In the Fire's Shadow

7. The Scars - Adara

The small apartment I had been staying at since the accident felt even smaller that night.

Tom told me I could have stayed with him, but the second he left that morning the walls began to close in on me. I had to leave.

As I sat at the small dining table, however, the suffocating silence was just as claustrophobic.

It was inescapable. The darkness was encroaching. All the time I had spent with Tom: laughing, smiling, loving, forgetting... It was catching up to me.

My phone began buzzing in front of me. It was Tom. He must have been wondering where I was.

I didn't answer. Instead, I walked to the bedroom and collapsed.

There was a soft tapping against the window, as wind blew through the branches of a Crepe myrtle tree.

The emptiness settled over me like a quilt. I flexed my fingers over the cotton sheets as my eye lids grew heavier and heavier.

The faint sound of the heater coming on blended with the continued soft tapping against the window, and somewhere between the quilt of emptiness and the cotton sheets, I drifted off.

***

A strong beeping fades into my consciousness and my eyes slowly open.

I'm too hot.

I'm lying on the floor, and I should be able to see the detailed ceiling panels, but everything is fuzzy and muted. I lift my hand to my head and feel confused. My eye is tender and I wince as my finger brushes over a warm, wet gash.

Something is pushing against the boundaries of my mind. I need to do something. I can't remember.

My throat hurts.

Why am I on the floor? What is that ringing in my ears?

I take a deep breath as I try to sit up and begin coughing violently. I try swallowing, but the sandpaper coating my throat is not soothed.

I tilt my head up to realize the heat is everywhere.

The room is on fire. I need to move.

I push myself up, ignoring the pain and dizziness. I cover my nose with my shirt and shakily get to my feet.

The hair on the back of my neck prickles and I hear his soft cries in my mind. My heart quickens and somehow the fuzziness dissipates.

I'm in the den, and Sam is up the hall, in my room. I spend just a moment trying to figure out how to get through the maze of flames.

The fire is everywhere.

I run down the hall and up the stairs. I ignore the massive amounts of heat and keep my face covered. Relying on my memories of this ancient house, I make it to the master bedroom and throw myself through the door.

The fire hasn't reached here yet, but smoke is quickly filling up the room. I hear my baby's coughs and scared cries.

I reach him! I squeeze him to my chest and run into the restroom. I throw a towel in the shower and turn the water on full blast.

I open the window and look down. There is nothing that would help us get out from up here. I will have to go back down the stairs somehow. I visualize the side door, behind the stairs, which leads to the old servants' entrance. It's the best option to get out.