DEMON DOOR (#2 GHOST PORTAL series)

ONE

"Drive!" Jamie's voice screeched in turn with the wheels.

"I am," growled Avery, gripping the steering wheel for dear life.

The car soared through the clearance entrance, tree branches slapping against the wind shield and scraping the sides. The vehicle wobbled, sliding over the dewy grass. Avery barely had control over it as it bumped over the dirt trail, going—he hoped—towards Louise's cabin. Distancing themselves from the explosion.

The house—the one he'd been inside of, the one Jessamine had walked right into—exploded.

There was still a shrill ringing in his ears, piercing his eardrums as he ignored Jamie's frantic yelps for him to accelerate, accelerate. But if he went any faster, Avery wasn't sure they'd make it to Louise's—or anywhere else, for that matter—in one piece. Even with the headlights on, he couldn't see where he was going, with the smoke from the blast spreading through the forest, creating a thick fog that made it impossible to detect the actual road, let alone the trees popping up on either side of him.

He kept the speed at a reasonable amount as he squinted, doing his best to avoid zooming off the road and into a bush or a tree-trunk.

Jamie quieted at last, settling in his seat with his arms crossed, peering into the side-view mirror, his jaw dropping.

Avery saw it too, remembered it. The structure falling to pieces, shattered from the inside, igniting in bright orange and yellow flames. The facade blasted to bits, whooshing about like darts thrown onto targets. Debris shot out all around, luckily never coming close enough to harm Avery and Jamie, but landing so hard in the grass that they left fiery indents and melted into the soil.

Avery hadn't wanted to take any chances, and he hadn't stuck around to learn what'd happen if they waited.

They ran.

In the rearview mirror he watched as the flames rose high above the trees, blasting upward in a strange circular movement. As if the house were enclosed in a glass ball, containing the fire and the debris in one area. He recalled how, when the house had first exploded, none of the tiles or sparks had reached him or Jamie, though they'd braced themselves and prepared for the worst. Crouched in their spot by the car, they'd covered their ears and faces. Avery had expected to see his life flash before his eyes. His last recollection was Jessamine shoving him and Jamie aside to enter the house... and then dying in said house.

Once Avery realized they wouldn't be torched to the bone, he grabbed Jamie by the arm and they ran. And ran. He wasn't sure where or why they ran, as the car was right there, behind them. But the vapors choked the area and they couldn't tell where they were nor where they were going.

When Avery finally found a door handle, he hopped into the car and started the ignition. Seconds later, Jamie crawled into the passenger seat, and they took off without a second thought.

Now, those second thoughts were swirling in Avery's mind, faster and faster as he continued to glare in the mirror. Sparks streaked through the air, accompanied by blue-ish orbs bobbing up and down, dodging the flames. Blue-ish orbs—were those Guides? Was Ada among them? Or had she been caught inside?

What happens if a Guide is burnt? Do they even burn?

There were white orbs, too—ghosts. Hurdling upwards towards the stars, through the growing haze that covered the sky with a film of gray. Where would they go now? And were the blue orbs, the Guides, able to save them?

Considerably far from the explosion, Avery lessened the car's speed, breathing deeply through his nose and mouth. Had he taken the correct exit? Were they headed the correct way? Hopefully, he wasn't cruising deeper into the forest, where he might encounter dead-ends and have no choice but to turn around and drive back towards the ruined house. If he could help it, he'd rather never see that place again.