Firestorm

Chapter 1

Her mouth was dry and her heart, beat so hard she thought it would burst from her chest. The ice-cold air which she consumed hungrily burned her lungs like a raging fire. She didn't care, the joy she felt warmed her very soul. Despite the bitter cold, she was still alive. The soft crunch and crackle she felt underfoot, from the frosty grass and leaves was to her a triumphant chorus, of soldiers who had been victorious in battle. The night was dark, freezing cold and ice floated on the desolate lake which all life had abandoned.

The ominous glow of the full moon illuminated the entire icy forest. The silvery glow of the soft moonlight making it glisten, as if the trees were sculptures carved from ice by ancient giants long ago. She stared at the moon, with hatred deep in her heart. She silently raged against the demonic orb floating in the sky, which controlled the unrelenting hunger of the savage beasts which had torn her world apart and which still coveted her flesh. It was this thought, which pulled her back from the turbulent sea of rage that was her inner mind, to the real world and the horrific pain which seared through her tired, weary form.

She let out a sharp gasp of agony. Clutching her left arm and she fell back against an ancient oak tree. Her head spun from the sight and smell of the deep crimson liquid which dripped down her arm and soaked her ragged t-shirt. Steam rose into the cold air around her from her blood and which warmed her freezing skin and her ragged breathing. "If only adrenaline could numb pain forever", she thought desperately, as she tried to stem the flow from the deep wound in her bicep.

As the spinning subsided and she regained her balance sudden, heavy footfall caught her attention. She was instantly drowned by fear, the hair on the back of her neck standing up instantly. She looked towards the lake and noticed what appear to be a small cabin, a possible refuge from that which hunted her. As she began to run, sounds other than the crunching of the foliage underfoot began to sound in her ears.

On her left in the tree line, she heard ragged breathing, and guttural snarling. Her eyes darted left and right desperately trying to find the source of the sound in the pitch blackness of the forest. What she found, chilled her to the core. She saw that which had ruined her life. A wolfish face grinning back at her with an evil gleeful look in its eyes. The look of a triumphant hunter. Its four untiring paws could easily out pace her two exhausted feet, but it didn't approach. It just kept pace with her and watched her feeble attempt of escape. It was toying with her. As fear transformed to terror, she pushed her tired limbs to breaking point turning her full attention back to the cabin.Finally, she reached the end of the forest and the clearing which held her salvation. She suddenly heard from the forest behind her many more gut-wrenching howls.

'Great', she thought. 'A pack, as if one wasn't hard enough to deal with'.

She ran as fast as she possibly could closing the last of the distance to the cabin. But as she drew closer to the dilapidated, rotting structure, she highly doubted it would hold against what seemed at least seven of the beasts. She reached the door of the cabin and to her horror found it to be locked. Her heart seemed to skip a beat stopped.

Desperately her eyes shot back towards the tree line. Just within the shadows, she saw the first creature watching and waiting. She could almost see in its hideous face, the glee it must have felt knowing she would not escape and soon, it would feast. She noticed a small grimy cracked window on the door, so long since cleaned she'd thought it was just another part of the wood at first glance. She took a deep breath and with all the force she had left within her exhausted body. She punched through the small fragile pane, cutting her knuckles in the process. It stung but it was better than being torn to shreds.

She hastily reached through and the door and wrenched it open. Its rusted hinges gave a loud groan of protest. She raced inside and barricaded the door with all the heavy furniture she could find. Exhausted, she stumbled into the small dusty bedroom. Falling to the floor she crawled under the bed, curled into a tight ball and wept. She cried for all the people she'd lost. All the pain and death that had been caused since this plague had infested her homeland. If this was to be her last night on this earth, she would spend it remembering all those she had failed to save. Soon she would join them in the Summerland.