A fowl taste pervaded Mason’s mouth as he woke up. His head ached as he sat up. His vision was blurry, his body was burning, and his nose was hit with an atrocious smell. Looking around, he realized he wasn’t in his bedroom, but instead, he was sitting, alone, in a cold alleyway.
Mason’s thoughts instantly thought of a kidnapping, but if that was the case, where was his kidnapper? He attempted to take out his phone to call his parents but as he reached for his phone, every muscle in his arm erupted in pain as if it were being exposed to a stove top.
What was going on Mason thought. He rarely ever left the manor in the summer and he knew for a fact he had gone to sleep inside the manor last night so how had he ended up outside.
For a moment, Mason lay still, wondering how he had gotten into this predicament, and then the world came into full focus.
His vision returned to normal, his nose unplugged, The burning sensation that had spread throughout his body vanished, as did the strange taste in his mouth. Mason’s eyes finally took in the situation around him, and he noticed, for the first time, the source of the putrid smell. Three dead animals lay at his feet.
Mason’s mind went wild as he tried to look for an explanation for what was happening. The animals were covered in burns and scratches and seemed to be unusually large with spikes and patterns he had never seen, almost as if they weren’t natural.
As Mason went in for a closer look, his left hand suddenly burned furiously. The pain was so intense, he thought for sure his hand would melt away. He held the palm of his left hand out in front of him, and watched, as a flame, black as night, danced across his palm.
The Heartson family had been accustomed to wealth. Nobody knew where their immeasurable riches came from but few questioned it. Mason Heartson was found unconscious in the middle of an alleyway on May 12th and despite Mason’s recounting of his story, and the numerous tests that he went through, most people, including his own parents, believed that Mason had simply been intoxicated that night and wandered into the wrong area.
Gabrielle Heartson: If there is anything you would like to talk to us about, just let us know dear. We promise we won’t be angry with you, no matter what happens.
Mason could understand why other people did not believe his story though but as he lay in his hospital bed, he couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt that his own mother didn’t believe him. Most people simply assumed Mason was lying to get out of trouble. After all, it was illegal for anyone under twenty-one to drink alcohol in America. There was also the fact that Mason’s story sounded completely ridiculous to anyone who heard it.
Mason gave a small nod as his mother left the room. He couldn’t explain it to her. He didn’t know if he could explain it to anyone.
As his parents had more money than they knew what to do with, Mason quickly realized that he could live off his parents' money for the rest of his life if he wanted to. Mason stopped attending class, as he realized that attending school was pointless, and his parents were too busy to notice that Mason had dropped out of school.
After Mason stopped attending class, he grew bored with life. He lost the ambition to do anything or go anywhere, so he simply stayed inside the family manor. He refused to leave his room, and spent most of his time sleeping or reading and of course, training.
Ever since Mason could walk, he had been forced to learn to fight. Whether it was Boxing, wrestling, Judo, Tae Kwan Do, Mason was proficient in all. Although Mason went through his life with no real purpose, he couldn’t help but find joy in sparring with his maids, specifically Clair.
As Mason layed in bed that night, however, he realized the unnatural encounter with the strange beasts was exactly what he needed.
This is it Mason thought to himself. This was the beginning of his story. Even if nobody believed his story about the black flame, he knew it was real, and was determined to get to the bottom of it. This was his purpose.
The next week passed far quicker than Mason had anticipated. For the first time in a while Mason was waking up without the assistance of Claire. He decided that the black flame that had appeared on his arm in the alley must have had some connection to the strange animals that had also been there. Thinking about the books and movies Mason had watched, the creatures seemed to be straight out of some sort of magical fantasy. Of course this was ridiculous as magic wasn’t real, but Mason couldn’t think of another solution.
Mason frequently visited the alleyway trying to look for signs of what had happened that night, though the strange animals he had seen were nowhere in sight. Sometimes, Mason found himself wondering if he had simply imagined the situation, but these doubts didn’t stay in his mind long. At seventeen years old, Mason wasn’t a child, so it seemed silly that he would believe in things like magic and strange animals but that wasn’t it.
Mason needed to believe that he had a purpose in this world. He couldn't stand going through life as he was now, living each day with no real purpose, having no real future. The black flame was Mason’s purpose, and Mason held onto it with his life.
Samuel Heartson: Clair tells me you’ve been working hard
Mason merely grinned at the remark and shoveled food into his mouth. It had been nearly two months since his parents had sat down and had dinner with him, and nearly four months since the night of the incident.
Gabriella Heartson: What have you been doing lately dear?
Mason considered the question for a while, thinking about whether he should tell the truth or not. If he could avoid it, Mason did not like lying to his parents, even though they treated him like a kid, they never kept secrets between each other. But something was different now. A voice in his head told him he couldn’t tell his parents what he was actually doing.
Mason: I’ve just been studying.
Mason avoided his mother's eyes. Both his parents looked at Mason with blatant disbelief. Besides the fact that it was the Summer time, even during the school year, Mason hardly ever did work at home.
Mason: I’ve been trying to do something, but it hasn’t been working out that’s all!
Mason convinced himself that it wasn’t a total lie, as he had been trying to figure out what was going on with the black flames.
Mason’s father seemed satisfied with this answer, however his mother seemed to grow worried, reaching her hand across the long dining table and gripping Mason’s arm.
Gabriella: Well, if you’re having trouble sweetheart, just ask us for help.
Mason: I'm not a child anymore mom.
Mason exclaimed while smirking, though his mother did not return the smile.
Gabriella: I know, but still, your father and I are worried about you. First we heard you had stopped attending school.
