Fighting with Fire #2 ✔

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟖 - 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫

"Mum?" I called out as I stepped into my house, back in Lake Oldoy.

Why my hallucinations had taken me here, I didn't know.

The house was quiet, and I quickly figured out that it was devoid of human life. A glance at the trees in our back garden told me that it was autumn — orange-coloured leaves were barely hanging onto their branches.

"Mum?" I called out again; the kitchen was empty, and so were the dining room and the lounge.

Swallowing my uncertainty, I began stepping my way upstairs. Despite it being my own home, I was still scared of what I might've come across — what the hallucinations might've created for me.

I was halfway up the stairs when the doorbell rang, making me jump out of my skin and almost fall down the stairs. I rushed to the door, flinging it open; desperate to see someone that I knew.

"Ember, what are you doing here?" It was Wednesday, frowning with a puzzled look on her face.

"Wednesday!" I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around her in an embrace. "I missed you so much!"

She hugged me back, but I could hear the question in her voice, "You only saw me yesterday, you know?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure." I pulled back frowning, but continued, "I'm so glad I've met you. I need to tell you some stuff."

"Good news and bad news?" She raised an eyebrow at me as we walked into my house and sat on one of the sofas — she must've figured out that I hadn't actually seen her yesterday.

"Bad news is that this isn't real, I'm stuck in a hallucination. I'm actually in Montana with Theo, and we're being tortured by hunters."

"Right," Wednesday replied slowly, taking in the information, "The good news?"

"Erm, the good news is that..." I didn't actually have any good news, so I told her, "Theo and I finally made up."

"Hmm." She narrowed her eyes at me, "Let me read your palm."

I produced my palm to her, watching as she traced her fingers over the lines and indentations in my hand.

"I can See that..." She mused, still studying my palm, "You're in trouble, Ember... And things are about to get much worse."

"Much worse how?" I questioned — but Wednesday was already gone.

Standing, I watched as my home disintegrated around me; the walls blew out as if they'd exploded. Everything that I'd known as I'd grown up was gone; obliterated.

Then I was drifting through the wreckage, my body hovering above the destroyed remains of my home. The grey haze of it all was peaceful, and calm — despite everything being gone.

All of a sudden, I was at Lake Oldoy, kneeling on the lake shore. The lake was much, much darker than usual and something was off — but I couldn't quite work out what.

"This is what they do." I heard a voice, and it seemed to come from all directions and yet none at the same time.

"What? Who?" I whirled around quickly but soon halted as I heard the sickening crunch my feet made on the pebbled shore — that's not the sound of pebbles.

Glancing down, a ghastly horror overwhelmed me; I was standing on bones. Human bones. I lifted my right foot to see a gaping skull leering up at me from the ground.

"The hunters did this," the indistinguishable, unidentifiable voice resumed, "They did this to the innocents of your town — men, women and children; young and old; healthy and sick."