Phoenix | P. Parker

Prologue

Everyone has a place they feel safe; a place where all the stress and troubles of the real world seem to fade away as they enter. It takes time to find that perfect place, but once one finally did their world never would be the same, as now there was a place to escape.

The Brooklyn Public Library was my place. It was far from perfect. The library had leaks in the ceiling, stains on the carpets, cobwebs in the corner, but all of that was more reason to love it. All the imperfections made it perfect in my eyes.
I spent most afternoons in the library doing homework and reading anything I could possibly get my hands on.

That Saturday afternoon was no exception. I had finished my chemistry project on electrolytes turns on the solar cell and now was skimming the shelves for a good book. The books collected dust from their time sitting there never being touched. It broke my heart a little to see such perfect books neglected.

I found myself in the biography section most weekends. It was just another way for me to escape my own boring life and learn about someone's extraordinary one. My eyes flickered from book to book. The way I chose a book was quite simple, I picked the one that called to me. The one that begged to be read.

I felt myself being drawn to a book with a vibrant red spine. I pulled the book from the shelf and examined it: Outcast to Heroes: X-Men's Biography. I ran my hand over the cover, a shiver ran down my back. It felt as though this book was screaming my name. I smiled, just more reason to read it.

On my way back to the table I was sitting at the building began to rumble. Usually people would ignore such a thing, but something felt off.

The rumbling became quicker and louder. The library's guest started to murmur to one another confused by what was happening. Beginning to feel unsafe, many grabbing their belongings and headed for the exit. I decided it was probably best to follow and also started packing up my stuff to leave. There was a line to leave the fourth floor, everyone trying quickly to do so.

A huge bright light shone through the windows. Everyone covered their eyes at the sight of it. The shaking of the building became even more prominent. A loud screeching noise filled the room. People were screaming at the sound, trying to now block out the light and the sound. I just stood there, although the noise and light were painful, nothing seemed to truly hurt. I glanced at the light. My head tilted; it almost seemed to be shaped as a bird.

Next thing I knew the windows around us were shattering. The guest were shoving one another forward to leave and screaming for their lives. I stepped towards the window, it was as if I was being drawn to the light.

That's when it happened. Another loud screeching sound occurred as the light flew into the building. It bounced off the ceiling lights, bursting each one in its way.

There was only two other people left in the building, both still screaming and running to get out. I stayed still, following the light around the room as it moved in circles. Then it just stopped; the light hovered in the area about 3 feet in front of me.

It felt as though I was in a trance. My eyes stayed fixed on the light in front of me. I tried to move my feet to run, but I was stuck. Yet another high pitched screech was let out and the building shook harder, I fell to the ground. The figure grew larger. My eyes widened, I could make out two wings and a beak. The light flew towards me. I screamed bloody murder, I wasn't ready to die.

Then everything stopped. A burning sensation ran throughout my body. I glanced down at my arms to see a trail of red run through my veins. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. I winced and groaned in pain, when a sharp stabbing feeling came from my abdomen.

I looked down to see I was no longer touching to ground, instead I was hovering over it. I screamed. Bolts of red flames shot from my body going in all directions. The bookshelves, tables, chairs, and precious books burned to ashes. I was surrounded by fire. My screams turned into crying. The agony was too much for me to handle.

Then it was over. I fell to my knees, tears streaming down my face. I had to get out of here. I ran through the exit to the stairs. I sprinted down the stairs, my vision was still blurry from crying. When I finally reached outside my feet wouldn't stop. I continued down the street until I was a block away.

I rested against a bus stop to catch my breath. What did I just do? The sound of fire trucks and police cars had become prominent. I looked up to see bystanders walking over to the library.

I took a deep breath and started to make my way home. Thankfully with all the commotion no one had noticed me running from the library. I decided walking from there on out would be better as it wouldn't draw attention to myself.

In my book, this day never happened.