The Godsend Backfire: The Beginning by Harold Straugh (best e reader for academics TXT) 📗

and saw a few silver medallions on the ground. I picked them up and launched them into the crowd of vampires, just to try to disperse them a little.  Once again, besides a few screams, nothing really happened.  My mind was racing on what to do.

The torches had little canisters with oil in them, so I grabbed one that was out and tossed the oil out over some of the vampires, I then used my speed to grab a few more and toss the oil on some more vampires, but they could fly.  I raced to grab a torch that was lit, up high but a vampire grabbed onto my ankle and tried pulling me back.  I grabbed onto the wall with one hand and reached out for the torch with another, I just had to free it and drop it.  I felt myself being pulled down even harder, I looked down and there were two vampires trying to pull me down. I strained with all my might, my knee caps popped out of socket, but I still pulled.  My fingers started wrapping around the torch, when something unexpected happened.  The log I was holding onto, gave way and not just that log, but the whole side wall, I was hanging on to.

I fell, with the torch in my hand though, watching as the sky appeared above me.  I hit the ground hard, and I let the torch drop.  A flame shot up as soon as the wick hit the oil and the fire spread. A large piece broke off the side of the building.  I was still dazed from my fall. I couldn’t move fast enough, the damn thing impaled me through my midsection.  I heard Noemi scream and the flames shot up around me.

The flames soon jumped to my clothes and I screamed out in pain.  Why did I have to feel pain, I still do blame the witches for it.  The flames consumed me, I could hear my own flesh sizzling and smell it in my nose. I remember looking at my hand and seeing bone, then another log fell on my head and all went black. My first death. I opened my eyes and I was floating above earth. I looked over and could see the sun peaking up over the earth.  The light from the sun crept over the land and when it hit my eyes, I saw smoke and shut my eyes.

I heard a sickening popping noise in my ears. I opened my eyes and I was peering through rubble.  I cleared the rubble from my face and looked at my midsection.  The log that had pinned me, had burnt down to stump of burnt wood and ash.  I looked my hand and I was missing flesh and muscle all the way to elbow, my right hand was charred and I couldn’t see my legs yet.  I used my elbows and arched my back to remove myself the charred stump. I fell over to the side that’s when I noticed my midsection started to heal up.  I tried to get up, but there was so much debris and rubble that I couldn’t stand up fully.  I got angered and pushed with all my might, screaming as I done so, sending the debris and rubble flying off me.

There were villagers all around, they stopped what they were doing and watched as I stepped out of the ashes.  I looked down and watched as muscle and flesh grew back, inching its way over my bones.  Charred flesh flaked away to reveal new flesh growing. I was dazed, still gathering my bearings when I felt my head tingling, I reached and could feel my hair growing, I stumbled and fell and when I looked up, Noemi was standing there with cloth of sorts, it was red and white and when she draped it over me, it had silky feel to it.  She helped me up, then I felt another around me, one of the townspeople had come to help me as well.  The rest of the townspeople parted way as I heard sobs coming from Noemi.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I should be asking you that, I thought you were dead,” she wiped her tears away with her free hand.

“I was….briefly,” I said, feeling as if I could stand on my own, “thank you both. So, what happened?”

“A majority of the vampires burned up with you, once the wall went, the whole place went,” Noemi said.

“Did you get hurt?” I asked as I sat down near one of the large huts. My newly formed muscles were tight, so I had to work them around a little bit.

“A few scratches, but no bites,” she said as showed me the scratches she had on her back and legs.  She then gave me some water in a camel-skinned canteen, and oddly I needed it, it was the first time I needed substance. I downed the water as fast as I could, emptying the canteen.

“That’s the most I’ve seen you drink,” Noemi

“I’ll be fine in a little…..” and before I could finish my sentence, Noemi hugged me, tight.

“I thought you were dead Roldian,” she sobbed, her tears felt cool on my bare skin.

“As so did I,” I said, “the worst part is, my good clothes burnt up.”

Noemi chuckled, “Did you think I would just only get you one pair of clothes, I even got you an extra pair of eye-covers.”

I looked up at the sun and let its warmth fill my soul, if I had one.  Noemi sat some clothes down next to me and with replacement pair of glasses or eye covers, as Noemi called them.  I felt refreshed, I grabbed my clothes from the ground and got up, making sure to keep myself covered.

“Here you can use my home,” I heard someone say and looked in the direction of the voice.