Lilac stared from over my shoulder at the mangled and scattered bones inside the elevator. "I have never seen anything like this before. So bizarre."

"It's much more than bizarre." I shook my head, refusing to see the shock in his eyes. "It's my fault."

Lilac took a step back, cocking his head as he always did, causing the long parts of his hair to dangle over one eye. Curiosity was written all over his face and he didn't have to open his mouth to ask for me to continue.

"Remember how you wondered about experiments at Knoques?" I gulped, staring at the somber scene in the elevator. "There was no experimentation that caused this to happen. It was me." I watched him pace the vine cluttered room out of my periphery.

He nodded. "The creatures."

"The Scorchers." I sighed. "The doctors and nurses were only trying to stop them. To prevent me from willing them into existence. All it takes is a thought, a belief." Desperately trying to hold back my tears, I blinked and sniffed.

The scent of burnt molasses filled my nostrils.

My heartbeat sped up and a shot of adrenaline pumped through my veins. In a panic, I covered my ears with my hands and dropped to my knees, squeezing my eyes closed on the way down. "Go away. Just go away. You're not real. You're not real." I envisioned the television set, the static, the dark, immersive surroundings. The only words filling my head, over and over was a chant.

Leave me alone. Stay away. No more.

I faded into a fog, diving deep into the meditation. Only moments after the calm washed over me did I dare open my eyes. Stillness. Although it felt like hours had past, the sun still shone through the broken windows and the overgrown vines that covered them.

I stood, turning to set my sights on Lilac but he was nowhere to be found. Had he gone on without me? I craned my neck to peer up the dilapidated stairs next to the elevator.

"Lilac?" I called. "Are you there?"

Without a wasted breath, his head popped out from behind the corner of the main entrance. "I thought I should give you some space." He stepped out from behind the wall. His grimy white hair set him apart from everything else in our surroundings.

"Yeah. Thanks." I dropped my stare in embarrassment. "I just needed a moment." I briefly tuned into my steady heartrate, satisfied.

The half-smile on his face signaled how unsure he was about the moment and if it was appropriate to smile or not. "Maybe we shouldn't talk about some things."

I nodded before clearing my throat. "For a moment, I thought you left me." I wouldn't blame him if he did. Who would want to be around someone who spontaneously conjured Hell's spawn?

"As long as you will have me, I'm not going anywhere." This time his smile was genuine. "I am glad we found each other. See, I've gotten a bit used to you."

We have found each other, but because of the timing and odd circumstances, a crazy thought crossed my mind about his origins. I quickly shook that thought from my mind, refusing to give it credence.

For once in a long time, I chuckled. Releasing a smile and a laugh was not only foreign but somewhat therapeutic. There was a heat to my cheeks I haven't experienced recently, if ever. For a moment, I didn't have a care in the world, and I wanted to believe that his words were sincere.

"Come." I exited the building, stepping back into sunlight. "No need to continue searching here for what we're not gonna find." Even if we searched every accessible nook and cranny, I feared we would only discover more of what I didn't want to see or encounter.

As we left the building and headed off past the parking lot. Something in the air caught my attention. At first it seemed like a piece of trash or debris floating in the wind. It took me a second to realize the wind hadn't been blowing, and what was in the air was a butterfly.

I set my gaze and lifted my chin to focus in on the bright yellow insect as it flapped its small wings. Amazed, I gasped, pointing at it as it flew in circles before our very eyes. "Do you see that?"

"It is absolutely beautiful!" The sunlight caught in Lilac's blue eyes as they widened in amazement.

The butterfly flew close enough to encourage me to extend my arm out, finger pointed in the hopes it would land on the digit like a bird perched on the end of a branch. Amazingly, it decided to ignore my finger and land on my shoulder instead. I held in an excited squeal. My shoulders shook as I suppressed a chuckle, causing it to resume flight.

Just as it was about to take off back to where it came, its flapping wings suddenly went still. Its delicate body gently cascaded out the sky and to the ground, disappearing somewhere between the twisted and coiled vines and roots that protruded from the earth and consumed everything in sight.

"What happen to it?" Lilac wondered out loud, disappointment in his expression. "Where did it go?"

I gulped at the realization. "Anything that comes into the Scalded doesn't stay long."

No matter what happens, no matter how good and fortunate things seemed to be, it always turns into utter failure and destruction. Everything I come into contact with ends up the same way.

Constantly fighting against the natural urge to allow my true feelings to show, my body shuddered with my attempt to hold back. "Things start out so well and then fall apart. Like having parents, a sense of community, friends, passions, talents..." My breathing became sporadic as I tried to keep my emotions under control. "No matter how bright the sun shines, there's always darkness that follows."

A gentle hand rested on my shoulder and I turned to look at Lilac. "Everything in nature has its natural flow. Don't take the blame for this."

"But it's my fault." I insisted when he sighed. "It is. I did this. I did all of this." I threw my arms up and glanced around at the dense blackness. "It's no coincidence that Knoques is ground zero."

He put a hand up to encourage me to remain calm, probably assuming I would mention the unmentionables again. "We gotta find a smarter way to discuss this," he whispered in a gentle voice. "Otherwise, it is not safe." He tugged my wrist. "Come on. Let's go."

