Storm Warning

The Kingdom Falls

                    I spent the entire drive going nowhere staring out of the window. I couldn’t get Chance out of my head. He spent ten years in love with a woman he couldn’t have. I couldn’t be gladder that things didn’t work out between me and Derek. I wouldn’t have wanted that for him. But Sarah… she had loved Chance as much as he loved her. I had to believe that she had someone other than me in her life. What’s worse? I never thought about that until now, and that is a horrible realization to make… after you can no longer change it. Sarah loved him so much she left him but couldn’t bring herself to truly leave him. It’s funny though… in all her messages or entries, she never mentioned him. But why would she? This was a work journal to her, and she was incredibly brilliant. She wouldn’t have wanted to mention him in case the people who killed her got their hands on the journal. That would lead them right to his front door. She would have avoided that at all costs… much like me and my friends. Leaving them behind is the smartest decision, but it is also incredibly difficult.

                     Sarah and I are a lot alike. Sarah protected Chance the only way she knew how… by keeping him a secret, and I will have to do the same… by keeping them at a distance. Ripping that band-aid off is going to suck. I wish she had told me everything when I was younger. At least that way, I could have known not to form connections. Then maybe… just maybe, I wouldn’t be worried about Maddie and Derek being safe. I wouldn’t be ripping out pieces of my soul at their fast-approaching departure. I wouldn’t have to have had everything and then lost it.

                     As I sit in the back, I watch them talk to each other. It is so easy, and there doesn’t appear to be a shortage of things to talk about – favorite class, hobbies, sports, senior year, and college. They are distracting themselves from my departure too – I think. We have been together for so long. I don’t know if I can survive without them. But them… they will survive because they still have each other. Although saddened, I am happy that they are still looking forward and planning their futures even if I may not have one.

                     Planning futures are a symbol that means they aren’t giving anything up for me. They will be okay. They have to be.

                     Derek pulls up to the cabin, and I feel a sudden panic. “WAIT! What are we doing here? He said to get out of town as soon as we have the money.”

                     Maddie nods. “True, and we will. Still, I just wanted to get your sandwiches really quick.”

                     “Leave them. They are not important.”

                     “You need the food.”

                     “We can get new fixings for sandwiches. DO NOT get out of this truck.” I reach out and clamp a hand down on Maddie's arm.

                     Maddie and Derek stare at each other before shifting their eyes to look back at me. “Arielle, what’s wrong? You're hurting me.”

                    I remove my hand but the urgency in my voice remains. “I have a really bad feeling.” I cringe as I see that Maddie is determined to walk into the cabin and as Derek is disinclined to argue with her. I am not sure I can convince them. They have lived in safety for far too long. No one has come for them… yet. I pity their innocence while I also long for it.

                     “It is just a feeling though.”

                     “With the way things are going, that feeling can be the difference between life and death.”

                     “I will be real quick.” Maddie is up and out of the car in the blink of an eye with be just barely missing her as I reach out to stop her. With a quick glance at Derek, I quickly scramble out of the car, and I follow her. With a couple steps, I am right at her side and so is Derek. I see the tear travel down the side of her face.

                     She knows we are going our separate ways soon. I know Maddie like the back of my hand. I know her determination is because this is the last thing that she can do for me and is potentially the last time she will ever see me. I feel for her heartache but I can’t get over this feeling that something is not right. There are rocks rolling around in the pit of my stomach. “Let’s make this faster. I have a bad feeling. I just… just can’t manage to pinpoint it.” As we reach the door handle, I move Maddie aside. “Let me go first.”

                     As my hand touches the door handle, we are all suddenly blown in widely different directions. As I fly through the air with my hair streaming in front of my face, my legs spread wide, my arms reaching out in front, and my body curves in a long ‘C’, I couldn’t help but think. There was no noise. There was no boom or ticking sound. There was no warning other than my gut instinct that it was coming. Damn. I knew I should have listened to it.

                     As I hit the ground, the wind is knocking out of the lungs, and my eyes come in and out of focus. My vision fades to black on one last thought… ouch!

                     Minutes or hours pass by before I come to, I couldn’t be sure. As I open my eyes, I grunt in pain as my eyes blur with tears. Blinking them away, I find myself laying up against a tree on my side. I am laying with my left arm twisted up under me. Using my forearm, I struggle to push my upper body up off the ground. Once I sit up, I blink rapidly to bring my eyes into focus to no avail. Breathing long and slow, I put a hand to the left side on the head as it thumps in time with my heart and feel something sticky. I bring my hand away from my face and am met with blurs similar to those seen as night while driving. Shaking my head, the lights fade by force of will alone. My hand is covered in a red substance… blood.

