Courting Tragedy

Courting Tragedy 17

Chapter 17 

At the edge of the woods, still hidden partially by the shadows of the trees, stood a man. His attention was fixed on me, and I felt my heart stop dead in my chest as his eyes lingered on me. 

He stiffened, then began moving toward me with uneven, jerky strides. My feet were frozen to the ground, my eyes locked on his form as it approached.I wasn't scared exactly' more like apprehensive. 

The nearer he got, the more lopsided his steps became. It seemed like it only took seconds for him to get in front of me, but it really took several minutes. The moon shifted and his face came into view. 

I gasped; I couldn't help it. Its--and I couldn't say his anymore--face was molted, a strange mix of blood red and dirt brown. Deeply sunken eye sockets and a flat nose were roughly sculpted on his face, and it's thick, black lips were pulled back into a snarl even though no sound left. 

I back-peddled abruptly, trying to put some distance between me and this...thing. It matched my steps and it's face contorted suddenly as though in pain. Black tears ran down its face, leaving thick, tarry streaks across its skin. 

My mind flashed unconsciously to the prophecy, citing a part that I wish I remembered better; something about evil fleeing or burning or imploding at my presence. I mentally slapped myself; the one thing I needed to remember, I didn't. 

It was about two steps away from me now, and a horrible smell hit me like a brick wall. It was like someone had taken raw sewage and mixed it with a few dead skunks before spraying it at me full force. Gagging, I turned my back and ran. I only got about four steps before something slammed me backwards. My arms windmilled, trying to keep me upright, but it wasn't enough to fight inertia. 

I went down hard on my butt, knocking the wind out of me. I gasped, sucking in precious air for a few seconds. Then I was slammed onto my back in the dirt, sending up a cloud of dust. 

My throat felt like it was on fire, and a high pitched wailing filled the air. I struggled against the hand on my neck, clawing and pulling against it futilely. 

The wailing rose to an almost deafening level, and black dots started coloring my vision. Suddenly, there was an intense burst of heat and I could breathe again. 

My vision cleared and I looked up to see flames. The man was gone, and in his place was a pile of ashes shrouded in flaming clothes. I scrambled backwards and found my voice as I ran into another wall of flames. 

I screamed, my voice rising to a pitch that could break glass. The sliding door on the house slammed open and I heard running footsteps beyond the flames. 

"Emory!" Logan's voice rose about the roaring fire. 

"I'm ok!" I yelled back, even as the flames began licking against my shoes. 

There was nowhere for me to go at this point; the flames were closing in. I was thinking about how I was going to get out of this mess without dying when the flames consumed me. 

I closed my eyes tightly, preparing to feel myself burn to death. Instead, I began feeling a tickling sensation all over my entire body. I opened my eyes and all I could see was the orange-red of the fire. The flames softly whipped against my skin, raising goosebumps on my arms. 

"Emory?" Gage cried out, his voice closer than I'd have liked in this inferno. 

"Gage, chill. It's okay." I said casually as I gently swatted at the fire. I knew now that it wasn't going to hurt me. 

It reared back almost playfully, like a dog before you tossed it a ball. 

"You're inside the fire! How is that okay?!" Logan's sentence was delivered as a shriek and I rolled my eyes.