Playing With Fire

by CrystalBlackSpirit

On the verge of death, a strange, young girl is taken into the Sand Village and put under surveillance by order of the Kazekage. No one knows who she is, where she came from, or why she's there. Not even the girl herself. Although several people try to help bring back her memories, nothing works. But a dark and dangerous force invades the village in search of the mysterious girl.

I'm running, my body like a broken doll, limping along and trying to escape from the spreading forest fire. Blood gushes from open wounds and a large, deep bruise has fully blossomed on my left shin. Each stride sends bolts of pain through my body, and my feet stumble over burning tree roots and uneven ground. Everything aches and screams at me to stop, to slow down at least for a moment. But I can't stop; he's still too close. The sound of a distant boom and growing rumble tell me that, and the wave of sound soon hits me from behind, propelling me to the ground. My arms tremble as I struggle to push myself off the soft ground. ...Soft? I slowly notice that I'm now standing in sand, and I look up to see miles and miles of nothing but. My shaking worsens as I realize that there's nowhere to hide, and in my weakened state, the fire would surely kill me if I tried to go back. Subconsciously, I laugh at the thought. I would've never imagined being killed by the thing that I love the most.

Another wave of sound sweeps past and pushes me into another fear-induced run. My whole being cries out in protest, but adrenaline quickly washes away the sensation of pain, and I push forward, my brain becoming fuzzier by the minute. I'm not sure how much time passes, but my limbs turn to lead the farther I go. Then they finally give up. With my next step, there's a muffled crack as my bruised and battered leg snaps in half, and I tumble to the ground, screaming in agony. Tears stream down my sandy face while my chest heaves, and my leg lays splayed in at an unnatural angle. I can no longer move my limbs; it even hurts to blink. The numbing adrenaline quickly fades, revealing an endless expanse of torment that floods my senses, and all I can do is stare up at the dark, speckled sky and slowly suffer. A gentle breeze blows by, bringing with it the unfamiliar sensation of cold and tugging away a gasp from my lips. Suddenly, I feel a small click somewhere inside me, like a switch being flipped. I feel my brain start to shut down, and my breathing becomes shallower. Then everything starts to fade; the feeling of the fine sand, then the sound of the wind, and finally the colors of the sky drain away from my eyes until I'm left with nothing but a sea of inky blackness. Then everything stops.