It was dark in a desolate city with tall skyscrapers made of glass and steel. Street lamps that lined the streets flickered and sparked. Min Yoongi was standing on the corner of an intersection. It was his first time in such a place and he knew that he didn’t belong. Lost and confused, he looked around to find answers. Only the sight of abandoned cars and buildings with broken doors and smashed windows greeted him. Behind him he heard a loud screech, similar to the excruciating sound that a nail scraping along a chalkboard would make. He turned around and what he saw in the distance looked like the sun, but it was clearly night from the dark blue sky and the stars that accompanied it from above. He could slightly make out the shape as it came closer but it was something that greatly confused him. Was it a large ball of fire?

No, it was a bird. A fiery flame in the shape of a bird. What was it called again? He remembered learning about creatures similar to the one he was seeing, but couldn't figure out the name at the top of his head.

Oh, right. It was a phoenix.  But why would a phoenix suddenly appear in Gwangju?

Yoongi stared in awe as it came into view, almost above him. His breath caught in his throat when it stretched open its majestic orange wings. Its sharp, beady eyes presented power and grace. Its squaws sounded like a need for the end of suffering and pain. But as it came rushing down towards him, he knew it wanted none of that.

The large bird swooped down, lighting up the wet streets that were created from a day of rain. It raced towards Yoongi, barely missing its catch.The edges of his clothes caught on fire from the high heat that suddenly enveloped him. Surprised by the sudden attack and the new flames on his clothing, he ran in the other direction and another empty street. He furiously swatted at the small flames that swallowed the clothing he wore. However, it did nothing to stop them. His yells and screams did nothing to soothe him either, only becoming a useless human instinct. No one could hear him anyway. Everyone had vacated and left their old lives behind.

Another screech echoed in the sky. Yoongi turned around slightly and saw that the phoenix had recovered and flew high up in the sky before swooping down and flying after him again.

Adrenaline pumped through his body. He quickly ran into an old brick apartment building. BOOM. CRASH. Glass shattered and fell at his feet. Several pieces of brick that composed the structural building collapsed, revealing a large hole in the wall. And a bird made of flames. He squeezed himself into a ball under the table under which he was hiding as another BOOM was heard.

“You cannot hide from me, young one. For I am eternal and will forever be able to find you. Even in the depths of the underworld, I will go and torment you, painfully and slowly.” A scratchy feminine voice was heard in the direction of the flaming bird. “CAWWW!” The creature opened its wings wide, ready to burn him to ashes. Yoongi braced himself for the worst and shut his eyes.

A loud whoosh was heard before everything became silent. Only then did Yoongi dare to open his eyes. Seeing that the phoenix was gone, he ventured over to the newly made hole in the wall and peered outside. He couldn’t believe his eyes. A hurricane swept the bird away and carried it on with its daily journey. The bird struggled against the sudden force, breathing flames in every direction in hopes that it would weaken its attacker. But it was constantly held back by the strong winds.

The sun seemed to be shining through the clouds, giving some reassurance that everything will be safe before he suddenly woke up with the light of the morning sun in his eyes. His hand immediately went up to cover his face. Even though he had slept early last night, his eyes were tired and demanded attention as they closed shut. The amount of nightmares that flooded throughout the night kept him awake and would not allow him to go to sleep peacefully.

It had only been a few days that he turned fourteen but the so many sleepless nights that came after told him otherwise. All of the changes that accompanied with getting older seemed to weigh him down every night. He didn’t think it would be so hard from what he saw other kids go through. They all had fun and lived happy lives, yet here Yoongi was with his childhood days passing by with the constant haunting of nightmares.  

He rubbed his eyes before deciding to get out of bed and start the new day.

A/N: What do you guys think of it so far?