What Memory Remains

“Z…Ze…phar?” Alice mumbled, inaudible to anyone else.

“Alice…” He replied helplessly, resisting the urge to embrace her. Not trusting himself, he even took a step back in fear, the flames still burning hotly from within him and all around. “Alice! You have to get up!” The effort it took to contain the blaze was getting harder, but if there was any chance she could live, he was taking it. It was impossible for him to get her out physically, and a spell would take too much concentration that he simply didn’t have.

“Wh-what’s going on?”

“Alice! You have…have to get out, now!”

“What’s….what’s wrong with you?!” She shot up from the table.

“Don’t worry…ab-about me!”

“Why are….you’re on fire.” She dropped down and moved towards him.

“Get away! Don’t touch me!”

“But you’re….”

“I’LL BE FINE YOU NEED TO GET OU…” At this, a column of fire shot to his left, catching a chair on fire. “Ahhhh…” There were tears in his eyes now, the fear of losing control growing more. Alice saw the desperation in his eyes, and felt the anguish of his mind and body.

“Let me help,” she said, and channeled her mind into his. Zenapharr felt her enter his mind, and his concentration instantly increased. The fire died down some, and Zenapharr relaxed for a second. Until something in him suddenly pushed her out, something involuntarily.

“What-what was that?” Alice said, reeling from the force.

“I don’t know…” Suddenly, he ahd to concentrate fully to contain the fire, and it was getting harder very quicikly. Another flame shot out, this time towards Alice and narrowly missed her. “Alice….you have to…get out!”

Even talking for him was now a strain. Not knowing what future awaited them, Alice locked eyes helplessly with his and uttered her last words to him right before she sprinted from the room…

Ten minutes later, a frantic Alice continued her trek through the halls, gasping and panting with the mental and physical effort. Not knowing the entire place by heart, she had to make a mental map by reading minds as she moved along while simultaneously convincing workers that they didn’t see her as she passed. The last thing she needed was guards stopping her just before everything was incinerated. Everything was so exhausting. Despite the fact that she recovered from the tranquilizer shot so quickly, the after-effects still left her drowsy. Only the thought of escaping death kept her moving.

She thought for a moment she was going to run out of energy when she suddenly realized she was at the first floor and one more hallway from the exit. By this time, she felt like a walking zombie stumbling and pulling herself like some mannequin with someone else pulling the strings. At the final door she needed to pass through to get to the foyer area, she breathed a sigh of relief thinking she’d actually make it.

When she got into the foyer, she was more than discouraged to find five guards waiting for her there.

“Prisoner, stop where you are!” One of them commanded, brandishing his firearm. Not feeling strong enough to control his thoughts, she had to think quickly.

“You need…to get out! This place….is going to go up in flames!” She shouted wearily. The guards’ faces seemed suspicious, and they all exchanged glances to see if they agreed she was telling the truth.

“She’s a psychic! She’s just messing with us! Detain her!” One of them shouted, and two fo them followed suit. As they neared her, she used the last of her energy to convince the two guards that other prisoners were attacking them, causing them to start brawling with each other. A third guard raised his firearm in preparation to shoot, but Alice swooned. The last thing she remembered before she passed out was the continual sounds of shouting and fighting, and then a voice she didn’t’ recognize just as her vision faded to black.

* * *

A weary and ashen-faced Zenapharr writhed and pounded the floor, straining to contain the fire that begged to be let out. It wasn’t just a fire anymore…he felt his body was trying to completely explode. He didn’t want to tell Alice, because it meant that he was going to die. He hardly believed it himself, not having felt the fear of dying before. Yet, he just knew.

The odd thing about this fire was knowledge seemed to pour into his mind, knowledge that seemed to come from nowhere. This fire almost seemed to make his bloodline come alive, revitalizing the Sarophan blood within him. How he knew all of this he was not completely sure, but he was convinced just as he pushed Alice from his mind as a reflex that something else was at work now. Unfortunately this something else was taking over and he could not contain it.

The spontaneous magical fire was normal…something a Sarophan did when they were angry. But it was different, because Zenapharr had never done it before and was not accustomed to controlling it. To add to this, he had never experienced the anguish and emotional torrent as he had , believing his dearest friend had died. And while he was relieved to see her alive, her impending death along with his own was on the horizon

Sweating from the strain, he thought about everything. His life…the eyes of all those that he had killed. But not the assigned killings….the ones he enjoyed. While some did deserve it, the ones that didn’t haunted him. The shame of it all came crashing down, and the emotional torment matched his physical and mental torment. And somehow, despite all that he had done, he had somehow gotten through it and was able to open himself again. He didn’t know how long Alice had…in fact, he didn’t even know if she was strong enough to make it out in the first place. But he held on fast to the hope that if he held on as long as possible, that she could make it.

