Episode One: Part One
It was a warm autumn day in the city of Ingleton, Ohio, and the students of Ingleton University were taking full advantage of the nice weather. People were scattered all over the main lawn, basking in the glow of the warm sun. Adam Jennings stood towards the center of the green, passing a football with a fellow senior. His final year at Ingleton was just beginning, and he still had no clue what he wanted to do with his life. Though his major was set in stone, his career track was not, and this made him anxious.
"Hey, Jennings, you going to the activities fair later? The cheerleaders are doing a performance, and I hear it's gonna be great." His friend Dennis winked and smirked all knowingly. Adam laughed, running his hand through his short brown hair.
"Yeah, sure. I guess. I have nothing better to do," He replied, tossing back the football in a perfect spiral. Adam glanced to his left, looking at all of the students sitting on the lawn. Did they have any ideas of what they were doing with their lives? He sighed, catching Dennis's throw. Maybe he'd find something interesting at the fair that would peak his interest. At this point, Adam was getting desperate.
"Mom, I'm fine. It's not gonna be a difficult transition, everything is okay," A young redhead consoled her worried mother on the phone as she sat on her bed in her dorm room. She rolled her green eyes and smirked. "Yes, Luke is here. He's helping set up the room, just like he promised he would at the neighborhood barbecue. You can tell Mr. and Mrs. Tucker he's doing a great job." She glanced over at the blonde boy who was struggling to assemble a bedside table from Ikea. "I gotta go, alright? Yes, I'll remember to stop by the bursar's office. I'll call you tomorrow. Love you too," She hung up the phone and sighed loudly, looking over to Luke. "You would think I was a Freshman again the way my mom is acting."
"I mean, Maggie, you did just transfer here from a much smaller school than Ingleton. She's just worried about you." Luke replied, fiddling with the side table and becoming more frustrated. "God, why does Ikea furniture have to be so confusing! Why didn't you just buy a premade table?" Maggie smiled.
"Thanks again though for coming to help me, Luke. I know you could be doing better things, like hanging out with your friends or-"
"Oh stop it, Mags. You're like my sister, of course, I was gonna help you get settled in," Luke quieted her claims, and stood up, finally finished with the side table. As he let go of it, though, it broke back into its individual parts. The two of them burst into laughter. "Well, so much for helping you out. Anyway, why don't we get out of this stuffy room? It's a beautiful day out. Plus, the activities fair is happening out on the main concourse in a bit. Maybe if you told your mother you were getting involved with something, it'd make her feel a ton better." Maggie thought about the idea. Maybe she'd find something fun she could do, and make some new friends.
"You may be right. That's a great idea, let's go!" She nodded, jumping up from her bed and slipping on her shoes.
A petite girl stood with a pack of cheerleaders at the activities fair. Her green eyes matched with her uniform, Ingleton's signature colors of forest green and white, and her caramel colored hair was stiffly curled with a ribbon tied in it. She was zoned out, however, looking over at some of the tables at the activities fair and letting her mind wander.
"...and I said to him, 'Sorry, you can't take me out this weekend because I already have a date with Johnny. Maybe you'll grow a pair and ask me earlier next time'. Ugh, can you believe that he waited until now to ask me out, cause I can, he's so ridiculous..." One of the cheerleaders, Debbie, blabbed on, thinking the fair skinned girl was paying attention to her story. "Savannah? Are you even listening?" Debbie waved her hands in front of the petite girl's face, bringing her back into reality. "Savvy, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, sorry, I'm listening." She replied, sighing. As Debbie continued talking her ear off, Savvy looked back over to the activity fair tables, with one sticking out in particular. She wanted to walk up and sign her name on the list, but with her cheerleading spot already on the line, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to risk it and join a different club. It wouldn't be the worst thing, though, getting kicked off of the squad. Each and every day, she grew more and more tired of her so called 'teammates'. All they seemed to care about was being popular and getting the attention of boys. The only reason she stayed on the team was because she was too scared to leave since her mother was also an Ingleton cheerleader. This was all her mother wanted for her. All Savvy wanted was to be a part of something that mattered, and cheerleading wasn't it.
"Alright girls, bring it in!" Morgan, the captain, screeched. Savvy sighed, putting her daydreams aside for another day and picking up her pom-poms.
"Hey there! Interested in Ingleton's Volunteer Firefighter Program? It's one of the only - no? Okay, that's fine, have a great day." A junior stood with flyers behind a table at the fair. Hudson Frommer tried to capture people's attention and tell them about his program, but students just walked by. He wore his green Volunteer Firefighter shirt, as he'd been a proud member of the program since his first day on campus his Freshman year. He sighed, running his hand through his dark brown hair. His blue eyes searched for someone interested in joining, or just a friendly face.
Since the other four volunteer firefighters had graduated the year before, the Ingleton Fire Department was looking for four replacements. It was a hard program to sell, as not that many students were interested in spending their limited time volunteering. "Hey, are you interested in saving lives?" Hudson asked a tall brown haired boy who was looking at the table next to him. Adam looked up from the Chess Team table and glanced at him, confused.
"Are you talking to me?" He questioned. Hudson nodded.
"Yeah." He replied, handing him a flyer. "Do you want to save lives?" Adam took a look at the piece of paper, which outlined the hours and responsibilities of a volunteer firefighter.
"Maybe, I'd never thought about it before. Do you do it?"
"Yeah, it's a lot of fun, and it's super rewarding. I'm giving tours of the Fire House after the fair for people who are interested. You should stop by, see what we're all about." Hudson advertised, handing out some more flyers to passer-bys. Adam thought quickly about the opportunity. Maybe this was the thing he was looking for; the key to his dilemma. Why not just go for it?
"You know what, I think I will," Adam answered with a smile. "Thanks, man." Hudson grinned, excited about the prospect of this guy joining.
"Sounds great. I promise you won't regret it."
Deep underground in the depths of the earth, a stern looking man dressed in all black sat next to a lake of fire. Smoke rose from the surface of the liquid, enveloping the area in a scent reminiscent of burning flesh. The man breathed in the air and exhaled, becoming more relaxed. Suddenly, the ground began to shake, the ceiling of rock and stone beginning to shed shards of matter. The man stood up, looking around confused. What was going on?
"Ogon! Your greatness!" A figure emerged, running from a separate cave. She had long fiery red hair, as if it was dipped in the flames of the lake, and wore similar black attire. She was pale as a ghost.
"What now, Iskra?" Ogon grumbled as the shaking stopped. Iskra breathlessly pointed to the cave where she just had come from.
"Come quickly. There is something you must see," Ogon relented, standing up, and following the woman to the cave. The sight that presented itself was one for sore eyes. What was once a dark and dingy cavern was now flooded with light. A large crack made itself known, embedding itself in the ceiling, revealing natural light flooding in from above. "There was this shaking and all of a sudden there was a loud bang, and the rock just caved in that corner right there." Iskra looked to Ogon for his response but was greeted with silence. Moments later, the tired man spoke.
"My pet, do you know what this means?" Iskra shook her head. "After thousands of years, trapped in this cave, we are free. Somehow, the curse has been lifted, and the cave has relented." Ogon chuckled evilly under his breath. "Go fetch Plamya and Fakel. Tell them to assemble an army of my Embers."
"What are we going to do now your excellency?" Iskra questioned. A glimmer ignited Ogon's eyes as he smirked a demonic grin.
"It's time for us to have some fun."