The clop of Thund's hooves echoes in my ears. It feels like that's most of what I listen to nowadays.

A gust of wind blows countless grains of dust into the air and clouds my vision. I raise my hand in front of me. A strong stream of wind blows forth, blowing dust and dirt away. It was a little to strong, as debris that had been hidden from me before begins hammering my soul.

Turned over and mangled cars, snapped road signs, torn clothes, a dusty stuffed rabbit missing an ear, and what was once an interstate lie in front of me.

Memories threaten to spill forth but are quickly subdued. I sigh, shaking my head and muttering to myself.

"Next time, less force."

My voice is dry, and much quieter than I expected. Thund whinnies at me and ruffles the wings folded to his back. A fresh cloud of dirt flies into the air, leading me to chuckle then choke and cough.

I take a swing of water before patting his neck.

"I know, I know. We'll find a place to freshen up soon."

He snorts. We continue on.

The shells of buildings surround us. Shards of glass loosely hang from window frames, shivering as wind dances past.

Once again, repressed events threaten to play themselves across my vision. But I don't want to be reminded of how things once were. I can't go back and change anything, I can only move forward and search.

Search for any humans still alive.

Seek the monsters that did this to us.

Looking to discover that I have a shred of humanity left.

My search has not bore fruit for what feels like so long, yet I need to keep moving forward. Thund, who is my pegasus companion, continues to walk with me.

Continues to fly me across rivers, lakes, oceans.

Without him, I think my mind would've been lost long ago.

The sun is begging to set as we find a small body of water. A good place to stop for the night.

I clap my hands together and a stone shelter leaps from the ground. Its crude, but will fit both Thund and I.

He sniffs the wall, then steps in and smells the floor. Giving a snort as if to say 'good enough', he settles onto the ground and promptly falls asleep.

A smile flits across my lips, but drops as I turn towards the water. The wind has stopped, allowing the surface of the pond to be still. I kneel to start washing my face but am drawn into the reflection of the water.

It's like a mirror, showing me the sky full of red tinted stars and a moon. I can see a bird in the distance, flapping its wings as it climbs higher. It's cry echoes across the plain.

The cry of a phoenix. The red light of the moon. A ringing enters my ears and I barely register my vision going black.

***

The sounds of a bustling city greet me as I rush out of the front door. My keys nearly fall from my hands as I search for the right one to lock up behind myself.

Basically sprinting to my car, I ignore the honking and yelling in the distance. A full moon peers at me overhead.

"Stupid stupid stupid."

I'm once again running late for a job interview. After moving to the big city, I figured getting a job would be easier since there was more opportunity.

Unfortunately, I can't be on time to save my life. More so to save my career, but time moves differently in a city.

It much faster and chaotic than the open fields I'm used to. I scheduled this interview for at night, hoping to be on time for once.

I turn on my car, back up a touch, then angle my wheel and shoot forward into traffic.

"EY! I'm walkin' ere!"

A disgruntled man shakes his fist at me after I nearly take him out with my front fender.

"Sorry!"

I doubt he hears me, but I wave and shout an apology anyway.

Looking in my rear view mirror, I can see him flipping me off and cussing up a storm.

Brake lights illuminate in front of me and I barely stomp on the brake in time.

A long line of cars is sitting in front of me. I check the time on the dash.

"11:59?! At this rate, I'll never make it!"

My finger taps the wheel, my frustration and worry threatening to spill out.

I barely register the constant honking coming to a stop. Snapping to attention, I watch as people step out of their vehicles, joining the pedestrians in pointing and staring at the sky.

When I glance up to see what they are looking at, my breath is caught in my chest.

A scarlet red bird, larger than any I've seen, is making its way through the jumble of sky scrapers.

I get out of the car, my heart hammering even harder inside my chest.

It cries out a sound unlike any bird on this earth, then bursts into flames.

People around me cry out as ashes start falling from it, coating everything in its path.

When the ash touches me a jolt passes through my body. I had a twinge of tiredness before, but now I'm wide awake as I watch the bird continue flying through the city.

Screams of terror flood the street behind me.

I turn to see a red light spreading across the sky. The moon, and few stars I can see in the sky, are now tinted a deep crimson color.

The ground, which was trembling so slightly I couldn't notice it, starts shaking violently.

The people around me fall to the ground as I hold onto my car for support.

Cracks turn into fissures spreading across the asphalt.

*CRACK*

A hairy hand erupts out of the ground next to me, pulling and straining to bring up the rest of its body. Concrete crumbles to reveal pointed horns.

I stumble away as a minotaur, something I've only seen in fantasy books, frees itself from the street. 

Standing to its full height, its gaze meets mine as a smile stretches across its snout.