Soul of Flames

Chapter 3-Robyn

I am in utter blackness. The deep shadow surrounding me presses down, a heavy weight attempting to crush my lungs and force all life from me.

I struggle to draw a breath, the oxygen that I need saturated with dust. I choke, my body convulsing with the effort. My movement causes a sharp pain in my abdomen, a pointed object digging into my skin.

I stop a minute, thinking. What the hell is that? Then I remember. It’s the corner of a box from the tower that nearly collapsed on Cherri. I saved her from it, and now it’s fallen on me.

Well that’s just great.

I wriggle to try and relieve the pressure, but I only succeed in trapping one of my arms under another box.

As I struggle, I hear a creaking noise directly above my head, like something is groaning under the strain of carrying a heavy load. I freeze, worried that one little twitch will cause more piles of books to come tumbling down on top of me, reducing my already dwindling air supply.

I’m beginning to panic now. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest, threatening to break free and leap out, leaving me as a crumbling shell on the hard wood floor, my scarlet blood pooling around me, forever staining the wood a dark crimson.

I wonder who would mourn my passing, if I am to die under here. I hope my friends would, but I know that they would adjust quickly and forget about me. Life is too harsh to allow time for sorrow of that nature.

My family. They wouldn’t mourn me. The only reason why they would be sorry to see me go is they would have to find someone else to bully and take out their anger on, someone else to blame when everything is going wrong.

The thought makes something inside me stir and awaken. I feel my panic receding, a new, more powerful emotion taking its place-rage.

A warm sensation begins to glow within me, centred at my core. This hot ember starts to grow, expanding until I can feel its heat pulsing through my whole body.

As my body temperature rises, so does my anger. The rage that I now feel transcends mere annoyance, and reaches into something greater.

I try to quell the feeling, to make it retreat back to its den, to follow my will, like a dog bowing to its master.

But the emotion is now too powerful. It swats away my weak protests and continues to take control of my body, until my blood boils and my vision blurs into a white hot light.

Still the now-burning ember grows, pushing against my skin as if it can escape the boundaries that contain it and burst forth, leaving a fiery trail in its wake.

Finally, I can’t take it anymore. With one last gasp, I scream, releasing the fire that smoulders inside me.

The last thing I see before I sleep once more is roaring flames billowing out, turning all they touch to ash.

***

‘Shouldn’t she have come round by now? She’s been out for hours! Are you sure she’s alright?’

A frantic voice pierces through the fog that clouds my mind. Recognition flits through my thoughts as the sound passes by, leaving the chiming of church bells behind before I once again allow my unconscious mind to wander through layers of dreams. 

‘Miss, please, just try to calm down. She should come around in the next few hours, so if you wou-‘

‘Should! I don’t care about what should happen, I care about what will happen! So, tell me now, will she come around soon?’

There’s that voice again. It sounds so familiar. Then it clicks. It’s Em! But where the hell am I?

I focus on what I can feel. Fabric is brushing up against the bare skin on my arms, the rough surface catching on the fine hairs that line my body, whilst my head is cushioned by a pillow. Am I in bed at home? No. The bed is far too uncomfortable for that. It must be the hospital.