I wasn't sure where he directed us to, but I followed, trusting him wholeheartedly. It was amazing how much he earned my faith in so little time. Maybe because of how similar in age we were or how we experienced difficult upbringings that made it easier to connect. Or maybe our opposites attracted one another.

Not only did our appearances differ, but I had never related so well with the opposite sex. To be fair, Lilac had more feminine qualities than masculine, and his ability to not let those qualities define him was appealing too.

We headed through the forest to the edge of the radius. This route was just as secluded as the normal path I usually took to get to nourishment.

As soon as we met the border, we dropped to our knees as habit had us do. My fingers scraped at the vines, ripping the freshly sprouted growth from the ground, and bringing the bitter sweetness to my mouth. The roots crunched and snapped as we yanked them from the blackened, nutrient rich soil.

Although the fibrous strands were not as delicate, sweet, and tender as they were when the moon was full and high, the urge to eat and fulfill my cravings prompted me to continue.

My eyes were glued on the next patch of growth to consume. Over and over, we raked the crunchy, juice-filled roots into our jaws, chewing more than usual at the fibrous consistency but attempting to swallow the pulp, nonetheless.

However, far beyond the line of demarcation and the mucky orange and white striped barricades the city had placed, stood an abandoned school and its empty parking lot.

Although the school had been evacuated and unoccupied since the incident, a couple of people were sitting on the sidewalk next to the building staring in our direction. One of them, a girl with an olive toned complexion, a dark fitted jacket and a pair of tight jeans lifted her phone. Was she taking video of us, the Scalded, or both?

Without a second thought, I stood and ducked behind the nearest tree to conceal myself from view.

"You worried?" Lilac stopped eating and stood too. He looked back at me over his shoulder.

"Aren't you?" I nodded ahead to the two people who were slowly making their way over, closing the fifty-foot odd gap between us.

A young man accompanied the young woman. He stood taller than her by a few inches and his bronze brown skin tone matched the girl's long wavy hair that blew in the wind.

"You guys better get out of there before they crumble this place to dust," the guy spoke. Was that a threat or a warning? "You shouldn't be in there." His voice was deep and stern but full of concern.

As they got closer, the young lady slowed and lowered her phone to take a good look at us. "Who are you guys?" Her sun kissed skin was so clean and soft looking, I imagined she invested in tons of moisturizer to enhance her airbrushed complexion.

In the awkward silence, I looked to Lilac to see if he would answer.

"You can call me Lilac." He pressed his thumb into his chest. And glanced back at me. "She's Kyla."

"Lilac and Kyla?" The two looked at each other before turning their gazes back to us. "Where'd you come from?" The way she visually examined us from head to toe hinted at the information she gathered from our unkept appearance and ink-stained clothes.

"Here." Lilac nodded, glancing back and forth between me and them.

Their eyes widened at the same time. The male stepped closer but was careful not to move beyond the uneven line of thin and wooly dark roots. "You guys don't look dangerous."

"We're not." I shook my head, taking offense. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Oh, sorry." He forced a smile, showcasing his straight white teeth. "I'm Noel and she's my best bud, Valerie."

Valerie raised a hand in a brief gesture of good will. "Hey, so... What happened to you? What's the black stuff?"

Me and Lilac looked down over our clothes at the same time and shrugged, mostly embarrassed at my unpolished appearance. Becoming increasingly self-conscious, I only pointed to the roots at their feet.

Noel took a step forward and courageously dug the toe of his boot into the delicate grass-like vines until the black nectar oozed from the spot to coat the leather-like material. "What is that?" his face twisted in curiosity. "Is that the stuff that killed that woman?" A bit of panic trembled in his voice.

Valerie slapped his shoulder. "What are you doing, dummy?!"

Noel tried to wipe the ink from his shoe by dragging it across the dried grass on his side of the line.

I stared at his failed attempt. "It's ok. You're fine. It hasn't hurt us so it won't hurt you."

Valerie gulped and visually allowed her panic to ease. "Did you guys see it, whatever killed her?" When we didn't answer she went on. "Most of her flesh and bones were melted, dissolved, and they said she was surrounded by a mysterious black liquid, like that stuff." She pointed to Noel's shoe.

I shook my head again, eyes wide. "I ... I don't know." My pulse thumped in my ears, increasing in tempo as the seconds went by.

"There are rumors going around about huge, black creatures." Noel emphasized his description by outstretching his arms and twisting his face. "You guys haven't seen any? I mean, they're supposed to be really, really huge. You couldn't miss them."

Suddenly I felt vulnerable, like if I were being interrogated. "I don't know," was all that came from my lips as my palms became slick with sweat. "Maybe you guys should just leave."

"You should too." A sense of unease flashed in Valerie's eyes. "Let me tell you, you don't want to be in this place once the sun goes down. We heard that's when they come out."

"And if the dark beasts don't get you, maybe the soldiers will," Noel went on.

"What do you mean by soldiers?" Lilac cocked his head as he usually does when in contemplation. However, I knew exactly what they meant. I'm sure he did too. The chemicals. The fire.

"It's all over the news." Noel pulled a small black phone from his back pocket. "The signal over here is shit." He continued to fidget with his phone until he pulled up a video of a news report. "See?" He pointed the screen at us. "People are calling for the government to do something about this place, but city officials, or whatever, are trying to slow the process. Even so, many people want to burn this place down and those voices are louder than ever."

~~~

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