"Ahh!" A distorted voice shrieked as they were thrown through a wall. They tumbled into the beating sun, rolling in the dirt and landing face-up at the sun. The sun pulsed down onto the scared purple-eyed Deimon. "I don't know anything! I swear!"
A muscular blonde haired man stepped into the sunlight, wincing as his fingers wrapped around the broken wall. The blonde haired man held a trident in his right hand as shadows swirled around him.
"Tell me, Deimon. What happened to the laboratory?" The man's voice was deep. He had sunkissed skin and eyes that reflected the sea.
"I swear I don't know! W-we were supposed to take over the city but then this heat wave came and—" The Deimon's head flew off and onto the ground, impaled by the three-pronged spear. Calis sighed and walked over to the body and rummaged the Deimons pockets for anything. He found cigarettes, a broken lighter, some burnt cash, and empty wrappers.
Calis shook his head and tossed it aside. He moved to his trident, putting pressure on the Deimon's head and pulling it out. The Deimon turned to ash, leaving Calis alone. He let his trident go and looked around. Capitol City was destroyed and he didn't see a soul here.
"Where are you…?" Calis whispered. "Where are you my little Fox?"
Calis continued for what seemed like forever. The beating sun mixed with the heat made it almost unbearable. He had gotten his memory back after months of seclusion. He remembered Keng and his Biohuman friends. He pulled the crystalline statue out and looked at it. He looked at the statue with a longing.
"Amnesia." Calis whispered, tucking the crystalline statue back into his pocket. "No one would tell me where you are… They all said the same thing. 'He left with the others back to Earth…' Why does this place look like a barren wasteland now?"
Calis conjured some water to quench his dry skin. The water spilled onto the ground as he continued to wash his face. The place he had gotten used to was now a dry desert. He didn't like dry places like this. Even with his shapeshifting abilities, his skin would dry and he would have to satiate it with water.
"Water…?" A small voice broke through the silence. Calis turned and noticed a child peeking out from behind some rubble. "Water!" The little child ran as another voice called after it.
"Don't run to the man! He could be dangerous!" A teenage girl shouted as she clambered onto her feet and ran after the child. The little child came straight up to Calis and smiled as he lifted his arms up with a 'give me water' motion. Calis smiled and lowered his hand, producing water.
"Drink." Calis offered. The kid began to drink the water, satiating their dry throat. The teenage girl came to a stop, worried that Calis would do something if she advanced any further. Calis's eyes moved to the girl and he beckoned her over. "You look like you're going to pass out. Want some?"
The little girl pulled away, coughing. The teenage girl ran over, kneeling and patting the little girl's back.
"Are you okay? Don't drink so fast. We have to conserve the water or else there won't be more!" The teenage girl told the young one.
"More! More!" The little girl did the hand motion again. Calis smiled and offered more to her. The teenage girl pushed Calis's hand away and wrapped her arms around the girl. She looked at Calis, trying to decipher if Calis was good or bad. Calis's knees cracked as he lowered himself to their level.
"I won't hurt you. I'm not like the Deimons." Calis told the teenager. The girl's eyes went back and forth between Calis and the ever-flowing water spilling from his hands. "It's not salty. It won't kill you. It's drinkable water. You don't have to worry about a thing." He moved his hand up to the teenage girl and nodded at her. She was hesitant but took a sip and found herself clutching Calis's hand and drinking more.
The teenage girl coughed, pulling away and wiping her mouth. She had done exactly what she told the little girl not to do.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure you have enough to last a while, okay?" Calis smiled. He pulled his backpack off and opened it. He pulled out a large canister he had found and filled it. He capped it and handed it to the little girl. "Can I ask you a question?" The girl gave him a weird look and Calis shook his head. "I just want to know what happened." She gave him a weirder look.
"You live under a rock or something?" The teenage girl asked.
"I was far away." Calis answered.
"Without a phone to tell you what happened here?"
"Yeah. I was in Antarctica." Calis nodded. The teenager's eyes widened for a second and then nodded. She bought his lie.
"A few months ago, some Deimons started to attack the city. They were trying to turn people into Deimons." The teenage girl looked down at the girl and covered her ears and looked back at Calis. "They took our parents. We hid in the shelter like we were supposed to and then… A heatwave came outta nowhere… It killed a lot of people and the people at the shelter began to fight over what little water we had left after most of them evaporated… I decided to leave with my sister to find a place with water and food, but… It's like this now."
Calis nodded and sighed. He stood up and looked around before thanking the girl for her information. "Thanks. You should have some food. It isn't much, but it'll help you and your sister at least." Calis crouched and pulled some food out and handed it to the teenage girl. He zipped his backpack up and strung it on his back. "I should get going." He began to turn when the teenage girl stood up and moved past her little sister.
"Where are you going, sir?" The teenage girl asked. Calis stopped and turned around.
"I'm looking for someone. I had to leave so suddenly on a trip and he got mad at me. Tryna make it up to him, but it seems like Mother Nature had other plans. Be safe." Calis waved and left the girl with food and water.
Calis had gathered enough information to understand what had happened. A couple months ago, a heat wave had come from nowhere and destroyed most of the vegetation, turning it into a desert-burnt wasteland. People began to fight for food and water to survive, turning on each other to benefit themselves. Water bottles became a heavily priced resource as the bodies of water disappeared.
Calis moved through the crowded deserted streets. He would make his way out of the city and go to the lab. That would be the last place on his list and he hoped he would find Keng there.
It took Calis much longer to go by foot than by motor vehicle or in his Merman form. He was afraid someone would think he was a monster so he stuck to walking since the streets were filled with debris and cars.
Eventually, Calis thought he made it to the lab. The pine trees were a big indicator he was going the right way. They were either burnt, broken or barely holding themselves together in the desert-burnt landscape. The road was melted and mixed with the earth, so it was hard for Calis to tell when he got to the lab.
Melted metal and a crumbled set of buildings appeared and Calis's heart sunk. He picked up speed and eventually saw the mess much closer. There was a large sinkhole with melted metal and debris everywhere. He wondered how he could even see some of the mounds. Calis began to take a step forward when he picked up the smell of ash.
Calis ducked, dodging something above him. He rolled off to the right, pushing himself up onto his feet and turning to witness Fox Runes everywhere. A disheveled, tail-less Fox Spirit, pointed a burning sword at him. It was black with gold and silver linings. Calis looked at the Fox Spirit and noticed they were covered in this heat.
They radiated heat and their hands shook. Any normal person wouldn't have noticed this, but Calis had. The scent moved, indicating the Fox Spirit would swing at him, again. Calis dodged out of the way, landing on the ground as the person rushed forward.
"Hey, Fox! I'm an ally!" Calis shouted, dodging the sword. He felt heat fly out of the sword, carving a straight burnt line past him. The Fox Spirit continued his attacks, swinging wildly as their hand shook harder.
'I have no choice! I have to defend myself!' Calis thought. He summoned the trident, blocking the attack and listened as the weapons hissed against each other. It screamed like a siren disrupted from her horrific lullaby before Calis pushed the sword up and swung its blunt end into the Fox Spirit's stomach.
"Ah!" The Fox Spirit grunted as its hood moved. Calis's eyes widened, realizing who he was fighting.
"Lee Seng?!?" Calis shouted.
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