#aaliyaxalek

[aaliyadhavale]

Smoke and Fire (The Rebel Attack)

After dancing and socializing for hours, Aaliya heads to the gardens to take a breath. The Glasswater garden is a beautiful tended garden, filled with blooming flowers and soft, delicate fragrances. She sits down on a stone bench, her bare legs tickled by the long grass. She looks up to the dark sky, littered with thousands of stars and the bright moon. It is a beautiful night, a night of festivities, a night full of dreams... Until it turns into a dark night full of nightmares.

There is a blinding flash like sheet lightning and a fiery ball of yellow flames. Life stops in an instant. The orchestra has played its last note, the partygoers have danced their last dance. Windows shatter. Smoke and fire rush out. The shock waves are so powerful that Aaliya is thrown hard on the floor, her head hitting the edge of a fountain. She looses consciousness for a second and wakes up at the screams of people seeking refuge in the gardens, at alarms blaring at a distance. Her ears are ringing from the explosion, her vision is blurry and her head hurts like never before. She has no idea what happened. She tries to get up, but she finds it difficult to find her balance as she is pushed down by people running past her. A strong arm suddenly grasps her waist, pulling her along the running crowd.

“What's happening?” she asked, dazed.

@alekashcraft