Run, a voice kept whispering in my ear. Run, keep going, don't stop, run, keep going, don't stop…
And so I ran; from what, I wasn't sure. I looked behind me, and all I could see monsters – tons of them, drool gathering at their mouths, their eyes wild with madness. They had sharp fangs for teeth and enormous claws where their hands should've been.
I panicked, which made me run faster. Amazingly, I didn't need to stop.
Until I reached the door, that is.
A wooden door with strange markings on it and a silver doorknob. Walls of blue-white fire were on either side of the door, making the door the only entryway to freedom. Before I could reach for the door, though, it began to shake, as though something from the other side was hitting it with great force.
Growling came from behind the door; so loud it rang in my ears. I started to back away, but stopped when I realized that the monsters were still behind me.
I was torn: what to choose? Face the monsters, or face the wrath of whatever was behind that door?
I turned back to the door, but before I could take another step, the door flew open, and the hottest white fire flew out and incinerated everything for as far as I could see.
Then, I was on fire. I kept choking on the fire, my lungs burning, my flesh turning into ash. And I kept burning, along with everything else, until there was nothing left but a pile of gray ash, which the wind blew away, particle by particle.
I woke up screaming.
It took me a moment to realize that what I had dreamt was just that – a dream.
But, when I managed to calm down, I realized that someone was banging at the door to my room, and that something slightly smelled like smoke. I looked over at Tori's bed and saw that she was stirring, her eyes fluttering.
"Chloe!" I heard a voice yell. "Open the door!" It was Derek.
But just as Derek was saying this, he broke down the door.
"Derek!" I heard Tori scream. "What are you doing?!"
Without warning, he took hold of my arm and dragged me out of my room, where I saw that the house was on fire, the wood already burnt black from the flames. Horror dawned on me, and I couldn't move. Tori, when she came out, let out a piercing shriek that rang in my ears. Immediately she began to run down the flaming stairs.
Derek and I followed her, but half-way down, I realized that I was missing something. I pulled back from Derek, but he just kept tugging me along.
"Derek!" I screamed. "Derek, stop!"
"Come on, Chloe!" He grunted.
I tried pulling back again, and this time Derek did stop.
"Chloe, stop resisting, we need to move!"
I shook my head. "No, not without my necklace!"
He gave me a confused look, as though the fumes might have gone to my head.
"What?!"
I pointed back up the stairs. "The necklace my mother gave me, it's still in my room!"
"You're going to have to leave it behind!"
"No!" I screamed. Tears, already pooling in my eyes from the fire, spilled over, running down my cheeks. It was becoming harder and harder to breathe, and I definitely wanted out, but not without my mothers' necklace. It was my most precious belonging.
Derek gave an exasperated sigh and let go of my hand. He ran up the stairs, yelling behind him, "Keep going, don't wait for me!"
I did as he said and ran to the bottom; I didn't want to be on the top step when the stairs broke down. However, I didn't keep going after that; instead I waited for him. I wasn't going to leave him behind.
Looking around me, I saw that it was getting worse: most of the furniture was already ash by now and the roof had already caved in on itself in some places. My heart was beating a mile a minute; the part of my dream where I was burning alive kept replaying in my head. Every time I inhaled, I began to cough, feeling like I was choking.
Soon enough, Derek came running down the stairs, covering his mouth with his shirt. I thought it was a good idea, and did the same with my own shirt. It didn't completely filter out the toxic air, but it helped.
"Chloe, go!" I heard Derek's muffled yell just before the stairs beneath his feet gave out.
"Derek!" I screamed. But it was no use, as soon as he hit the ground, he shot up and ran. As he passed by me, he grabbed my arm, leading me to the exit.
As we ran, I felt engulfed by the flames, which surrounded us. I kept expecting to find myself on fire, burning just as I had in that dream. But, miraculously, Derek and I managed to avoid the flames.
When I saw the exit, a burst of joy went through me. I knew Derek was excited too, because he ran faster than before, propelling us towards the door that led outside.
Yes, yes, yes!
But then, when we were about fifteen feet away from the door, the roof a few feet in front of us caved, blocking us in.
"No!!"
Derek immediately stopped in his tracks, tugging me backwards.
"I'm going to throw you over!" Derek yelled, and, before I could even say anything, he picked me up by the waist and threw me over to the other side. I landed on my back, and lay there paralyzed for a moment, before moving to my feet. I placed my hand on the doorknob, but it was extremely hot, and I pulled my hand away.
The panic finally set in, and I couldn't register anything anymore. Derek landed beside me, but I barely noticed his presence. He reached for the door as I did, but I knew it was of no use. He pulled back in alarm just as I did.
This is it, I thought. I'm finally going to die.
But Derek, determined to get us out, charged at the door. It cracked, but didn't budge. He backed up and charged at it again, and this time it flew open.
"Go!!" Derek yelled, and pushed me. I went flying, and landed on soft grass. I inhaled sweet, fresh air, air that cooled off my skin and let me breathe.
Greedy, I took deep breaths, taking in more fresh air. Derek was soon on the ground beside me, his hand over his eyes, taking deep, long breaths. In the background I could hear the fire cracking. The air smelled of smoke, but it was so much better than what was in the house. Never before had I been so thankful that I could breathe.
Once my breathing had gotten back to normal, and I knew that nothing was broken or badly burnt, I sat up, taking in my surroundings. The house was nearly gone by now, the second and top floors already eaten by the flames. Behind me the woods were dark and still, and at either side of me was nothing but what had been there the day before – green grass with patches of yellow at random.
Beside me, Derek groaned and sat up slowly, like it pained him to move.
"Are you okay?" I asked. I wasn't surprised to find that it hurt to talk.
Derek cleared his throat before saying, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. You?"
I nodded, and he attempted a smile. "Good," he said.
He put out his arm and handed me my necklace. I took it, gave it an once-over to see if it had been charred or chipped, but seemed to be in perfect condition. I put the necklace on, relief filling my body.
Until Derek said, "Where's everyone else?"
I hadn't realized that Simon, Andrew, Tori and the others' weren't out here with us. I knew that they should've been here, because Derek had said that he had woken them all up before waking Tori and I up. And yet….
I looked around once again, but was met by the same surroundings.
"They're… not here," I said.
Derek nodded, and stood up. "We should… leave," he said after a moment. "If no one's here, then that's a bad sign. Maybe, maybe something… came after them. Like a rabid dog," He said, but I could here the doubt in his voice.
"More like someone," I said.
Derek turned to me. "You don't think that… The Edison Group are the ones who did this? That the took everyone once they came out of the house?"
I got the feeling that Derek was in shock, because he was genuinely surprised that I'd suggested that the Edison Group had done this.
"Yes Derek," I said. "It's a good explanation as to why the others' aren't here."
"As a matter of fact, it's a perfect explanation."
Derek tensed, going pale, his eyes placed above my head. Slowly, I turned around, afraid that if I did it quickly, whoever was behind me might pounce.
When I had made the full circle, I saw the Tori's mom was standing in front of me.