Disclaimer - The Twilight series belong to Stephenie Meyer.
Prologue - 000 - Hell
The fumes rose in massive plumes, thick and choking. I navigated my way through the blazing building, treading carefully up the wobbly flight of stairs. My fellow fire-fighter, George, trailed after me. He was a middle-aged man of massive frame and a dedicated family man. We were hoping to find two missing workers.
Another explosion shook the entire factory and I stumbled, gripping onto the unsteady handrails. We had to be faster. The flames were already devouring the foundation of the structure.
Behind me, George cursed, "Those d*ckheads! Can you believe how flimsy these stairs are? Are those safety inspectors blind or something?" A bubble of amusement emerged in me at his crude words and I sniggered.
"Hello! Is anyo-" A deafening combustion rang through the air, completely swallowing my words. George and I gawked at its source. A pillar of fire had just erupted from a gaping chasm a few meters away and the heat from it was almost unbearable. I took a few steps back and tried to swallow to ease my dry throat.
Meanwhile, George was communicating with the Captain through the walkie-talkie. He turned to me, his eyes narrowed. "We can't go on. The Captain said that the fire has already burned through the floors below. The support won't hold for much longer." He then spun around, storming off, obviously frustrated.
I scowled- we both hated leaving people behind.
Tearing my eyes away from the column of flames, I turned to follow George.
Just as I took my first step, the ground below my boot gave out the most distressing crack. My heart was filled with dread as I glanced down.
There was a spider web of fissures beneath me.
"Shit."
Then, the earth gave way and I fell into hell.