"Tweet!" The sweet songs of birds sounded through the air from afar. The gentle, calm breeze blew over my hair while I lay on the ground. I could feel the peacefulness of wherever I was, as the sun's rays relaxed gently on my skin. Slowly, I opened my eyes.
Gently, I sat up straight, then turned my head around to get a better view of where I was.
It appeared that I was in the middle of a wreckage.
"Where am I?" I said, as I lifted my left arm toward my face. Then I noticed something around it.
"A band?" a question rang in my head.
On it were two words: **Echo Munischido**.
"What's this?" I said as I lifted my right hand to touch it-when I heard a voice.
"Well, hello there, little missy," a man's voice came from behind me.
Gently, I turned my head to see who made the statement.
"Missy? What do you mean by missy?" I asked this unknown man in a calm tone.
"Oh well, missy is a special nickname for beautiful, valuable princesses like you," the man answered, then gave a cocky smile.
He was tall and dark-skinned. He had no hair on his head and had a huge figure with scars all around, like a wrestler. He wore a dirty white T-shirt and green army shorts. On his waist was a belt with a machete attached.
**What does he want?** another thought popped into my head.
"Hey fellas!" he yelled to attract the attention of some guys behind him.
They weren't as tough-looking as he was, but they definitely weren't friendly-looking either.
"It appears we found a stray princess. How about we give her a little taste of a manly greeting?" he said.
The others gave the same cocky smile as he did earlier.
**Princess? Did he just call me princess?**
I touched my face, my hair, my body, and neck, trying to get a good feeling of my physique. Then it dawned on me.
**I'm a girl.**
Now at this point, I instantly knew what was going to happen if I didn't take action.
"I see," I said calmly, facing the ground. Immediately, I stood up and began to run.
"Hey! She's getting away!" one of them yelled, and they immediately began to chase after me.
"Hey, stop!" they yelled again. While running, I turned my head left and right to observe and take note of my surroundings.
The scenes and sights I saw were beyond terrible.
**What the hell happened?** I pondered as I kept on running.
Ruins stretched out before me. The streets were completely leveled, with destroyed buildings and
infrastructures lying all over.
Whatever had happened wasn't something one could recover from.
As I kept on running, I couldn't sight a single soul around-not even a single person.
Suddenly I stopped. The sudden shine of something caught my eyes.
"What's that?" I said as I walked closer to it. I squatted to the ground to get a better view.
I picked it up. It appeared to be a locket, but it was covered in dust, so I cleaned it.
On it was a name.
"Hmm!" I exclaimed as I pronounced it.
**Annie Kimigawa**.
Suddenly, I heard a loud scream.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" a feminine voice screamed.
Immediately, I covered my ears-the scream was very loud. I fell to the floor, threw the locket back down, and turned to see where the scream came from.
"What was that just now?" I asked, but I couldn't spot the source.
"Hey! There she is!" one of the men yelled, pointing in my direction.
Immediately, I stood up and continued to run.
Ahead of me was the entrance to what appeared to be a village.
I ran toward it, hoping to find a place to hide.
I entered the village and quickly hid behind a half-broken wall.
"Hey! Where did she go?" the dark, tall man-who seemed to be their leader-asked.
"Everyone spread out and find her!" he added.
They all began to search for me.
Squatting on the ground, I had an idea.
**I should look for a better hiding spot.** This small broken wall wasn't going to hide me for long. Sooner or later, I would be discovered.
I lifted my head to scout ahead and around for a better spot.
I looked to the front, then left, right, and behind.
**What happened here?** I questioned. The entire village was destroyed. Few buildings were still standing.
Not even a sign of life could be seen. It was like the whole place had suddenly been abandoned.
Gently, I stood up and began walking slowly further into the village.
**Not even a single person? Why?** These thoughts ran through my head.
Suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind.
"Hey! I found her!" the person yelled.
I turned and found it to be one of the men chasing me.
"Let me go!" I began yelling and struggling. I smacked my head into his face, and he let go.
"You little bitch!" he exclaimed.
Before I knew it, I was surrounded.
"Stay away from me!" I yelled. "What do you want from me?"
"Well, missy, if you must know... you know what's harder to find than gold in these parts of the world?" one of them said. "Women."
"Come on. We aren't going to do much," another said. "We just want a good look at you-and give you a little warmth of a man."
"You shall not come near me!" I shouted.
They laughed.
"You don't have a choice," one of them spoke, and they pounced on me.
"Ahhh! Let me go!" I screamed. Two men grabbed my arms, another grabbed my waist.
"Let me go!" I yelled again. Then one of them came close to my ear. His breath was hot against my skin.
"Try not to move. For your sake," he whispered.
Then he grabbed me by the ass.
"No! Let me go!" I screamed.
**Let me gooooooo!**
Instantly, a beam of light emerged from my body.
**Boom!**
A mighty explosion occurred.
The explosion covered half the village, vaporizing everything it touched.
A minute later, the entire village was completely leveled, covered with rubble and smoke.
I opened my eyes. Fear gripped me.
The men who were once my predators were no more. They must have been vaporized.
I looked at my palms. They were emitting highly dense heat.
It wasn't just my hands-my whole body was glowing.
"What's going on?" I yelled as immense pain rushed through me.
"Ahhhh!" I screamed, falling to my knees.
**What's wrong with me? What just happened? Did I just kill someone?** My body continued to emit steam. The pain was unbearable.
At this point, I was confused. I didn't understand what was happening.
Instantly, my vision blurred-then I passed out.