Atlantis (A Waterfire Saga Fanfiction)

Chapter 6

Alma stood in an large building made of thick blocks of sandstone.  The structure had no roof, no windows and the only exit was through two doors that were closed.  It was night time, and if she looked up, she could see the stars shimmering in the sky.

What confused the young girl was the fact that people, young and old, were trying to escape.  A very young child screamed out in pain as she limped, trying to break open the large wooden doors.

"What is going on?" Alma asked with fear in her voice. She received no answer, for the cries and screams of everyone drowned out her question.

Before she had time to figure out what was happening, she heard a man yell from the other side of the doors: "By Pharaoh's orders, this illness that you all possess shall be put to an end! Burn them! Now!" he ordered.

Then a realization had struck her: these people were all ill and she was in Egypt.  Alma now noticed that many of them were praying to the gods to spare them but it did not seem that they were listening. The guards then started throwing hay into the room.

No! This is wrong! This can't be happening. I'm not sick! I don't have any illness! she assured herself.

Alma tried punching the doors open, but it turned out to be useless. They were sealed shut from the other side. In frustration, she knocked even harder, hoping that someone would hear her. "Please! I'm not ill! Please open the doors! This is some sort of mistake!" she started to panic. Her breathing became irregular and her heart was beating faster with each second that passed.

Alma sank to the floor and started to sob.

This was it.

There was no way that she could make it out of here alive.

She would burn to death.

She sat and stared at the ground until a sudden burst of heat had brought her back to reality.

The fire had started.

The sight was absolutely terrifying. The flames and smoke from the fire were like a monster that swallowed everything and everyone in its path and the screams and cries of all of those innocent people had become almost deafening.

Alma wiped her tears and stood. She ran through the flames, hoping to find someone alive so that she would not die alone.

The thick smoke from the fire entered her lungs and it became difficult for her to breathe. She suddenly stopped running and gasped for air. Alma leaned onto the wall, and, as she did, she felt that she had stepped on something.

The young girl slowly backed away and let out an ear piercing scream. Not out of pain or fear, but out of anger. The child that she had seen limping towards the doors earlier was dead. Her lifeless body laid there, mostly burned.

Who could do such a thing and harm an innocent child? she wondered.

As Alma gazed into the distance, her eyes started to water from the smoke that was eventually going to kill her.

She spotted a figure that was not too far away. Cautiously, she walked toward it while avoiding the flames.

An old man was lying on the ground. Alma squinted her eyes to try and tell if he was alive or not. He was not moving. It took her a moment to realize that the reason that he could not move was because he was completely paralyzed.