Flare of Hope

There's not much to tell about my life. I know that it may seem like my life would be rather exciting, and at this point it is. However, it wasn't always this way. I had a rather typical childhood. You know, white picket fence, all that jazz. I had two loving parents, and a big brother. A few dogs, a cat or two. Yep, the American dream. Shortly after I started high school, my brother was long gone. He had moved away to chase his dreams as an artist of sorts. He was good, I'll give him that much. Well, with my brother gone, my parents went from loving to overbearing, overprotective Totalitarian dictators. Sure, they were subtle about it, at first, but it became more obvious as time passed. This was also about the time where I started to realize that my life was always the same thing every day. I was stuck in a rut, and my parents had no intention of letting me out of it. As time went on, I began doing things... differently. I started dressing differently, started listening to different music, and I even began to look into a little thing called magic. I had stumbled upon the subject by total mishap. I was busy researching information for the essay I had to write on the symbolism of stars in classic literature, when I found a small excerpt that read "Some believe that everyone has the power to move the stars, but few ever tap their potential." From that moment, I was interested.

I started going to the library after school, which was nice, since I really needed a quiet place to relax after a long day of being tormented by my schoolmates because I was a "nerd" or because of my oddly colored eyes. Silver isn't that odd a color... well, maybe it is. Irrelevant. I would spend the afternoons studying and researching magic, and things of the like. After a while, I began to get really good at it. I had learned the basics, and was now searching for my element, until my parents found out about it. Being the heavy Christians that they were, I was kicked out of the house, forced to live with my brother. Of course I had no problem with this. My parents refused to even talk to me. They called me "the devil's messenger," and shit like that. I didn't let it get to me. After I graduated High School, I continued studying the art of fire, working full time to help my brother pay the bills.

Things were going rather well, until my brother got arrested, and I was forced to go it alone. I continued working, eventually having to pick up a second job just to keep a roof over my head. After a few months of this, I had just about had it. I remember coming home one day after working 16 hours straight, and throwing myself on the floor, crying like a madwoman. Before I knew it, I had blacked out. And when I came to, I was standing in the middle of an inferno. I tried to file a claim on the house, but apparently, the insurance company didn't cover "spontaneous combustion."

So I was homeless... again. I knew that I couldn't go on living like this, so I weighed my optiins, thinking rationally, and joined the military. Not too much better, but at least I had a place to live.

About two years in, I had made a few... acquaintances. I wouldn't exactly call then friends. I was more of a... drinking buddy. However, in time, even these worthless acquaintences would prove to be useful. Oh, I remember the day that Flare came up and talked to me. Well, I was a bit nervous at first, but I could tell that he was, too. Well, we started hanging out, and the rest is history. When I was around him, there was never a moment of loneliness. There was never a single tear shed. Even when my ship was at sea, he found a way to stay in touch. And that month that he was temporarily assigned to my ship was the greatest month of my life. I'm just glad that OS1 never found out what we did in his office after taps.

Well, things were going perfectly in my life until the day that would change everything. My ship was going out for a few weeks for usual training exercises. The morning of the day we were to set off was as sad as it usually was Flare drove me to work, as usual. Marton had his own car, so he preferred to drive himself. After Flare parked his car, we both got out, and headed to the pier. We walked down the pier hand in hand until the point between our ships. We embraced, and kissed each other goodbye. I remember the last thing I said to him.

"See you in a few weeks, baby."

I wanted to say more, but I was afraid he wouldn't feel the same. It was nightmarish. To have such feelings, yet to be so afraid of letting them loose.

A few days into the cruise, I was standing watch in CIC. I remember the last thing I noticed on the radar being a small sailboat a few miles away, so what came next caught everyone by complete surprise.

It was midnight, and once again, I was on watch, staring at a radar screen. It was quiet, until things went insane. Both of the lookouts were reporting strange looking air contacts. When forward lookout reported them, everyone thought he was just tired. When aft lookout also reported it, we knew something was wrong. Forward lookout apparently got a decent look at one of the contacts, and reported it to have the shape of a winged horse. Black fur, and a deep red mane with glowing red eyes. Both lookouts reported the same thing once more. It was even more strange that these contacts didn't show up on any of the radars. The officer of the deck ordered that general quarters be sounded, and just like that, the ship went into high alert. I kept up with the lookout reports, and the true terror sank in when forward lookout reported one contact that stuck out from the rest. It was much bigger than the others, and it also had a horn. Instead of the deep red mane, it had a mane of pure black smoke. Not even a few seconds later, the lookout screamed in terror, then went silent. Then I heard the sound of the ship closing in around us. I knew we were doomed. The hull burst, and water began flooding the ship. It felt like something was trying to crush us. Being a fairly decent swimmer, I tried to get out, but couldn't manage the busted door. I knew it was the end for me. As my energy started to fade, one regret ran through my mind. "Why didn't I tell him I loved him?"