Ch. 2. The Changing Fire
The first thing I felt was a dull throbbing in the back of my head. Someone must have pushed me backward with such a force I ended up being knocked unconscious. The second thing I was aware of was the complete silence around me that surrounded, and engulfed, me. I also felt like there was dozens of pairs of eyes on me. I tried to remember what had happened, but everything was fuzzy. Then I felt it.
There was this sensation that I couldn't identify right at fist. Then I knew what it was; I was on fire. It was a fire warmer then I'd ever felt in my life. The heat made me want to beg for death. My back arched on its own accord, before hitting the hard ground again. That's when I saw Sarah's terror-struck face in my memory. I clamped my mouth shut tight, and tried to keep my body as still as possible. It was getting increasingly difficult, as the fire seemed to get hotter. Is that even possible? I tried to take a breath, but it only brought more burning to my body. This has to be some form of test before Sarah can go free; if that is the case, I will gladly take this fire.
How long had this fire been going? Surely it must end at some point; unless someone kept adding fuel to the fire, but I should feel that. Has it been merely minutes? Or has it been decades? As I lay, fighting to keep my body still on the ground, fighting to stay quiet, I felt the heat increase; it was almost as if someone had cranked the thermostat into overdrive. Must. Stay. Still. I kept reminding myself, clenching my mouth tight together. Must. Stay. Quiet.
As the heat increased, I begin to imagine myself sitting at home; imagine myself lying in a bikini sunbathing. That makes it easier. I begin to enjoy each lick of the flame against my skin. The fire begins to fade in my limbs, and begins to grow in my heart. Is this what a heart attack feels like? This infernal burning that is trying to kill me, driving my heart to its final beat.
I gasp, and shriek out loud, hearing the shriek in the space around me, hearing it echo. My back arches again, and by the time it hits the floor, my heart has stopped.