebo.598Please respect copyright.PENANAH4f26QfSFt
“But why? Why...?” began the little child, trying to wipe away its tears. No matter how hard the child tried, the tears kept falling, just like the endless rain.598Please respect copyright.PENANApiBaszrEXi
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The figure came closer to the child, wiping away its falling tears. The figure smiled sadly, rain falling on his face.598Please respect copyright.PENANAwHuaRum0fh
“Hey, I will meet you again, in your future, and I will meet you again, in my past. Until then, keep on...and...”598Please respect copyright.PENANALikRnAq5sP
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The voice faded out, the rest of the words forgotten with the child and the dead. Once again, everyone was gone.598Please respect copyright.PENANA6PzWieZvXV
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Everyone died.598Please respect copyright.PENANATrb3mdAUYq
Migi opens his eyes. The school bell pulled him back into reality. Classmates packed their things to leave school.598Please respect copyright.PENANA6dVQtt3JUS
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It was finally the long awaited winter break that Migi was waiting on, and he could not wait to get out of the building so that he could begin his winter of doing nothing.598Please respect copyright.PENANALXKdbSq0uS
At least, that was what Migi kept telling himself.598Please respect copyright.PENANAlRmkaJAshR
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Despite being the day of freedom that Migi waited for, he did not rush himself out of the classroom.598Please respect copyright.PENANANB5mtfvU7R
Instead, he sat at his desk, quiet.598Please respect copyright.PENANA5rQGq2y7Wd
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‘Sheesh...of all the repeating dreams...why that dream?’ thought Migi, touching his forehead. He sighed.598Please respect copyright.PENANAAq9aYGsjiJ
‘It never happened. That child was never saved. That person never existed.’598Please respect copyright.PENANAWL3H2oZwwq
598Please respect copyright.PENANATmOihiFH9t
He rested his head on his desk, looking to the classroom’s large window as he did so. Hidari stood in front of the window, looking outside, waiting.598Please respect copyright.PENANApcp8cSoFkP
598Please respect copyright.PENANAJShjxQP84o
‘That’s right....Tori and Hidari have been friends for a month now, and Tori hasn’t been to school in a week....’598Please respect copyright.PENANAuexDHiglmC
598Please respect copyright.PENANAoDpG3HTKp4
Migi got up from his desk and walked towards Hidari.598Please respect copyright.PENANAJ4B0YbF9Gx
She had looked so sad and alone, void of all emotions. The beautiful young girl was so dark, so quiet. It was almost as if the fact that Tori was absent was like she had lost a part of herself.598Please respect copyright.PENANARyCZyiXfME
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The two had become so close.598Please respect copyright.PENANAvNaEd1cLyT
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It was obvious that she missed Tori, every time his name was mentioned she perked up a bit, only to realize that only his name was there, not him himself.598Please respect copyright.PENANA8ceNTa04XB
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“Hey, he’s probably just sick,” said Migi. He wasn’t trying to sound encouraging, and it showed in his voice.598Please respect copyright.PENANAVZuQz2MHgW
“I miss him,” said Hidari.598Please respect copyright.PENANAwVMVH1Kp68
598Please respect copyright.PENANAZPYdxrqRCJ
Migi looked at her. Her voice was so cold and emotionless, Migi could have sworn that it was the snowy weather outside speaking instead of her.598Please respect copyright.PENANAd1G3FyWp3o
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“I miss him,” began Hidari again. “I fear that he is more than sick, or that something has gone wrong. I don’t blame him...if he doesn’t want to talk to me and be my friend anymore. I’m boring and I never talk. I’m sure it’s something I did...”598Please respect copyright.PENANA2Sd8gO27vm
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Hidari held her hands tightly together. She was shaking.598Please respect copyright.PENANAUp9JNRgYJL
“I’m sure that you aren’t the problem,” began Migi. “I...”598Please respect copyright.PENANAMdQTXjNqzN
598Please respect copyright.PENANA9oMRKuZH1d
Migi noticed Hidari looking at him. Her eyes were filled with a worry and fear that seemed to suffocate all hope and positivity that could ever be found in her situation.598Please respect copyright.PENANAZg4ixquJNR
Migi sighed, reluctance shining through it.598Please respect copyright.PENANAEy2wYTKzHY
598Please respect copyright.PENANAIxVXvasBPB
“...I’ll help you find him.” he spoke, giving into the sadness in Hidari’s eyes.
