Fire

A gust of wind rushed past me, pushing my body down. I placed my hand on the tree beside me, feeling its rough surface pierce into my skin. I winced in pain as a warm trickle winded down my wrist and onto a patch of parched, blood-soaked earth, leaving a red stain across the ground. 

The cold night air rushed around, uncomfortably gluing my damp, torn shirt to my skin like a wet tissue.  Once I gained stability, I continued to weave through the maze of trees and fallen branches. 

I soon found myself staring down a clear, narrow path between the trees. Heavy fog loomed over the trail, leaving faint blurs of dark green trees and navy-blue sky. I meandered across the trail, swimming through the mist until my body couldn't move further. My head throbbed and spun as I descended to the ground. As the throbbing abated, I noticed my new wound bleeding across my calf. Looking back, the trail seemed to have disappeared into the fog.

As I sat there, I noticed the silvery mist grow heavier, suffocating me with an intoxicating smell of burning wood. As the blaze rolled up the hill, a crowd appeared before it, walking straight into the fire. My parched throat and weak voice silenced me as I screamed at them to run away. They, too, were engulfed by the flames. So would I very soon. I couldn't run. Even if I could, there was no chance of me outrunning the blaze. So I shut my eyes and rested my back on the tree behind me.

I was snapped out of my trance by the loud crackle of fresh firewood being thrown into the fire pit I was staring into. They were all gone. My family. Everyone I knew. All because of a fire.