Fire

It was Fire’s idea to go so far into the woods. You see, anyone that goes into the forest never comes out. The way the inhabitants of the island know someone has gone in is when they hear the shouts and screams from within. My name is Jackson; new to the island. I live at the end of Seabrook Road in the white Tudor house. My first day here, and I’m already the social outcast. The only person that talked to me was Fire, this short blond-haired girl that sat in front of me in class. She wanted to hang out after school in the forest. I hadn’t been here a day, but I had already learned about the woods and the horrors that occurred within. With me, as always wanting to fit in, I went with her through the forest. I couldn’t stop shaking in the trees. Suddenly I heard a crunching sound come from under my foot, and when I looked where I had placed my foot lay a human skull. I couldn’t move. Fire kept telling me to come with her, but I just stood there in shock and fear. Shivers ran down my spine, paralyzing every inch of my body. I wanted to run far, far away, out of the forest and back to the safety of the town, but I just couldn’t. Then out of nowhere, Fire grabbed my arm and pulled me into a sprint, dashing toward what I thought was the town, but I quickly realized that I was mistaken when we reached the coast. The crashing waves echoed as they met the jagged rock edge that encompassed the wooded portion of the island. Even over the crashing waves, I could hear the menacing roar that grew to envelop all of my surroundings. Once again, Fire grabbed my arm and dragged me through the woods. We sprinted as fast as we could to find an escape from the madness that was in the forest. As I began to pray for all of this to end I felt a drop of water land on the tip of my nose. All of a sudden, the bottom of the clouds broke free, releasing a flood of water to drench the forest. Bolts of lightning could be heard bouncing off the distant ocean waves and the treetops above. I heard a bellowing boom from above, and as I looked up I knew it was too late. There I was standing there as s broken branch from a tree that was struck by lightning was hurdling towards me. I then woke up to the beeping of machinery and an IV stuck into my arm. My mother, father, and multiple doctors and nurses surrounded me, rejoicing. I was relieved to be out of the forest and to see my parents by my side, but the one person that I was hoping would be there was nowhere to be seen. I then asked where Fire was. Everyone around me expressed a dumbfounded look at the question as none of them knew who I was talking about. As time passed, no one believed me or knew who the girl I was talking about was. Even my teacher said the desk in front of me was empty from my first day on the island. I just couldn’t accept that she wasn’t real because my last memory from before I woke up was that of Fire screaming out my name moments before I met what I very well thought was my demise.