Only chaos remains

Chapter 1

[... fire in the IronSplitter mine in Duskwood where the young woman, Hannah Donfort who has been missing for 53 days, was found a few hours ago. The firefighters are still there trying to contain the fire which now spreads in almost the whole mine. At least two other people are still stuck in the mine. The young mechanic, Richard Roger, one of Miss Donfort's friends, and a dangerous criminal highly wanted by the police. The FBI is now investigating the place but, until now, no information has been released by the FBI about the identity of this criminal...]

The voice of the journalist was ringing in my ears, deafening me, saying the same thing all over again. It was on every channel, German, French and even on international news. I was sitting on the floor, my back leaned against the bed of my hotel room. I stared at the screen, without blinking, focusing on every detail that appeared in front of my eyes. I couldn't believe it. Two hours ago, I thought everything was going to be fine. Hannah was safe and Jake and I planned to finally meet each other. But in reality, it was only the beginning of a new nightmare, worse than the last one. Richy, it was him all along. He fooled us, betrayed us, threatened us, and attacked us! He made us believe he was our friend but all this time he was lying.

On top of that, the FBI was in Duskwood, at the IronSpillter mine to be more specific. They were there for him, for Jake. How did they know he was there? He promised me he'll get out of here. That if he'd get caught it would separate us and he wouldn't allow this. I believed him, I trusted him. And when we shared our feelings I had no doubt we'd do everything in our power to meet each other, to make it work between us. But then, the fire came. Flames were everywhere, burning the trees preventing anyone from approaching the mine. I tried not to lose hope, but how could anyone escape the mine if the flames were destroying everything on their way?

I felt a tear roll down my cheek. Finally, my body started to acknowledge the horrible truth. My hands were shaking as I raised them to my face to wipe the tears from my cheeks. I tried to get up, clenching my fist on the old blanket. My legs were weak but I couldn't stay still. I needed to move, to do something. My body was begging me to walk, to remind me I was alive. My legs were restless but had no strength to support me. So I walked around my hotel room, helping me with the walls to stand. My heart pounded in my chest as if it was about to explode. My breath was uneven, my lungs were burning, my mouth was open and my chest was rising up and down quickly, desperately trying to find some fresh air to fill my body. I couldn't breath, it felt like the oxygen was leaving the room little by little. But it couldn't be, I wasn't the one trapped in the IronSplitter mine, I wasn't the one surrounded by fire and smoke. So why couldn't I breathe?

My eyes passed over everything in the room, the yellow wallpaper, the two-person bed, the window, the tv. I looked at the window again. Awkwardly I walked to the window, stumbling against the wall. I grabbed the handle with both hands and opened it. I let the fresh air of the night hit my face. I inhaled slowly the oxygen, trying to calm me down. My ears were buzzing, I couldn't hear the TV anymore. After a while, I noticed the buzz didn't come only from my ears, but also from my phone laying on the bed. I took it and looked at the screen: 21 missed calls and several messages.

Lilly: Have you heard from Jake? Is he okay?

Lilly: It's on the news everywhere MC, the fire! Please tell me Jake got out of the mine!

Lilly: MC! Please answer!

Jessy: Richy... I can't believe it was him.

Jessy: What did he tell you? He told me to ask you.

Jessy: What am I supposed to do without him?

Dan: Boo, are you okay? Everyone is going to be crazy here. Jessy can't stop crying because she says that Richy is the Man Without a Face.