Chapter 1: Ignited
One moment is all it takes to set your future into place, one moment where the wind changes and you feel your heart pounding in your ears, you feel like the ground has slid out from under your feet and you're falling through the abyss, not only is there the feeling of the world spinning on its head, but, there is also the particular stench of destiny in the air. For me, it was the day my father had taken me out hunting. It was a Sunday morning. The sky was overcast and grey, a slow breeze swept over the green hills in waves before the incoming storm, I could feel the small hairs on my arms stand erect, I could feel the tingling sensations in my fingers and toes. I knew, I knew then that something was going to happen. Something, anything. I didn't know what.
We trudged through the shallow river, dragging up onto the banks piles of sloshy mud, we wiped our boots on the grass atop the riverbank and carried on. We heard the cracks and roars of thunder as we reached the top of the hill leading into the valley, we could see the clouds flash white before the next roar touched our ears. My father lead me down to a spot overlooking where the river lead into the lake, we laid down in a patch of long grass, hiding ourselves from potential prey, covering ourselves with our green coats like blankets to blend in. The prey came soon. My father took down three rabbits with his rifle before handing it to me, "It's time," is all he said. The never changing stern look in his light grey eyes told me he wasn't joking, and he's not known for his humour. Lord I had hoped he was joking. The weight of the gun was heavy in my small, thin hands, I laid it out in front of me, tucking the end under my right arm, finger resting near the trigger, left hand holding it steady as I looked down the gun, looking for a target. My father has dragged me out many times into paddocks and forced the same gun into my hands, testing my abilities, testing my aim on glass bottles, hats, wooden crosses, anything that my father decided to create for bullet fodder. This time it was different. This time I wasn't going to hear the shattering of glass or the hollow thud of wood, nor the tear of cloth. I was going to take my first life.
I saw the wisps of soft brown fur just before I shot. It came up from the river bank, it knew we were there, knew that few minutes ago we had shot at it's friends. It was running for its life, but it had no idea that hope had abandoned it. It didn't know that I was the one holding the gun. I pulled the trigger.
That feeling, that pull of the trigger and the blast that followed, was intoxicating. The click of the trigger was what, changed me, first. I not only felt the click in my finger, I felt it through the whole gun, I felt the little mechanisms work inside the metal and wooden tool of destruction. I felt the spark. I heard the thundering boom of the bullet as it began its journey to the target. The ricochet rippled through me. It was like the ripple ripping through me was bringing me to life, slowing everything down around me so I could experience every little detail in this moment. I could see the iridescent beating wings of blue and black beetles and flies as they buzzed about energetically before the storm, see the majestic grey clouds become absolutely still, like a wave of water about to come crashing down, stopped in its tracks. I could see the bright, harsh lighting snake down from the sky, striking the earth in attempt to splinter it. I could see every blade of grass dancing a waltz in the wind as it whipped up the dust, the water in the stream ripple as all of the other rabbits scattered through it across the hills of the valley. I looked left to see my father with another of his rifles taking aim at the easy targets in their hasty getaway. His face... I couldn't determine what his expression was. Grief? Anger? Sadness... unreadable and distant as always. I watched as the rain fell. The rain that sang a chorus line of my deed. The rain that splattered to the ground as the blood of the rabbit did. She dropped with a thud. Time resumed. The ripple had stopped. My beating heart went still.
I saw my destiny before me. Who I was. What I was to become.
…however, in that moment, I did not foresee him.
Hello,
Please feel free to give a review or pick up on any mistakes, this is my first attempt at a fanfiction, I'm a pretty big fan of the Marvel universe and I've been writing since I was in grade two, so any help or comments are very much appreciated! (Also, I've had feedback from some friends of mine and they say my sentences are too long, thoughts?)