The First Nightmare
Sunlight pierces through the small openings of my curtains. I lay awake in bed. The white ceiling of my bedroom above. There’s a strange grey spot. Everything is silent.
Groaning, I get out of bed. Groaning? No. No noise escapes from my throat. I am silent. I trudge over to the window and open the curtains. A blast of heat washes over my face. The sun’s warm radiance caresses me. I close my eyes and stand there for a while. The warmth is nice. Where is Athel? What time is it?
I rub my eyes. The sun is gone. The gardens are engulfed in enormous flames. They look like dragons as they form waves and crash against the outer walls of the estate.
With a blink, the room fills with smoke. My throat closes off, they must protect my lungs. I scratch at it. I can’t breathe. There’s something else in my throat.
I’m in the hallway, running. And running. Fire is everywhere. Red, orange, yellow, blue. White. The heat melts my fur. My flesh burns.
Where is everyone?
I am silent.
On the first floor, I know where to go. I see no one. I hear them. Their agonizing screams. Their plea for help.
‘Elisa.’
‘Elisa.’
‘Elisa.’ I see no one. I hear them. I open my mouth to scream back at them. Smoke comes out. I am silent. There’s something else in my throat. I fall to my knees. The front gardens look dreadfully beautiful burning in front of me. The estate erupts in a large fireball. The screams grow louder. Pain. Death. Anger. Frustration. Disappointment. Blame. ‘You could’ve saved us.’
‘You had the power to save us.’
‘Why you? Why not us?’
‘I reached out to you. I reached out to you. I reached out to you.’ I open my mouth to scream back at them. No smoke comes out. I am silent. I scratch at my throat. There’s something else in there. I cough. Softer voices echo in my mind. Kinder. Then cruel. My mother. My father. ‘How could you only think about yourself?’
‘We raised you better than that.’
‘No nation will follow a leader that runs from their problems!’ Where are my thoughts? I need to think. I’m running again. Down the hill, Flynn’s farm is there. Safety. He’s there, golden fur, kind green eyes, waving. Smiling. It’s all on fire. I cough. Something in my throat moves. I cough again. I scratch at my throat. I am burning. There are no flames on me. I am silent. ‘You had the power to save us.’
‘Why didn’t you even try?’ I cough. It moves again. I scratch at it. I cough again. Flynn is gone. His home is ash. ‘Always about you.’
‘You could’ve saved us. You could save us.’ I’m on the ground again. Curled up, head down, against the cold of the earth. Only the voices in my head, rest is silent. I can see the flames all around me. They don’t make any sound. I cough. Something lands in my hands. I look at it. A golden ring. Perfectly round. ‘You could save us.’
‘You had the power.’
‘Raised you better than that.’ A beautiful shiny round red gem inlaid in the golden band. It taunts me. ‘Had the power.’
‘Save us.’
‘Save us.’ I scream. The ring screams. I am silent.
‘Elisa.’
‘Elisa.’ I see no one. I hear them. I open my mouth to scream back at them. Smoke comes out. I am silent. There’s something else in my throat. I fall to my knees. The front gardens look dreadfully beautiful burning in front of me. The estate erupts in a large fireball. The screams grow louder. Pain. Death. Anger. Frustration. Disappointment. Blame. ‘You could’ve saved us.’
‘You had the power to save us.’
‘Why you? Why not us?’
‘I reached out to you. I reached out to you. I reached out to you.’ I open my mouth to scream back at them. No smoke comes out. I am silent. I scratch at my throat. There’s something else in there. I cough. Softer voices echo in my mind. Kinder. Then cruel. My mother. My father. ‘How could you only think about yourself?’
‘We raised you better than that.’
‘No nation will follow a leader that runs from their problems!’ Where are my thoughts? I need to think. I’m running again. Down the hill, Flynn’s farm is there. Safety. He’s there, golden fur, kind green eyes, waving. Smiling. It’s all on fire. I cough. Something in my throat moves. I cough again. I scratch at my throat. I am burning. There are no flames on me. I am silent. ‘You had the power to save us.’
‘Why didn’t you even try?’ I cough. It moves again. I scratch at it. I cough again. Flynn is gone. His home is ash. ‘Always about you.’
‘You could’ve saved us. You could save us.’ I’m on the ground again. Curled up, head down, against the cold of the earth. Only the voices in my head, rest is silent. I can see the flames all around me. They don’t make any sound. I cough. Something lands in my hands. I look at it. A golden ring. Perfectly round. ‘You could save us.’
‘You had the power.’
‘Raised you better than that.’ A beautiful shiny round red gem inlaid in the golden band. It taunts me. ‘Had the power.’
‘Save us.’
‘Save us.’ I scream. The ring screams. I am silent.
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