A rush of fire soon came rushing out of him, and he screamed in agony as he continued to fight to hold it. Now, he felt it…the entire building was on fire. With every last strength he could muster, he dragged himself across the floor. Every movement felt like hot pins and needles coursing through him, and after what felt like forever he made it to the wall that would face outside. He managed to manipulate the existing fire to melt the wall , forming a small hole that he peered through.

His keen eyes saw a train in the distance, and he scanned the forest for movement. Relieved, he saw two figures moving through it, and caught a glimpse of long blonde hair. There were so many trees, he couldn’t make out her face, but he was sure it was her. Somehow, he just knew. Sinking to the floor, he looked up and thanked whoever was there that she made it out. But he also did not know how far his fire would reach.

”Just need….a little bit longer,” he huffed through gritted teeth. The pain was excruciating , and his muscles which were so rarely scathed were now throbbing and sore beyond belief. His breathing was becoming more and more ragged, and he held on to the picture of Alice’s soft hair and those sanguine, blue eyes.

“Let go…” Something in him whispered.

“N-n-n-o….” he gasped, pleading with it. It was not the dark thing from before, this was….different somehow.

“Become one with the ash. You must let go.’

”I-I can’t…leave her. She needs me.”

“That’s a lie.”

“You’re right…I….I need her….”

“Just trust me…let go.”

Zenapharr could not explain, but he felt the sincerity and power of This Voice’s words. They didn’t make sense completely, but he somehow knew it was true. Perhaps it was the same knowledge that had been seeping into his mind from earlier. Yet, the words were true.

There was nothing he could now. Nothing of his own power, his own will could change anything. All that was left was to have faith.

Just before he gave in, he thought of Alice’s last words to him.

“I love you…Dad.”

Many tears dried as quickly as they formed from the heat, and with great disdain and a new found hope, he took a deep breath and succumbed to the fire. The process began, and he felt the burning build more and more…and then he completely blew apart as he exploded outward in a raging nova of fire and light.

In an instant, Zenapharr the Sarophan, The Burning One…knew no more…

* * *

“Alice? Alice? Are you alright?” The dreamy voice resounded in Alice’s mind. She couldn’t see anything yet, but she recognized it as the one she heard just as she passed out. Wearily, she opened her eyes to see a strikingly handsome man kneeled in front of her with eyes intense with concern. There was the feel of wood on her back, and she found it was a tree that she was propped up against. The more she looked around, she realized she was in the forest outside of the NOSRAD facility.

“Who? Are you?”

“I’m Sade. A friend of Zenapharr’s.”

“What happened?”

“You’re safe now. I got you out.”

“But, the guards….”

“They’re….they’re all dead.”

“You killed them?”

“Not exactly…I incapacitated them before I saved you. I’m a special agent for Minerva.”

“So how did….?”

“Look,” he pointed behind her. Alice shifted her body to look behind the tree where Sade pointed. The NOSRAD facility was completely engulfed in flames, and they caught glimpses of employees and prisoners alike jumping from windows or running outside, but all were unable to escape the fire that ate them alive.

“Oh my…” She said, horrified at the scene. Realizing what she was seeing, her put his hand over her eyes and turned her back to face him.

“We need to get further away…I have a feeling it may get worse than this.”

“How can it…”

“There’s no time to explain…I couldn’t carry you any further. That was why I stopped here. But we’re not safe until we get at least a couple of miles from here. Do you think you can do that?”

“I think so…”

“I’ve got my own private train waiting for us. If we can get there, we can make sure we’re far enough away. Let me help you up.”

Sade reached down and helped the young girl up and made sure she was good to walk. As they made their way through the woods, they heard a loud whoosh sound followed by a surge of heat on their backs. They looked back for a second to see the flames on the building growing larger. This motivated them to move faster, and at a good time as Alice’s strength was returning quickly. Before they knew it they came upon a small steam engine train that seemed to await their return.

“Horace, start ’er up!!” Sade shouted as he led Alice in the front door. They took a seat as the train hissed and hitched forward , slowly picking up momentum. A lump built in Alice’s throat as she helplessly looked out of the window, having no idea what condition Zenapharr was in. To add to this, she was way outside this facility, which serverd as a prison to her but was also everything she ever knew. Unable to hold in her emotions anymore, she wept into her hands. Sade draped his arm around her and rubbed her back, knowing his own child would want the same comfort. Oddly enough, he felt just as helpless as she.

The two watched in uncomfortable silence as the train rolled away, and two minutes in they heard a loud BANG, followed by a quake that affected even the train. For a moment, they thought they’d be thrown off the track, but the conductor Horace shouted a reassurance from the front. The quake didn’t last long, and they remained unharmed and still on-track.

When they regained their composure, they looked back to see a plume of smoke and ash filling the sky, and seemingly nothing left of the space that was once the NOSRAD facility. The two exchanged a look of worry and back to the scene of destruction. Nearby trees were singed, but miraculously the forest did not catch fire. Whether it be due to the fire being magical they could not say. All they knew was exactly what they didn’t know, and that was whether Zenapharr was actually still alive or not…