                     As the sight of my blood, a switch gets flipped. My eyes finally start to focus, and I see the rock with a giant blood stain. I must have hit my head. But why? How? I try to unclog my ears in hopes of hearing better but my fingers come away with blood. I close my eyes and center myself. My ears pop as I reopen my eyes. I am in complete control.

                     Looking up, I work to piece together the events of the last… um, couple minutes? Hours? It has got to be minutes. Right? Shaking my head, I look around to see what is happening. The cabin.

                     The cabin is on fire. Flames are flicking in and around the door way as they move with the wind. The fire is crackling as embers are thrown free to the grass several feet away. Unsurprisingly, the grass catches fire, and the fire spreads with pure destructive intent. As far as I can tell, the door was blown outward. The door lays in flaming pieces in and around grass and gravel areas. One flaming sliver of wood is sitting maybe eight inches from me. I turn my head back to the cabin as the heat inside the house cause all of the windows to expand and explode outwards. I cover my face in case any shards could reach me. I hear the sound of glass whipping by and tinkling as  shards hit one another and fall to the ground. The wooden walls are starting to bubble from the heat as it expands the wood.

                     I hear a groan to my right. I get myself to the feet. Staying low to the ground in a crouch, I sprint the several yards until I see two white sneakers peeking out from the other side of the truck. I find Maddie lying on her back while holding her hand. “Maddie…” is whispered with intensity as I round the bed of the truck. I sink to my knees next to Maddie as I shake. “Maddie! Wake up!” Nothing. I shake her harder as I resist the urge to scream. “Maddie!! Get up! You have to get up!” The fire is growing closer with every minute wasted. Maddie groans again as she twitches. “Maddie! Are you okay?”

                     She blinks to focus her eyes. “Arielle, is that you?” I nod as my throat constricted in relief.

                     “Yeah. Yeah, it’s me.”

                     “What the hell happened?”

                     “I don’t … I don’t really know to tell you the truth. But the fire is getting closer, and we need to get to Derek and get out of here.” I shake my head. “It looks like there was an explosion.” I grab Maddie’s left elbow and gently pull her up as she uses her good hand, the right one, to push herself up. She groans again as she finds herself in a sitting position. “What hurts?”

                     Maddie barks out a strangled laugh. “Everything.”

                     I nod. Fair enough. “Me too. I need to get us both to our feet, okay? I am going to need you to work with me to make that happen. I grab the rear passenger side tire and use it as I bring my legs underneath me and use what little strength I have left to pull myself up until I am kneeling. With a c***k of my joints, I grimace and place my hands on the side of the truck bed and use it to pull myself the rest of the way up. Taking several deep breathes, I work to find my balance. Smoke inhalation. I look to the cabin to see large clouds of black smoke moving across the sky. We have to get out of here before we die or before park rangers and fire trucks show up. I close my eyes and refocus once again. My back straightens, and my shoulders are set back. Opening my eyes, I look down at Maddie still sitting on the ground. I can see the skin on her hands are bright red, but she isn’t burned. Finding my resolve, I vow to protect her and Derek no matter what. “Your turn. Lean on me to help you up.”

                     I bend down and put my left arm under her shoulders. I use my strength to propel her up and get her standing. “I’m good. I’m good. I am just dizzy.”

                     “I know. I think it is from the smoke.”

                     “Ari, where’s Derek?”

                     I look around as I keep the panic off of my face. “I don’t-“

                     “I’m here! I’m here!” We turn to look at Derek who is also bright red from the blast and is running out of the trees with a limp and blood droplets falling onto the collar of his shirt. He looks past us to see the cabin. His eyes widen in disbelief. “MY aunt’s house… it is destroyed. What the hell happened?” I shake my head before we turn to look at the house as the right wall caves in and the roof starts to droop.

                     The front door is gone. Everything is past destroyed. The flames are still eating at the three remaining walls. The flames are wall high and are throwing off lots of heat thanks to all the kindling. The flames dance dangerously close and in stunning shades of red, orange, and yellow. The black smoke has long since blocked out the moonlight and has hidden the stars from view.

                     Derek moves closer to us as we watch the cabin burn and wraps us in a hug.

                     “Well, isn’t this sweet? A real Kodak moment, if you will.” We startle at the voice and look around us to identify the owner of the voice. “Getting Warmer.” We make eye contact with each other before turning to the voice and the fire as a small black shadow grows in size as it nears… from INSIDE THE FIRE.