Essie Sterling and the sixth sense

Chapter 1 (The dream)

I could hear heavy breathing from the boy in front, as I crawled through the ventilation shaft. It was dark and it seemed the only sensation I could feel was my heartbeat.

The thought that the shaft would snap under my weight constantly nagged in my mind.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"We have to get out of here," he replied.

"Why?" I asked.

He kept quiet.

The awkward silence lingered in the air, as our feet padded forwards.

After crawling ahead for some time, I could see a burst of blinding light. I blinked to reduce the glare into my eyes.

Finally, we had reached the end. He pushed the cover onto the ground and crawled out. I followed suit and fell on the grassy floor.

"What about my mummy? Is she going to follow us out?" I asked.

"Don't worry about her. She is safe," he replied.

An ominous stillness flooded the air. Tall dark pine trees stood in front of us. I could smell the unmistakable smell of wild flowers and grass. I turned around and found myself facing the white and iridescent walls of a menacing facility. Worry and fear over the safety of my mother welled up inside me.

Gently, he held my hand and pulled me away.

"You have to move back. It is dangerous," he said with haste.

"You are lying. My mummy is still in there," I said.

I broke away from his grasp and ran forwards.

After I took a few steps, a stroke of blinding light flashed before my eyes. My eye drums exploded from a deafening explosion. Shockwaves were sent through the ground. I was thrown back by the force, landing on my back.

I tried to open my eyes, but my vision was blurry. My head throbbed painfully. By the time my eyes recovered, I came to the heartrending realization the facility had exploded, along with my mother.

A portion of the facility had collapsed, ending up as a tangled meshwork of metal bars and concrete. Fires had broken out in various portions due to the blast, while the once whitewashed outer walls were blackened by the soot.

"No," I said.

I tried to run to the debris, but a searing pain ran through my leg.

Then, I noticed that the boy started to turn away.

"You lied," I said.

"I had to," he said melancholically.

I grabbed the sleeve of his shirt. My fists pummeled into his chest, as tears went down my face.

"Why didn't you save her?" I asked.

He kept mum.

"I believed you," I said weakly, as my wrecked body slumped at his feet.

"I did this for you," he said before escaping into the shadowy forest.

I sobbed, as I saw his silhouette fading into the mist of the forest. Finally, he disappeared into the dense foliage of the forest.

Then, everything faded into oblivion.

I ended up waking up in my bed, screaming hysterically. The bed was drenched in a pool of sweat. With my hands clenched tightly around my pillow, I frantically looked around. I was in my room.