Chapter 25- DISASTER IN WESTERN REGION

Prior to the storm occurrence, people living in areas close to the sea have been giving life-saving instructions to stay indoors and avoid stepping out at all costs as the sudden fore-cast showed that the storm might be the worst one to have ever occured. Although it was sudden, the announcement was still termed a bit timely by those living extremely close to the edge of the sea as it gave them some time to pack a thing or two of their belongings and flee into the inner part of the city considered to be safe because of its considerable long distance from the sea.

However, the originally calm state of the western area looked anything but calm at the moment. Cars were honking crazily and alarms kept blaring. The streets were jammed and people abandoned their cars and started fleeing. Within seconds, people started shouting as they've been separated from each other but no one could bear the thought of stopping as they could only hope that the missing ones were also running.

Looking back, one could see a monstrously high standing wall of water that was still growing taller, casting a huge shadow of death and destruction on the area. The long-distance from the sea originally thought to be safe proved futile in front of this growing tsunami.

As the race for life continued, deafening sounds of continuous striking of thunderbolts, simultaneously lighting up a vast area of the sky from afar, travelled down to their ears. This successfully added despair to their weary souls.They had to get out fast!

Why wasn't the government doing anything?! Some despaired as the little hope they had for help got crushed. Actually, the government had taken action and dispatched special vans specially designed for evacuation purposes but they were either not enough, or those people were just still too far behind in the race.

The mighty soundwaves from the thunderstrikes conducting their businesses afar, kept beating into their eardrums and added to the tempo of the race.

"Out of my way!" A burly man pushed some people at his front apart and a throng followed in his wake.

"No, Abi!!" The voice of a boy could be heard as he shouted for someone in the stampede.

"Abigail!!!" He shouted again, looking around and on catching sight of a red doll on the ground with a white little hand clutching it, he started running back. The little girl was being pushed around in the stampede and was starting to sustain injuries. She was shouting for someone but her voice wasn't loud enough.

A hand slightly bigger than hers grabbed her and pulled her as they joined the race again but they've fallen quite far back.

"Kylie!" The little girl's voice rang with glee, and it was finally audible. Her voice was akin to the beautiful chiming of divine bells. "Kylie, why did you leave me alone?" She said again, sounding sad. "You don't always like bringing me with you outside. I thought you wouldn't come back early, but I'm happy you did." She said, starting with a sad tone, up to a disappointed one and finally ending in a happy one. Every word she uttered sounded like a musical note with different crescendos. "Why are there so many people too Kylie?"

'Her mental condition is getting worse if she can't even realize what grave danger we're all in.' Kylie thought as he ran and explained how they were separated not that he left her alone. He was surprisingly fleet-footed as he jumped on cars, running on them and the more surprising thing was that the little girl was no different as she followed suit with her hands in his.

His clothe was a bit tattered while Abi's own was surprisingly okay. Although it doesn't look like it's of the best quality, her white dress was something anyone in the lowest level of an average class could buy. Thus, it was evident that she was at least taken care of.

The special emergency vans had all left, packed to the brim with people. Thus, ordinary buses were left behind but people didn't care as they rushed into the few buses that were getting ready to start off.

It was dark now and people were all putting on their flashlights as most of the public lamps went off.

All this happened within few minutes and the tsunami which was building momentum finally decided it has given them enough time. It started crashing down.

Various screams and cries were heard and some people became monsters as they couldn't take it anymore and ran over others with their vehicles, fleeing.

With a heart beating fast, the boy turned to the little girl. "Abi, climb unto my back and hold tight. No matter what, don't let go."

"Uhn". She nodded and did as was told.

'I have no choice but to ignore the consequences and do this. Even though the duration is really short, it still gives us a chance at survival. Nobody's paying attention too.' Kyle thought as he inhaled deeply and bent down with one of his knees touching the ground.

Placing his fingers on the ground surface, he closed his eyes and made a short chant. " Metals in the earth, heed my call and send me your best. Lightweight metals for flight. Wing formation!"

His eyes flew open as his originally black pupils became multicolored and started rotating.

The earth seemed to truly hear his call as some dark liquid crawled out from the ground unto his body, going towards his back. "Do not touch her! Only form the wings." Kyle grunted through his teeth on sensing the life-like molted liquid going towards Abi.

Instantly, the molted metal finished gathering while the rest went back into the earth as Kyle moved his fingers, breaking the flesh contact he had with the ground.

That was his limit for now. Anymore and he would have a breakdown. He wanted to flee, not breakdown and become vulnerable in the midst of danger. He had someone to protect.

"Kylie!" Abi's musical voice sounded in an amazed tone. "You have..- she started again but was cut off.

"Shhh! Hold tight."

The screams around them increased as a huge shadow fell on the area.

"Kylieeee, there's a biiigg water above us. And it's.....smiling?? Kylie does water smile?" Abi questioned with an innocent confusion on her face.

Kyle however, had no time to answer her questions nor look around, since there was a pandemonium anyway.

The instant his flexible wings finished forming, Kyle lifted his right foot and stomped it on the ground, shooting into the sky and passing straight through the descending force of the crashing tsunami.

Within some seconds, they were flying fast in the dark sky. They were both wet and the whole process wasn't something his body could endure. He was starting to lose consciousness.

'Not now.' He thought, panicking. "Try bringing us somewhere safe." He suggested, struggling to stay conscious. Then the metallic wing gave a little bright sheen.

"What? The whole land's in danger?" His heart skipped a beat and even more when the wing started thinning out. They were starting to fall. "Wait! Try holding on a bit more and make us land without injury!" He anxiously called out and the thin wings gave a metallic sheen again. Once they were close to land, it suddenly left his back and wrapped around both of them, forming a flexible cocoon and reducing the impact of the fall to the minimum.

The moment they stopped rolling, it slid off their bodies and turned into a small ball, nudging the boy's head before sinking back into the ground.

The boy took a glance at Abi seeing that she wasn't chattering as usual only to discover that she had fainted and wasn't breathing. Gathering his willpower as he had no strength left, he performed a crooked CPR on her and she started breathing, her hands clutching the red doll by her side. She was still unconscious.

Some moments later, with a thoroughly shaking body, a boy could be seen dragging a little girl placed on large leaves into a cave nearby. There was a little fire lit by the boy to warm the cave

. He placed several other large leaves on her.

"One last thing. I can do this. I can't... faint yet." Kyle tried to encourage himself, kneeling on the ground once more. He placed a palm on the ground and this action alone made him spurt out some blood.

"I'm almost done!" He gritted his teeth.

"Metals in the earth, heed my call and send me your best. Dense metals for defense, thorny spiked barbs!"

He chanted, more blood spilling out of his mouth. There was no response. He repeated his chant and got no response still.

"Please!!" He shouted and another sudden wave of pain hit him. There was more blood spurting out of his mouth and he started gasping. His vision was starting to turn dark but he was still desperately holding on, with his palm on the ground and a shivering body.

Suddenly, huge dense metal rods sprang out of the ground with thorns covering the entire surface and outgrowth of spikes at various points of the body. They crossed over each other, interweaving to form a net-like structure with each space in the net occupied by sharp spikes. They kept growing until they were fused with the upper part of the cave's entrance. Fortunately, the cave wasn't too large or the process might fail due to the summoner's condition.

"Try holding on till dawn. Down to a bug, nothing is allowed....to come in." Kyle whispered his last order, falling to the ground.

The barrier gave a metallic sheen but the recipient didn't see it as he had finally given in to the impatient darkness wanting to welcome him since he was up in the sky.