Twisted

~2~

     Right now it's just me. Sitting in the room. What happened?

     Did I even sleep last night?

     All I remember was my eyes going all whack. Then Dad never came.

     And for sure I would remember going home. The room is all glossy, that's weird.

     I get up, walking over to the door.

     It won't open, no matter how much force I put on the knob. It's locked. Locked from outside. I can't get out! There is a single window. This room is different from my room. It's my guest room. Why am I in here?

     Did I sleep walk and fall asleep again in there?

     Whatever the case I open the window. I expect to see a breeze, but all the air is still. I can't say I feel the air. Like it's not there. Or I'm in space, but everything looks normal. At least I can breathe, so I should be good.

     Outside is all messed up. Trees tipped over and burned, Grass long gone dead. Homes with windows cracked and chipping walls. It looks like a tornado hit this place, or a nuclear war hit this place.

     I kick a can along the side of the street.

     I have no clue where I am going. No clue what's going on, and no clue what I will do.

      Not that there is anything I can do.

     A bird chirps. At least there is some life in the area besides me.

     Gosh, I'm hungry. My throats dry all of a sudden. And my bones are aching. Did I get hit by a bus? What happened?

     In the faint distance is a little glow.

     I zone in on it, and start to walk towards it.

     I'm still kicking the can, it's empty soup. It's the small things I wonder about sometimes. Huh? Where's my shades? I pick up the can and see my reflection in it. My eyes are just hazel.

     The glow gets a silhouette. A boy, a familiar boy.

     "Gavin?"

     In his hand, one being held out is a fire ball. It's controlled, but not just a flame.

     He's burning one of the trees on the ground. The roots are still white, so it must be still alive.

     "Gavin! Stop it! You know how much I care about nature!"

     "Do you ever wonder -" He starts to trail of, but I give him silence to finish, "if you were meant to do something?"

     "You mean like fate?" I ask back, not quite understanding where he's going with this. He nods his head oddly and slowly. "I guess I know what you mean."

     "Yeah. Like fate." He's speaking at a slow rate. It's starting to scare me. A small gust of cold air occurs. It brushes onto my red cheeks, it chills me up and freezes me temporarily.

      "Are you okay? You're acting kind of strange." I take a step closer to him, but back up again. Something isn't right here.

      "Yeah. Yeah, I'm uh - fine."

      "What were you trying to say about fate?"

     "I just feel like - like I am supposed to do something."

      "And?"

     "I'm not sure if I should do it."

     "If you feel like it's your fate, then do it." He nods his head again. "What do you feel like you're supposed to do?"

     He doesn't answer me at first. I've gotten cold so I'm wrapped in my own arms and a sweater I found on the floor. I've been waiting to get an answer for about thirty seconds now.

     "Hello?" I ask him, taking a brave step to him again. "I asked you what were you supposed to do?"

     "Oh, you did?"

     "Yeah. Now, what were you supposed to do?"

     "This!" His voice turns deep, scary, and dark. He throws two fire balls out, and the wind picks up. It swirls both of us at first. Then only around him. at his feet.

      He completely ignites. Red, orange, and yellow all around. The wind makes a tunnel around him, creeping up on his body.

     A fire tornado?

     What is going on. He throws a fire ball at me! I jump to my left quickly and roll.

     He walks over slowly. Each step the area around get's hotter and hotter. To one point it feels like I will catch on fire. The tree limbs reached over here instantly catch. And spread like wildfire. The tree leads to my house.

     I sit there screaming as all my memories burn to ashes.

     "Gavin stop!"

     "I'm doing what I must do." He's standing right over me. My skin is burning, becoming a blackened color by each second. "Do what I mu -" He stops talking an burning. Back to his normal self. He kneels next to me.

     "Gavin! You're scaring me."

     "I'm so sorry." He kisses me, it burns. But only a little.

     "What happened to you."

     "I - I - I don't know -" His body goes still. His hand goes from fiery hot to cold. Cold like ice, but he seems fine.

      Out of his eyes, nose, and ears spits out a black fog. I'm screaming my head of now. "Stop! Stop it right now!" I get off and take off.

      It was a shadow. A shadow!

      I start running, faster than anything. The shadows gaining on me. I make a sharp turn right, I'm running through the streets. This - this is horrible. The shadow is twisting it's way, trying the hardest just to get to. This is as fast as I can go. And it isn't fast enough.

      "No!" I shout as I trip. I hit the paved road and turn on my back. The shadow grabs my foot. I'm panicking and engulfed in hysteria.

       "Haley," the shadow hisses. It carries my name out. It makes make me scream and freak out.

      "Please! Let go of me!" I look around for a way out, but I am trapped. There is no place to go. The shadow is moving up my legs. Then up my hips, to my neck and finally over my mouth. It cuts off my screams and having me gurgle. The shadow travels down may throat making me choke and gag.

       "Give up... We've got you!"