Ashes to Ashes

Ch 1

Hey guys! :D This is a story I've been meaning to write for a while and it has finally begun. This story is purely fictional but does focus on some very real issues in the world right now. Thanks for reading, hope you like it ♡

'And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions'
Joel 2:28 (KJV)

My legs are burning. It feels like someone is stabbing me in the lungs. My vision is beginning to fuzz around the edges. My body says stop but my mind says go. Keep pushing. All five of my senses are flaring.

The ground is rugged, a mix of sand and stone, cutting into my bare feet.
Why am I barefoot? I think just as it starts to rain.

Within seconds I can barely see through the blanket of rain. I keep running, looking straight ahead. My mind focused on one thing; get away.

I'm the prey, except I have no clue as to what is chasing me. There's a horrible stench in the air, like burning corpses.

The rain suddenly stops, replaced by something else entirely. Thin, gray specks are falling all around me. I recognize the specks the moment I see them.

I'd seen them before, it was a long time ago. I was nine and my mother had a crimson vase in the living room. She warned us never to touch it, but I was curious, so I looked inside. But it was so large and I so small that it toppled over spilling it's contents.

The ash falling around me is the same as I remember when it fell out of my grandmothers urn; thin and frail, like dry, grey snow.

My eyes begin to water, and my lungs begin to burn, like a fire inside of me spreading out of control.The ash is everywhere, inside my mouth, on my eye lashes, in my ears.

I'm choking, but I continue to run, I cant make myself stop. I begin to panic. I hear the sound of gunshots in the distance, but the gunshots sound weird. It could be the ash in my ears affecting my hearing, but I swear the shots sound like ringing...

"Thia, wake up!", my mother yells from the foot of my bed.

I shoot up in bed, my breathing is ragged, sweat covering my body like a second skin. Tears begin to fall, I cant stop them.

"Thia! What's the matter honey?" My mom rushes over, sitting beside me, encircling her thin arms around me.

I'm blabbering like a baby, but I just cant shake the nightmare out of my head. Visions of me running, choking on ashes cross my mind. Fear takes hold of my body, I hug my mother back with all of my might, afraid that shell disappear, afraid the the world around me will turn into nothingness, irrational fears.

I can hear my alarm ringing on the nightstand next to my bed, my mom reaches over and hits the snooze. My mind begins to clear and I begin to focus on the world around me; pale blue walls, the silhouette of birds taking flight painted on them, a white dresser to my right, and two matching book shelves sit on my left, one on either side of a large window with a window seat.

I'm in my room , I think relieved. I just can't shake the feeling that this nightmare is more than a nightmare. I've been having the same dream for the last two weeks, and its starting to feel like less of a dream and more like a warning.

A warning of what?

Authors note:
So, what did you think? :) Please leave any suggestions and comments, they are very much appreciated. Thanks so much for reading. God Bless :)

~Shalom ♡