Briar Preparatory Academy

The Scars of Our Past

Celeste POV

I am running. I don't know where to, but I know that I'm going somewhere. Behind me, I hear people calling my name, but I don't look back. I force my legs to run across the uneven ground, pumping my arms as fast as I can.

Suddenly I trip. I throw my hands out to catch myself, and suddenly I am on my back, staring up at the sky. It is gray, clouds covering the sun. I squint, my eyes blurred. I realize that they aren't clouds, but smoke. I sit up and look at my surroundings.

Everything is on fire.

Burning buildings are crashing to the ground and people are screaming and flames are consuming everything. I try to stand, to shout, but I can't. I am stuck to the ground, as if I were glued there. My lungs burn, as if I had embers flaming inside of them. Suddenly, two figures step out from all the chaos. I immediately recognize their features.

Kate and Seth. They look at me with remorse and what looks like betrayal. "Why did you leave us?" Kate says, her arms outstretched. Seth says nothing, only stares at me. I try to open my mouth, to speak, but nothing comes out. I might as well be a corpse.

Then they start to burn. Flames consume Kate and Seth's bodies and the melt into a pile of ash right before my eyes. I find my voice again, only this time I am not able to say words. I scream. A bloodcurdling scream that makes my own eardrums vibrate and my hands are in my hair and suddenly I am spinning. I scream out names of people that I know, and I can't keep track of who exactly. I hear someone calling to me, but I can't answer. I can't breathe. I can't function.

I hear another voice in my head. "Love gets you killed, Princess."

I am shaking, or rather someone is shaking me, but I can't see. I hear the voice again, oddly familiar. "Celeste! Celeste, wake up!"

~~~~~~~~~~

My eyes flash open and I am jolted back to reality. The concrete ceiling, the blaring single light. Someone is touching my shoulder, lightly shaking me. I sit up and scramble against the nearest wall, my eyes wide and blinking thousands of times. My head turns right and left wildly and I am breathing incredibly hard.

My eyes finally land on the other person in the room. Joe is staring at me, his eyes wide. He has his hand stretched out, almost as if I yanked away too early. "Celeste." He whispers. "You--"

"How long have you been here?"

Joe swallows. "Probably longer than you'd like."

I let my body relax against the wall, but my fingers are still digging into the palms of my hands. Joe continues to gaze, chewing the inside of his lip. His eyes are a cross between sympathy and fear. "Celeste.... you... you were screaming."

I glance up. "What?"

"I think you were having a nightmare. You were just screaming... screaming out names. Kate and Seth and... You said my name at one point." He balls his hands into fists, looks down at his shoes. I don't say anything; just try to get my breathing under control. "Are you alright?" He finally asks.

I shake my head, glaring at him weakly. "I haven't been alright for a while now."

He frowns, but it isn't out of annoyance. He looks almost... guilty. He slides down on the wall next to me, pausing when he sees my shoulders tense. "Why are you here?" I ask.

Joe looks up at the ceiling. "I was watching you on the security cameras," he gestures toward the camera in the corner of the room, "And you started... I don't know, writhing. You were sleeping at first, and then you just started screaming. So I came to check on you."