The Red Bark Tree

Before

Her feet slapped against the concrete, resonating through the empty neighborhood. The sun was almost setting, and the light was at an orangey glow. Her breathing was steady and rhythmic, but she was dripping with sweat from a long run. She turned the corner down the street, and it's still unclear where she's heading. It doesn't matter though, since she knows the area.
A loud boom resonates from behind her, and she slows down to see what happened. Smoke began to rise into the air from a recently started fire. Sirens started to sound in the distance, but they were much too far away to stop the fire before it reached the other houses. The dancing flames mesmerized her as they overtook house after house. Soon, a wall of fire was chasing her down.
A wave of heat blasted her face and snapped her out of her daze. She bolted out of there, trying to get away from the flames. She ran harder and harder, but the flames spread faster and faster in the dry neighborhood. The fire kept eating up everything, like a ravenous dog.
She began to run out of breath; the oxygen was running out in the air around her. The fire was all around her now. Coughing, she collapsed. It crept closer and closer to her -