Pyre (Frerard, Rikey, Ryden, Petekey)

1: Confusing But Necessary Prologue Thingy

Fire rained down from the heavens, stinging Gerard's skin with painful blisters, but he didn't care - he was here on a mission, and this time, he wouldn't fail...he couldn't fail. If someone had asked him what that purpose was, he would have been unable to produce an answer, but that did nothing to quell the determination brewing inside of him to continue forward despite the sweltering heat and choking smoke obscuring his way.

Gerard couldn't leave, even if he wanted to; he had attempted it before, but there was no direction to move besides the pathway in front of him. Turning around always led him to blank walls that hadn't been there previously, and even with his strength, he couldn't break them down. They seemed to be made of steel, and his every endeavor at shattering them ended in him wasting his precious time as the impenetrable barriers mocked his pathetic attempts at escape - if walls were capable of mocking people that is.

9:55

The red numbers on the clock mounted on the wall galvanized him, only five more minutes until Gerard would be too late - too late for what, he didn't know, but it was desperately important...he was sure of that much.

Keep moving...ignore the flames...don't stop.

Gerard's internal chant kept him company as he continued deeper into the building, because it was a building, he could tell that now, even though he didn't have a clue what its original purpose had been. Empty cages lined the walls, many of the doors hung open haphazardly, as if whoever had occupied them had evacuated in a hurry, which is what Gerard should be doing, but he couldn't...not yet.

He briefly considered the fact that he might be in a prison - but no, that didn't seem right, because the cells were small, sometimes two were placed one on top of the other, and even the cruelest jail in the world wouldn't keep people sequestered in these kind of conditions.

It didn't matter though...all that mattered was reaching the end of this hallway.

Gerard was starting to panic now, flames were twisting around him, scorching his skin with every caress of their fiery fingers. He could feel blisters forming underneath his clothing, which was scant protection against the overwhelming heat and smoke that was threatening to bring him to his knees from lack of oxygen, but he ignored it all, smothering his fear with the urgent need to continue moving, because if he stopped, he was dead, and then he would never find out what he was even doing here in the first place.

A door was in sight now, blackened by smoke and cracked open slightly, orange flames visible from within. Putting on a burst of speed, Gerard practically ripped the object off its hinges in his desperate bid to get inside. Whatever he was searching for resided within this room, he knew it without a doubt.

Gerard was aware that he didn't have long now, tears blurred his vision and his lungs were filling up with smoke. He could smell the unpleasant scent of burning flesh, and he tried his best to ignore the fact that it was most definitely his own.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Gerard called out in a panicked voice, because he had suddenly remembered that he had been searching for a person - just who that person was remained unclear though.

A quick scan of the room revealed nothing besides a large desk and an overabundance of smoke, causing everything else in the nearby vicinity to be lost in shadows.

"Gerard?" a hoarse voice croaked out, and even though Gerard didn't recognize it, it was somehow familiar at the same time.

He was aware of how little sense that statement held, but nothing about this entire situation made any iota of sense. He had no memory of how he had gotten here, or what he was doing, so it wasn't a surprise that he couldn't place a finger on who the voice belonged to either.