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Soot covered Ret’s skin, sticking to the thin gloss of sweat which had been present ever since he stepped out of his apartment. His mask and glasses made sure that most of the black dust stayed out of his eyes and lungs, but the stench of burning wood and rubber still permeated everything, from his hair to his clothes. Inching forward in a sea of people, Ret’s steps were slow and calculated, his gaze stuck above everyone’s head, peering into the cloud of dark smoke. 

Whatever it was that the people around him were concerned with, Ret felt no interest in it. The streets around him were flooded with a cacophony of voices, all of them panicked, all of them concerned. Ret couldn’t have felt more liberated. No matter how many peoples’ shoulders grazed him, how many feet stepped over his shoes, nothing could steal the feeling of brilliant levity coursing through him. For every frightened person, every crying child, every angry peasant, there he was, content.

Content in his own knowledge, the fact that for each person asking “Who?”, Ret knew the answer. 

His next step floated down, and stopped, for he had reached the place where he wanted to be the most. In front of him, a burning visage matching his own brilliance stood, the black soot as dark as his mind was bright. He couldn’t help but marvel at it. Bodies lay on the streets, shrouded in tarps, which were covered in the same soot ingrained on the corpses they covered. Water stood in stagnant pools all over the streets and sidewalks, painted a grisly reddish brown color from the mixture of blood and ash which swirled around in them. Even wetter still were the cheeks and faces of the sobbing citizens, huddled around the bodies of their loved ones, or stood around, gazing on in a sober state of sadness at the place which they used to call home. 

A long, still moment had passed before something stirred Ret to move. His eyes shifted towards a young woman, a cloth wrapped around her face, taking a slow trot amongst the dead bodies, a small clipboard in hand. She took glances at the bodies, made a mark on the paper, and then inspected the tarps more closely to record something more substantial, perhaps a name or ID number. Ret hurried over, his eyes widening under his dark shades. He stood directly in front of the woman, his words taking a moment to finally jump from his throat.

[color=darkseagreen][b]”H-how many died?”[/b][/color] He stammered oddly.

[color=khaki][b]”Pardon?”[/b][/color] She eeked, surprise heavy in her voice.

[color=darkseagreen][b]”How many, uh, people died today? In the fire?”[/b][/color] He asked, a bit more calmly, attempting to sound solemn, as if he cared about the bodies that lay level with his feet.

[color=khaki][b]”Uh, I’m… not quite sure at the moment. We’re at about twenty people, why? Did you have family that may have been hurt?”[/b][/color] She questioned, her green eyes glaring at Ret with suspicion, as if they could see through the dark tint of his sunglasses.

[color=darkseagreen][b]”No, not at all, I’m just with a local news outlet, just trying to collect information. Trying to let people in the other parts of Korven and Eden get the bigger picture, ya know?”[/b][/color]

[color=khaki][b]”Oh, you are? Which one? The Korven Crier?”[/b][/color] Her voice felt a little more curious more than anything, but this conversation had lasted long enough for Ret’s patience.

[color=darkseagreen][b]”Yes, that’s one, now please, could you give me as accurate number as possible?”[/b][/color]

[color=khaki][b]”Ah, yeah yeah. The volunteers told me they counted about thirty-seven deaths. That’s the unofficial number, though. They’re still combing through and picking out the bodies, and they have me taking the official count. I’m up to twenty at the moment.”[/b][/color]

[color=darkseagreen][b]”Thirty seven, huh?”[/b][/color] Ret muttered quietly, breaking eye-contact and looking around to process it. A moment passed, and his gaze rose to meet hers once more. [color=darkseagreen][b]”How many injuries beyond those?”[/b][/color]

[color=khaki][b]”Oh gosh, now that I don’t know. There must’ve been at least a hundred injuries, everywhere from people who got burnt, to people who got trampled, all kinds of stuff.”[/b][/color]

[color=darkseagreen][b]”A hundred, huh?”[/b][/color] Ret uttered quiet, even a bit surprised himself.

[color=khaki][b]”But don’t quote me on that! They’re still going through the building, I don’t know how many they’re gonna find!”[/b][/color]

[color=darkseagreen][b]”Hmm, yeah.[/b][/color] Ret said dismissively, as he turned and walked away, satisfied thoroughly with these new bits of information.

These new steps he took away from the smoke and soot filled plaza were just as light as his last, as he dove back into the sea of scrambling ants that milled around him. His spirits rose higher than the smoke, his prider thicker than it’s inky plumes.

He knew something no one else did, and it felt [i]fantastic[/i].