A World in Ruin

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

          The stench of smoke fills my nostrils. I feel myself being shoved and I snap my eyes open. Above me I see Dustin, shaking me furiously to wake me. I jolt up and look around. Flames are engulfing the barn, the heat making my skin crawl and sweat. Everything is burning. The colors of black, orange, and yellow fill the barn as the fire spreads. I hear the screams of my troops as they run to the exit of the barn.

"Come on, we need to go!" he yells through his covered mouth.

"Tara?" I choke out.

          He motions to the exit and I nod. I grab all my things and throw them in my bag before running to the exit.

          I look around the barn. There are pieces of flaming wood falling down from the roof. The sides of the barn are completely covered in flames as it spreads into the center of the barn.

          I instantly stop running.

"What are you doing?!" Dustin yells.

"I have to make sure everyone is out!"

          I start running around the flaming barn. The heat penetrates my clothes, making my skin feel like its burning. I run around the barn to check for any signs of life. When I don't see or hear anyone calling for help I run back to Dustin who waited for me. His face is dripping with sweat as he covers his mouth with a shirt to block out the smoke now filling my nostrils.

          He grabs my hand and starts pulling me towards the exit. Pieces of the burning roof fall in front of us as we try to maneuver our way safely out. I can feel my lungs filling with smoke the longer we stay.

          When we finally make it outside I am gasping for breath, trying to breath in as much oxygen as I can. I take a few deep, cleansing breathes before turning back to look at the barn.

          The rain had stopped sometime during the night, eliminating the chance of the fire going out soon. The whole barn is up in flames, billows of smoke rising from it. From where I am standing I can still feel the heat radiating off the burning barn.

          I am pulled into a hug and my instinct is to push whomever it is away.

"Oh my god Gwen! I thought you were a goner!" Tara pants frantically.

"I'm fine... But how are you?" I ask looking into her fearful eyes.

"I-I'll be okay..."

           When Tara was younger a fire broke out in her house. Her family didn't know how it started, but she got stuck in her room and couldn't get out. The flames spread to right outside her door and she was trapped. She choked on the smoke as the flames broke through her door. The last thing she remembered was scorching sensation on her skin and she passed out. The next thing she knew, she woke up outside with no memory of how she got out. Her legs had some pretty bad burns on them, but they eventually healed. Ever since then, she has been deathly afraid of big fires.

"I feel so bad for leaving you, but when I saw the flames I-I couldn't..." she pauses, tears prickling in her eyes.

"Its okay, I understand. Don't cry..."

          I say wiping away her fallen tears.

"Shhh... don't cry. Be strong," I whisper to her.

          She finishes wiping away her tears and turns away from the fire. I stare at the ash that's now flying through the air, settling on the ground around us.

"We should go Gwen. If too much ash gets in our lungs..." Dustin says.

"I know," I cut him off.