They did this to me; those blue monstrosities that tore down the sky to kill women and children. And now they may as well have killed me.

I lay on my side, pinned between rubble. A large boulder splits me in half, my left hand is clamped between piles of rock, and serrated edges of metal lock my face in place, leaving me staring into all encompassing darkness.

How long have a been here, fading in and out of consciousness? An hour, maybe two? San, for all I know it might have been minutes.

Yes! I must not have been here for for long, sticky red blood has not yet dried on my face, and it seems like only a moment ago that I was in my house, flipping that herald-damned coin with Herrone.

Herrone! Oh please, let him be alive. When that thing entered, he ran right at it, trying to save me. He's always been as handsome as he is dumb. I'm not sure what happened after that. I think the beast exploded. Beast, that's rich. Maybe calling them what they are would be more of a curse. Aliens. Those putrid things, deadly as a plague.

How big would an alien explosion be? The hospital is two miles away. I just hope my mother is safe. Oh herald, if I could trade my life for a guarantee of hers, then so be it. I raise my right thumb to the centre of my chest, pressing hard. The symbol of the herald, well it would be, if I could move my left hand. I suppose it's rather fitting, a prayer before death. I let my fist fall to the cold stone below with a bone breaking thud. Pain shoots up my arm, but I ignore it. I guess it's just my luck. I'm no knight, no tracker either. It's better this way, maybe some of my rations will go to the future emerald knight, maybe I'll just be a footnote in history, a place in a memorial garden that no one is bother to read.

As my hand hits the floor, the world around me begins to shake. Up above me, a rock the size of my foot falls. And like a heathen finding the herald, I see the light. The outside world seeps into my tomb; sounds of pain and grief, rhe smell of burning flesh and the cold winter air on my skin, numbing my fingertips.

I'm not going to die!

My mothers visage dances around my mind as I rip my hand from where it lays, losing a finger in the process. I scratch at the rubble above me, working my fingers to bloody nubs. I remember my mother, strapped up to all those machines, the impure seeds sprouting from her skull. I use my memory of her as my conviction. As more and more of the chaos outside comes into view, I notice someone. Not just first responder, I know this person. But from where?

'Hrfl mgr' help me, I meant to say.

The figure turns to face me, face obscured in shadow by the bright orange sun, halfway through setting. My eyesight blurs as the light touches it. Is it Herrone? No, it's a woman. Her figure is amazing, way past what I could ever hope to achieve. She approaches me. She kneels, inserting her angular face into the hole I have dug. My eyesight blurs further.

'Helep meiii…' I gurgle.

'Found you.' Her voice is magical. Her hands reach into the hole dragging me upward. I feel my self lose my legs. 'Let's get you up, you ugly bastard.' The voice, although only a whisper, sings in my ears as I enter oblivion.