Mason bit his lip and reminded himself to chew Claire out the next time he saw her.
Gabriella: And then of course there was the incident in May.
At this, Mason’s temper began to rise. It was unfair that they would bring that up when they didn’t even know the circumstances.
Mason: What does that have to do with anything!
At these words, Mason’s mother flinched ever so slightly, but Mason still noticed.
Is my own mother afraid of me?
Gabriella: Your behavior has been odd these past few months and I just need to make sure everything is alright with you. You’re our only child and you know we would do anything to keep you safe, so if there is anything bothering you, please tell us.
At these words Mason slammed his hands on the table, his fury reaching its climax.
Mason: If you actually cared, then maybe you would have actually tried to help me instead of dumping me in this place with nothing but maids for company. Maybe you would have taken time out of your day just one time to ask how I felt!
Mason slammed his hands on the table and stood up.
Mason: Do you have anything to add?
Mason glared at his dad who was now wearing a grim expression on his face, which was uncharacteristic of him.
Samuel Heartson merely shook his head, not looking at Mason, but instead looking at his wife, who looked simultaneously shocked and concerned. Mason stomped upstairs leaving his parents speechless and slammed the door to his room shut.
Thomas knew he was in serious trouble as he peered at the amazing view below him. Despite his distaste for America, he couldn’t deny that from above, the country was simply beautiful in the nighttime. Shimmering lights shined from every window and building, creating the image of an entire city, living and breathing right below him. Each building, each light, contained another person, simply living their life. Each person had a loved one, a story, a life.
The idea was amazing to Thomas, but he knew he didn’t have enough time to get caught up on these thoughts. He had an important job to attend to, and when he finished he would have to deal with the consequences from his father. He shuddered at the thought and suddenly the beautiful city below him seemed much more bleak.
The concept of life had always fascinated sixteen year old Thomas Martin since he was little which is why the idea of death disgusted him even more. For the past 150 years in the city of Los Angeles, California, a series of mysterious deaths had been popping up in a seemingly random pattern around a smaller section of the city.
To most people, these deaths seemed natural, after all, people died every day. Most of the people who had been reported dead had no family or friends anyways. To other people, they were simply dead bodies, to be added to a cemetery. Not to Thomas though.
The first thing Thomas noticed as he began to investigate the deaths was a number of strange coincidences connected with the victims. When each body was recovered, they always seemed to have some sort of burn marks on them, but not something as small as a lighter burn, and not something as large as an actual fire or explosion which would burn the entire body. Usually the burns were small enough and contained enough to encompass just a small area of the skin without spreading to the rest of the body. To Thomas this was already strange enough for investigation but the coincidences only got larger.
On each of the burn victims, there was one thing that they all had in common. For each person, at least one witness had reported that the victim was wearing a golden watch with a snake pattern. When Thomas found out about this discovery, he knew something serious must have been going on. He spent months trying to piece together what this all meant.
Were the people with the golden watches being targeted? Were the watches some kind of curse? Was this some kind of suicidal cult? All these questions, however, seemed to be useless as he couldn’t seem to find anything else about the flame victims. All records of their names, identities, or lives seemed to have been erased from the internet. It was as if they had never existed, or as if someone was trying to make it look like they had never existed. Thomas knew a challenge when he saw one, and decided to work harder to crack this case.
After nearly a full year, however, Thomas began to lose hope. Each lead or clue he found seemed to lead to a dead end, and with nothing to go off, it would be almost impossible to find out the cause of the deaths, especially considering his victims were in an entirely different country. That was until a fateful morning when Thomas finally found the clue he was looking for.
Violet: John is going to kill you when he finds out you’re gone.
As Thomas finished the preparations for his trip, he thought about the consequences of his actions and shuddered. The only person he felt he could tell about his plan was Violet Brown, partly because he knew she would try to talk sense into him, and partly because he knew even if she didn’t support his plan, she wouldn’t stop him.
Thomas: I don’t care what my father does, this is way more important than whatever boarding school he wants to send me to.
Violet: I know you want to help people but there are other ways besides this. I mean, if what you discovered is actually real, you could be dealing with some extremely dangerous stuff. Did it ever occur to you that the people who sent the message are the ones behind the string of mysterious deaths? What if you end up as the latest victim Thomas?
Thomas didn’t answer for a while, instead staring intently at the suitcase packed in front of him. He knew that this would be a huge risk, and he knew that he didn’t want to die. The idea of simply passing from existence terrified him more than anything else. But more than that, he couldn’t just sit and be complacent if there was a chance someone could get hurt.
Thomas: You know Violet, ever since I was little, you and Zachary used to always tell me what it meant to be a hero. Do you remember?
Violet: I-
Thomas: You guys used to always say, a hero is someone who saves others no matter what the cost. If there’s a chance, even a small chance, that I can save someone, at least one person, even if they're on the opposite side of the world, then I have to take that chance. If I have the power to save them, and I don’t, then that death is because of me. And besides
Thomas looked down and smiled
Thomas: I really want to be a hero!
As Thomas stared through the window he thought about the last few months of his life. He had spent so much time and effort focusing on this case but he wondered if it was even worth it. Perhaps the deaths were merely a coincidence. Logically, the deaths didn’t even make sense and seemed like something straight out of fiction. Thomas considered just reporting the findings to the police, wondering if this was simply something bigger than him, but he dismissed these thoughts at once.
He wasn’t doing this to have fun or to joke around. Because he knew about the horrors that awaited in this city, it was his responsibility to stop them. Even if nobody believed in the story about the black flame, he knew it was real, and was determined to get to the bottom of it. This was his purpose. To save Mason Heartson.