The two walked through the snow.598Please respect copyright.PENANAyk9JaQ1URo
A great silence surrounded them, a silence that only the cold understood the most. The freezing winter air cut sharp into the two, despite no wind flow. Everything in the town hibernated, it was like no one lived in it.598Please respect copyright.PENANAGq7BYUZIbx
598Please respect copyright.PENANACR7kIvtlty
’This feels like it is gonna be a wild goose chase...′ began Migi’s thoughts. ‘For all we know he could be...’598Please respect copyright.PENANAQOMucyAl3t
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Migi felt someone looking at him. Hidari stared at him with glassy eyes at the brink of tears. It was like she knew what he was going to say. It was like she had thought the same thing he did.598Please respect copyright.PENANAvF3C7vNRCt
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Like she had read his mind.598Please respect copyright.PENANAzxlx5q91Xp
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Yells of children came from up ahead on the snowy path than Hidari and Migi began to pave. The voices were familiar, voices of classmates.598Please respect copyright.PENANAAHFDI3aIol
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The voice of Tori.598Please respect copyright.PENANAmHoTi8GRfq
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Hidari ran towards the voices, Migi following slowly behind.598Please respect copyright.PENANAJ6z9niO2sC
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“You’re not well!” yelled a boy. He had blue hair that went to the top of his shoulders.598Please respect copyright.PENANAQqfGt0LaNl
Migi had seen the boy before, be he never noticed the boy’s hair color before.598Please respect copyright.PENANAhYzEPsaZNM
“You just woke up today, just come back and take it easy, besides, do you even know where you are going?!” said another boy, who had pink hair that was the same length as the blue haired boy’s.598Please respect copyright.PENANAUbFnGrJMgM
“I told you, I’m fine! Now shut up and leave me alone so that I can go to the destination where it all ends for me!” replied Tori.598Please respect copyright.PENANAKlEQi8Sv9I
He wore hospital clothes and had bare feet, his tone of voice was unlike any tone Migi had ever heard him use before. His words, his voice, they were colder than ice, his golden eye, sharp and filled with anger.598Please respect copyright.PENANAuXQy5sqx61
“You need to rest more!” began a boy with short, white hair. “If you don’t, you’ll...”598Please respect copyright.PENANAvhLbv64AIR
“Just shut up, I don’t care anymore!” replied Tori. He put his hands over his ears.598Please respect copyright.PENANAb4piyrRq16
“Tori!” yelled Hidari. She ran closer to Tori.598Please respect copyright.PENANAXXmFMm35sn
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Tori looked at her, his eyes filled with anger and stress, but at the same time, it almost seemed that a small existence of relief glowed in his emotions.598Please respect copyright.PENANAphzeEz8qIm
“Are you okay?” began Hidari, worried. “I was worried when you didn’t come to school...I...”598Please respect copyright.PENANAwWHxvey1Zp
“I don’t need your help.” interrupted Tori. His voice was shaky.598Please respect copyright.PENANA1NaNtrk7KE
“I don’t need anyone to help me,” began Tori again. “I just need to die...”598Please respect copyright.PENANAKZQj7sQC2L
“But...” began Hidari.598Please respect copyright.PENANAZRXWgkPbeN
“Just leave me alone, or you’ll be the next one to die!” yelled Tori.598Please respect copyright.PENANA7uqPTR3Qui
598Please respect copyright.PENANACAvfwS6VEH
His eye was filled with tears of anger and sorrow, and it looked that any moment, Tori would break down. Migi and the two boys looked at him, the three boys “I...I’m sorry...” began Tori. His voice shook as he looked at the snowy ground.598Please respect copyright.PENANA8Xj9vqwFYy
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“I didn’t ask if you wanted help! I wouldn’t care if you told me to leave, I wouldn’t listen!” began Hidari.598Please respect copyright.PENANA6HdCJW4c7A
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Migi looked at her.598Please respect copyright.PENANAFZHJspqVT4
She was speaking louder than Migi had ever heard her speak before.598Please respect copyright.PENANApcfa4keSTH
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“I don’t care that you don’t think that you need help...you’re my friend, and I want to help you no matter what. However, if you keep telling yourself that you should die....”598Please respect copyright.PENANAOkudsNxJ4I
Her voice began to crack and she began to shake.598Please respect copyright.PENANAFv62aU54DC
“If you keep saying that you should die, then I will never forgive you!” yelled Hidari.598Please respect copyright.PENANAwsXtokWKyF
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Everyone looked towards Hidari. Her eyes were filled with tears of anger and sorrow, confusion and wavering strength that was being eaten by her negative emotions.598Please respect copyright.PENANArW7aL9vuAL
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Tori looked at her, speechless and shaking.598Please respect copyright.PENANAYhFypsKSGt
“I’m sorry…” whispered Tori.598Please respect copyright.PENANAnOMNSOiPv9
He turned, running away from everyone as fast as he could.598Please respect copyright.PENANAGVVZM1sl2l
“Tori!” yelled the three boys, running after him.598Please respect copyright.PENANAVKgdFy2nlO
Hidari stood still, looking to the ground. Migi walked closer to Hidari.598Please respect copyright.PENANA3TlVob9qg2
“Hey...he just needs to be left alone. It’s not our business to know what’s going on,” said Migi.598Please respect copyright.PENANAkhxnN2MGZq
“How can you say that...?” whispered Hidari.598Please respect copyright.PENANASbccQT0L4B
Migi looked to her. She held tight to her skirt’s fabric, so tight than if she had just enough strength, she could rip right through it.598Please respect copyright.PENANAfmvOd3AETR
“How can you say that it’s not our business?” asked Hidari, her voice shaking with anger.598Please respect copyright.PENANAAwGnK6XAH8
She looked at Migi with eyes filled with pain.598Please respect copyright.PENANAqEdernX0pJ
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“Something is the matter, and I cannot just let him say that he has to do die without knowing why he said that. I’m going to look for him...and I don’t need your opinion, you don’t care anyway!”598Please respect copyright.PENANAODqgrbFg1Y
She then ran off, leaving Migi alone in the frigid winter snow.598Please respect copyright.PENANAB1kmmVHman
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A place where his heart seemed to belong.
