The Human Torch (Fire Force) Chapter 1: Johnny Storm (Experimental Chapter)

[Third Person's PoV] 


There was a sudden gasp of air as a boy with blond hair and blue eyes sat up, holding his sheets and breathing heavily.


'What? What is going on?' the boy wondered, looking around in shock. He found himself on top of a bunk bed in a room filled with many more bunk beds.


The boy quickly fell back into his bed, confusion plastered on his face. 'Let's think about this clearly. Was I kidnapped? Possibly. Am I in danger? Not at the moment. Let's think back to what I was doing before appearing here... I was walking home to celebrate being accepted into a firefighting school. I was going to follow in my late father's footsteps when, out of nowhere, I crossed the street... I'm dead, aren't I... or I was...'


Just then, a headache like never before consumed him as memories rushed through his mind. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fell unconscious.


...


**[First-person POV]**


The earliest memory I have is of me, or who I am now, with my father and my older sister. I was around four years old while my sister was six.


"Johnny, come on, eat your vegetables, they're good for you," Father said as he tried spoon-feeding me, but being the little kid that I was, I whined and turned my head away.


"I don't like vegetables, they're yucky!" I said, sticking my tongue out in disgust.


Father chuckled, "Look, Susan is eating them just fine."


"If she likes them so much, why doesn't she eat what's on my plate as well?" I said with a smirk, pushing my plate towards her.


Susan scoffed, "I'm already getting full, thank you. Eat them yourself."


I picked up a piece of broccoli and threw it at her. "You like them so much, eat them up. Here, I'll help you."


"JOHNNY!" Susan shouted angrily as she picked up food from her plate and threw it back at me.


I puffed my cheeks in anger as it hit me right on the forehead. It quickly turned into a food fight.


"That's enough, both of you!" Father said loudly and with authority, which caused us to jump in fright and quickly sit down in our seats.


"Now, what do you have to say for yourself?"


"We're sorry," both Susan and I apologized.


"I don't know why I have to apologize, he started it," Susan mumbled as she glared at me.


"Nuh-uh," I said, rapidly shaking my head. "This wouldn't have happened if you just ate what was on my plate."


"You two..." Father said in a warning tone, causing both of us to stop talking and look down in shame.


Father then sighed as he reached over and began patting both of our heads. "Please get along, you two. We are a family. You don't fight with family. Want to know why?"


Both of us looked towards him as he smiled warmly at us. "Because when things get tough, families are the ones that are going to have your backs. And when I'm not around and you two are on your own, you will need to have each other's backs."


"Are you going somewhere?" Susan asked sadly.


Father just laughed. "I didn't mean it in the sense that I'm not going to be around. I'm talking about when I can't be with you guys at the moment, like in school. I want you guys to look after one another."


He turned to Susan as he said, "Susan, Johnny's your little brother, which means it's your responsibility to make sure he doesn't get into trouble. You know how rebellious and naughty he can get."


"And Johnny, Susan is a girl, and it is the responsibility of us men to make sure the women that matter most in our lives are safe and taken care of." He winked.


Both of us nodded at his words. It's funny looking back at it; his words were almost a farewell to us. Did he know he was going to die? Or that something was going to happen to him? Or maybe it really was just a funny coincidence.


As he finished his words, Susan began looking up towards the ceiling. Her eyes widened as they suddenly glowed.


"Susan!?" Father shouted with worry, but before he could say or do anything else, Susan exploded.


Not in the literal sense, but she released a shockwave that sent us to all of our seats. I remember hitting the wall hard, causing me to come in and out of consciousness.


I remember seeing Susan rising towards the sky, enveloped in a red sphere almost like a protective barrier made entirely out of flames.


My ears rang as I heard Father shouting for Susan. My vision was somewhat foggy. I remember Father reaching out for Susan, then blacking out. When my eyes reopened, I saw a giant golden figure with two giant horns by the side of his forehead ripping through the ceiling.


I blacked out again and regained consciousness for a bit to see the flame barrier protecting Susan explode into a wave of flames that bathed me with its fire. The last thing I remember was Susan falling unconscious into the hand of the golden figure before falling unconscious for real.


I woke up days later in a hospital, covered in bandages everywhere. No one believed my story of what happened due to my age. They chalked it up to a delirious little boy after seeing his family pass, saying that they even found the body of my father and sister, but I refuse to believe that's them.


I know what I saw. Not having people believe me almost drove me mad, so I was determined to uncover the truth. After spending years in a research facility and having tests done on me, I turned 13 and I enrolled to be a special firefighter as I believed it was my best chance.


And getting into bed on my very first day of enrollment is where my memory ends.


…


I was awoken the next morning groggily, my vision coming in and out of focus.


“WAKE UP NEWBIES, IT'S YOUR FIRST DAY AT THE 4TH DIVISION'S ACADEMY! RISE AND SHINE.”


Johnny's actions were mostly on autopilot as he walked down the bunk bed ladder. At the bottom of his bed, he met a boy with dark skin and cornrows getting out of bed.


He turned towards me and nodded his head up. “Sup, I guess we're going to be bunk buddies. My name is Ogun, what's your name?”


I could only smile as I answered his question, “The name's Johnny, Johnny Storm.”