The Mess Made

 When I came to, I was lying on the cold grassy ground. I could smell smoke and hear the groaning of steel. The crackles of fire were popping in my ears. I slowly opened my eyes and tried to move. A giant elephant was stepping on my chest. My limbs were chained to the ground. But, all I could see when I looked about was the billowing of smoke and myself sprawled out on the dry grass.

 "Good. You're awake." Came an intense voice. I could hear someone coming close to me very slowly; except, I could not do anything about it. A deep sense of fear and vulnerability overtook me. Suddenly, a long thin face with chiseled features and a cascading scar appeared before me on a tall man who looked rather strikingly similar to me. "And, yourself." He paused. "Here, I will release the restraints I've placed upon you. I couldn't take any chances." He paused again. "Come, I want to show you the fruit of your efforts."

 I unsteadily rose to my feet. I glanced around at everything I could see. I recognized where I was. Eh'zanko. The long walls were cracked. Fire burned on the other side, engulfing buildings, lamp posts, and whatever it could touch. Thick black smoke rose from the center of the burning.

 "Come." The man motioned for me to follow, as he pushed the gates to the city open with a wave of his hand.

 I followed. 

 What greeted me through the gates was beyond my expectations. There was almost no ground left to walk on that was still flat. The streets were pushed up in chunks like little mountains. Buildings were shifted, broken, half falling over, or leaning against others for support. Everything was on fire. Eh'zanko was a huge city-state. This part of the city was utterly destroyed. In the distance, I recognized the remains of Nymphenburg Palace — or, at least its foundations. There were large chunks of metallic shards and glass everywhere. I couldn't even begin to comprehend what could have done this. And yet, I survived again. This was Eh'zanko alright. What was left of it.

 "How did this happen? And, where is everyone?" I asked perplexed.

 The man walked back over to me, very carefully. He took two fingers and touched them to my head. Immediately, a movie played in my head from his perspective.

  Eh'zanko's residents were running towards the exits. The sirens were blaring. I could see the man's gaze go to the sky. He stopped a wolflike man who was busy looting while everyone was escaping. 

 "Baen, tell Gaian to calmly get the city evacuated to either the north or the western reaches. I will hold off the incoming disaster myself."

 The man nodded and was off, leaving his loot behind.

 The man with the scar suddenly stopped, putting his hands together as if he were about to pray. I could see the earth tremble beneath his feet. And then, forty Amali men and women appeared before him. Each was just as bewildered as the other.

 "Go. I will prevent Y'ugganth from harming anyone for as long as I can manage."

 The Amali ran. They knew better than to stay. I could hear one of them mutter, "I have no idea how he thinks he's going to stop an entire space station."

 The man put his hands to the sky. I could feel the air buckle under the pressure he exerted. The sky warped. He didn't even blink at the effort it would take to stop the incoming disaster. He held his position for what seemed like hours.

 "Good." He muttered to himself. "I can let it down now. But, perhaps I should change its form a bit before I do. Otherwise, rebuilding will be impossible." I could see him relax his stance. Then, he clenched his fist. At that moment, a cascade of metal shards rained down from the sky, burning.

 The scene suddenly shifted to a red building bigger than I'd ever seen in my life. He gathered a group of Amali and proceeded to the entrance of the building where a one-sided brawl was being fought between Kaddyr and what appeared to be myself.

 And, that is where the movie ended.

 I reeled back a little. Horror, bewilderment, and fear rocked my core. I somehow remained on my feet. I looked at the man. Or, looked through him was more like it. He said this was the fruit of my efforts. He inferred it was me that caused this space station to fall. So, all this destruction painted my hands red.

 "What happened to Kaddyr?" I asked.

 "He's dead." The man said very monotone. "I can see you are learning to shield your thoughts. Perhaps you have had some help with that."

 I rolled my eyes.

 "I know what you are." I said matter-of-factly. "The question is, who are you?"