Thaw Fickle Buskin

High Pressure

The entire town was engulfed in a fire, emanating a repulsive purple across each building. Lightning struck the streets. Trees fell to the ground, years of live gone in an instant. The screams of the residents echoed through the valley. I was safe on top of one of the hills, watching everything I knew burn to the ground. The old church seemed to be the only thing totally untouched by the fire. Eventually, it was the only thing still standing.

"You can't stop the flames," said a low voice behind me.

My body was flooded in a cold wave of fear. That voice...why did I recognize it? It couldn't be him. There's no way he would cause this. But I couldn't turn around to see his face. My eyes were stuck on the destruction below. Shadows around me flickered from the sinister light from below.

"This is all her," the voice whispered in my ear. "And she's going to kill you."

                                                                                            \\\\\\

I shot up in my bed, completely covered in sweat. My breath was coming out hard. I had to focus on getting it under control, my head getting fuzzy with each uneasy breath. The blankets on top of me felt heavy, like they were trying to suffocate me. The world was swaying dangerously around me. I closed my eyes and just tried to focus on my breathing.

Garfunkel immediately hopped on my bed and began licking my face. He always did this when I woke up with this. I wasn't sure why this happened to me, but it scared me. I always felt like I was going to drown in my own imagination. I couldn't feel anything except Garfunkel's weight on my lap.

I pet him gently and tried to wait it out--whatever this was. I had night terrors quite a bit, forcing me to wake up unable to function properly. It was like all my senses completely shut down, leaving me floundering for air. My body tingled as it tried to readjust its settings. Garfunkel laid across me and panted nervously. I hugged him. He let me bury my face in his thick red fur.

"Good boy," I said quietly. He turned his head and gave me a comforting bump with his nose. I laughed and continued wrapping my arms around him.

The room was pitch black, telling me that I woke up sometime in the depths of the night. Everything was quiet--tranquil, even--but the blood in my ears was still beating furiously. My palms were starting to sweat. I couldn't tell if my room was just hot or if my body was trying so hard to figure itself out that all it could do was sweat.

I closed my eyes once again, finally settling down in my own skin. But the visions of fire capturing the town flashed in my eyes, causing me to force them open. The nightmare left a sour taste in my mouth. I didn't understand what it meant; was it talking about Kanoa? And if so, why would it say she was going to kill me?

My heart started palpitating again, so I tried to think of something else. I thought about the day I just had. Two days had passed since I last talked with Kanoa and Garrett. Since Etaim High was partially destroyed in the storm, we were let out of school until the town could reconstruct it. That was just an opportunity to figure out Kanoa's situation--

She's going to kill you--

I grabbed my head and began rocking. No, no, I needed to think of something else. The long sleeve shirts in my closet were hanging loosely--

You can't stop the flames--

My body began shaking feverishly. I couldn't stop myself. Garfunkel reached out a paw and padded my nervously. It helped a little--

Don't stop thinking of me--

You can't escape--

You're going to die--

I ripped the covers off. It felt like it was slithering up and trying to wrap itself around my neck. Garfunkel stumbled back and let out a yelped. I wrapped my hands around his head and put my nose up to his. "Sorry, bud."

He responded with a small bark. The voices were everywhere. I've never experienced something so bad, so terrifyingly real. It was impossible to take my attention away from the whispers around me. There was one voice in particular that sent chills through me. It was that of my older brother.

You'll never be like me--

I almost died because of you, remember--

"Yes," I said with a shaky voice. Tears threatened to fall. I tried my best to keep them down, but it hurt too much. I let them run freely down. "Yes, I do. But please Ricky, stop."

I almost drowned because you wanted to swim in the lake--

Well guess what--

I'm still alive. No thanks to you, you sorry excuse for a sister--

"PLEASE, STOP!" I shouted. I crumbled to the floor, the cold concrete sending a shockwave of pain through my legs. I was immobilized from terror. I didn't know where the voices were coming from. They were all around me, but also came from my head. They filled my ears with their hissing.

Garfunkel came to sit by me, but at that point I couldn't feel anything. The floor wasn't there anymore. I was floating in space, the voices picking me up and carrying me away. I was lost in my own home.

I shut my eyes tight and let the visions of purple flames consume my thoughts.