Prologue: Dreaming
Ash particles dance through the air, tumbling from the collapsed hospital roof. The terracotta tiles are burnt black from the licks of the violent tongues of flame. Life is gone. Grey powder flitters like snow into the unsuspecting surrounds. The sky frowns upon the town – disappointment echoing in low rumbles rolling through the broken memory of the dream.
The moon’s feeble light outlines two silhouettes before the shell of the hospital: one with her red blood splashed unceremoniously upon the cement, and you, kneeling before the broken body. In her panicked efforts to escape the inferno, she had not seen the gutter that would cause her death. A deep red liquid drips from the cavern that was the side of her head as a cold wind swirls around you. Your eyes focus on the unmoving body: unblinking. Slowly, you bow your head. The warm blood pools around you both.
You stay silent for a few moments, almost respectfully, your stained palms rest against your thighs. After your quiet goodbye, you glance towards her broken body and stare quietly. You reach out and gently drag your forefinger down a pale, lifeless cheek.
It is done.
Moai will be proud of your efforts.
You calmly observe the sight one last time, drinking in the different shades of red that tarnish her supple skin - skin that was once as lovely as fine china. You find it peculiar – that this is the colour they bleed. Then, without any reservation, you slowly rise to your feet and turn your back. You drag the thin material of your haori back over your shoulders, and then slowly, you move away and go back into the burning building.
Yokamu Daily: Treatment Centre Destroyed by a Noxious Red Devil! (November 1, 2791)
At 3:15 am, the fire alarm was unexpectedly triggered at the Narakami Facilitation of Treatment and Well-Being. A massive blaze had engulfed the facility before the fire brigade and emergency services could react. There were numerous fatalities and few survivors. It is not known what started this inferno.
Over one hundred and fifty individuals awoke to the horror of smoke-filled rooms and corridors. Dr Kim Jongin said, "It all happened so fast… One minute I was walking down the men’s ward, and the next I was suffocating from the smoke.” Dr Jongin and his staff did all that was humanly possible to help the patients, “My crew and I––we tried our hardest to get everybody out, but it was just… It was impossible… I never knew a blaze like that could move so fast… I will never forgive myself for not being able to save them…”
It was reported early this morning that over one-hundred patients were killed by this tragic fire, and over fifty were left in critical condition, suffering from smoke inhalation and severe burns. They are unlikely to survive.
Police say they are unaware of what started the fire, and are continuing to examine what caused the fire suppression system to fail.
This tragedy has devastated the scientists working at the hospital. One claimed that they were “close to finding the cure to Shion’s disease.” What a blow to the world in general!
