I slowly came to.  The rain unrelentingly poured its soul, and my defiant face received it in all its glory as I lay flat and powerless on the ground.  Suddenly, every bruise made themselves known by the searing pain I felt almost simultaneously.  I am alive.

But who am I?  Everything’s blurry and lulled by my bump on the head and the ravaging of the storm.  All save a nearby lightpost, and a deep and loathsome breathing abound.  I can see the foggy skyscrapers from here, and through my peripherals: others like me, grounded and inanimate.

But still, who am I?  I don’t remember walking to this part of the city.  Much less, recall a beating that I now am in.  There’s only one thing I am absolutely sure of: something immensely foul and terrifyingly enormous towers my almost-lifeless body.  And whatever it is, it may have the answer to all of this.

I rolled over.  My face is now against the concrete bathed with blood that even the violent storm is unable to wash.  With great effort I forced my every limb to move, while constantly being reminded by the cuts and bruises that just a while ago brought me down.  Finally, when my legs own up to carry me without much dwindling, I realized, to my horror, that I stand in the middle of what minutes ago might have been a battlefield.  Even moreso, I stood in front of what minutes ago might have been the reason for the bloody battle.  I dare not ask its name, for I don’t have an answer to give myself.

Unimaginably, it looked a lot like the demon we would fight in one of our childhood fantasies, only that this one is more enormous, more grotesque, more frightful.  And where it is bruised and its evil blood flow, fire also emanated.  But it stood boldly, as if valiantly, as the champion of the day.  Surrounded by corpses, both new and old, impaled, broken or burned, the demon turned to look at me as if I was questioning its apparent victory.

Chill crawled up my spine, and my limbs unwittingly started to pull back from where I was standing.  I knew that I will trip on another lifeless corpse as I took every frightened step – and trip I did.  But as I fall on my back, it never took its eyes away from mine.  It felt like it was choking me as it grips its gigantic burning curved blade tighter.

I looked around, and I felt the terror that it has brought, and the terror that it will bring if it continued to stand its ground.  Overwhelmingly, I also felt the valour of the heroes that tried to stop him.  Compelled more than ever to bring it to justice, I picked up the stout blade over at my right and started to regain my ground.

I remembered a famous person once said, ‘Everything starts with a name’.  And as I finally stood brave in the presence of this evil, I realized I was holding onto my now most-prized possession: a dog tag that read N.P.  That’s a name.  My name.  And that’s a start.

With that, and all the remaining energy that I have, I turned around and charge the fastest I could in the opposite direction.  As much as I wanted to avenge my fallen comrades, I first needed to know who I am.  And until then, “Hold your breath, demon!  I’ll be back!”

N.P.
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