Iron Will

Prolouge

The boy smiled up at his mother as she cooked the lemon cookies he loved so much. Earlier she had placed the yellow orbs onto the metal tray beside the chocolate chipped ones she liked.

The boy's name was William, his mother's was Elizabeth. Will had no father for he had died with many other soldiers during the war with the neighboring country.

The two were lonely at times but together they were happy and prospered on the small farm left in the mother's name. They grew crops and cared for a wide variety of livestock for food, so they never went hungry and never poor, as they sold they surplus at the market when they went every spring.

The boy was barely tall enough to look over the counter as his arm snaked around aimlessly for a warm cookie or even the chance to eat the left over cookie dough left out on the counter. The mother smiled at her son and slowly moved the fresh cookies out of his reach without him noticing.

"Get some milk, Willie-boy," Will smiled, showing his recently missing tooth, and ran towards the fridge. He knew that the cookies were ready to eat.

The pair sat around the small kitchen table having just ate dinner and were now eating the cookies they loved. The family calico cat rubbed their legs underneath the table. The mother and son talked about everything in the world as they munched.

"A-a-and then the chicken moved and I grabbed the eggs and put them in the basket before it could peck me again," the boy stuttered as he tried to recall the chores he had done that day before school, while showing her the fresh bandaid on his hand. His mother laughed, for she was the one to bandage him, and took another bite of the chocolate goodie. A far away look in her eyes went unnoticed by Will; a slow, sadness crept into her smile.

***

Will coughed and sat up in his bed. He looked around the room decorated with action figures from the games he had played while he was to be asleep. His room that was filled with toys and dinosaurs was now filled with a putrid smoke.

He coughed as he stumbled to the door. Upon opening it, found that the hallway leading to the kitchen had a red glow. Smoke dove at him and a new wave of coughs erupted from his dry throat.

"Mom!" Will hoarsely screamed in the direction of his mother's room in between coughs.

He shambled quickly to the door and jiggled the handle. The door wouldn't open.

"MOM!!!" He screamed and screamed louder, but the door remained unmoving and his mother remained dormant.

Will sank to his hands and knees as he remembered the fire drills he had at school every month. He crawled to the kitchen to see the oven engulfed in bright red flames that licked at the ceiling.

He crawled through the burning kitchen to pull the only phone the family had off of the wall and dialed 911.

He screamed into the phone for help but he heard no answer over the roaring fire. He couldn't hear his own voice anymore. The fire grew angry at Will and roared in his face, the bright fingers of the flames ripping at his flesh.

For some reason, Will found himself at his mother's door. He had no memory of crawling to her. Tears felt cold on his face compared to the fire on his back and he cried beside the door.

"Kid. Kid! Wake up, kid! I got you. Your gonna be alright," words came into Will's mind that were not his own and he felt a large arm around him.

A blue eye opened to see a man's face, a burning red creating a halo for his savior. Will either couldn't open his other eye or he had lost his sight for all he saw with the other was darkness deeper than any black he had ever known.

Everything faded again and Will was once again swimming in the darkness of his own mind.

Then, just as the dark had descended, it receded and there was only white. Will felt himself moving and he tried to turn his head to look around, but his body was unable.

The darkness enveloped the boy again and all he could do was listen. Even then he only heard clips and words of what was being said.

"...Poor boy..."

"...Mother gone..."

"...Severely burned..."

"...Won't be able.."

"..Her burnt body... smiling.."

Everything was adrift like a dream and then he couldn't even hear, a ringing filled his ears. Even the ringing faded as unconsciousness took Will. The world of Limbo was complete, only dark and silent, as he floated within the nothingness of his mind.