A small house stood alone, or so it looked.598Please respect copyright.PENANA0tgn8w6TjB
All the other houses looked vacant of any proof of inhabitants. Inside of the house, strange but beautiful paintings took their place on walls, accompanied by small cabinets and loose papers. Bookshelves covered in old books lined the walls. A desk and table held strange vials and herbs, along with ink and more loose papers.598Please respect copyright.PENANAQdIrEEHW7p
In a small room lit by a fading fire, two figures sat.598Please respect copyright.PENANAZaTeYzTWXh
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“Are you sure that it’s time?” began a voice of a woman. “What if it doesn't work? What if...”598Please respect copyright.PENANALTfmqpJDkE
“What if I’m wrong? I am never wrong,” began the voice of another woman.598Please respect copyright.PENANA4q8RAS6QSk
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The first woman remained silent.598Please respect copyright.PENANApGdYidHJKC
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“The tables have turned,” began the second woman. “Not only have they been separated, but so has everyone else. The children have been wrecked and ruined. The best thing to do is show them the mirror that we have been trying to hide from them for so long.”598Please respect copyright.PENANANUX164CgNe
“I’m willing to take the risks that this will bring. Are you?”598Please respect copyright.PENANAzkmsE3ERG1
The first woman sighed a shaky sigh.598Please respect copyright.PENANAgaiuFEhSFz
“Yes...I am,” she replied.
Migi sat on a bench in the small gazebo near the park. He could not sleep, and it wasn’t because of the frigid weather. His mind raced with thoughts of the events of that afternoon.598Please respect copyright.PENANAhKlTUnKpTQ
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Tori’s yells.598Please respect copyright.PENANAAs42vENiew
Hidari’s responses.598Please respect copyright.PENANA0BiMF2nFQg
Tori’s running away.598Please respect copyright.PENANAeiwll2IVwC
Hidari’s anger.598Please respect copyright.PENANAE59DjXOo6M
Their tears.598Please respect copyright.PENANAFBZFsiua5p
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‘She’s right...I don’t care,’ thought Migi.598Please respect copyright.PENANA2rSwMHBbfP
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He looked to the sky. Snow fell silently, leaving Migi all alone with the voice inside his head.598Please respect copyright.PENANAB7ijeuz1vk
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’However...for some reason, her saying it...it irked me...'598Please respect copyright.PENANA8k7qpiTWvI
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Something yanked at Migi’s jacket.598Please respect copyright.PENANA0PnspW8PW6
He looked down.598Please respect copyright.PENANAybNvRb9HIi
A small, golden creature with long ears and a tail. It had six wings, three on each side and was metallic.598Please respect copyright.PENANAKc8pLeaNG5
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“What do you want?” asked Migi, his voice tired.598Please respect copyright.PENANA02fvFHG8V0
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The creature did not respond, rather, it kept pulling at him. Migi sighed, getting up to follow the strange creature.598Please respect copyright.PENANAszCjkeektz
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Migi arrived in a field that resided between the park and the gazebo.598Please respect copyright.PENANAgk31Q8DdoY
He spotted familiar faces. The faces of his classmates. He spotted his teacher.598Please respect copyright.PENANAqEOY57Wu9j
He spotted Tori.598Please respect copyright.PENANAXfeB7yRLaf
He saw Hidari.598Please respect copyright.PENANA1nKKUJnObC
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′What is everyone doing here? It’s the middle of the...′598Please respect copyright.PENANALkJByJFVXt
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Migi’s thoughts were cut off.598Please respect copyright.PENANA7yvYEZaS4p
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The ground began to shake and break from under him, a bright light shining on everyone.598Please respect copyright.PENANAl1aBqsqqVm
Screams of classmates filled the air as they began to fade into the light.