Levels

My feet grip the snow beneath them for only a moment before reaching untouched snow again. The air has its icy hands clasped around me, pulling me back as I try to spring forward. I trip and my knees feel the cushion of the cold snowy blanket beneath me. When fear kicks in, you think there is nothing more powerful, until the light in the distance taunts you with hope, and then you feel what real power is.

I return to my feet, ensuring that I don’t look back, I can hear shoes fumbling behind me, desperate to catch up; the difference is, the feet behind me run with fear. The light in the distance glows orange and produces thick black smoke that circles in the icy air like a tornado, the smell of the smoke fills my lungs and somehow allows me to breathe easier. I haven’t yet made it this far, I know if I get past the burning building there’s only one level left and at the end of that level is the finish line. If I can finish, I get to leave, I get to be free.

The flames lick the sides of the walls of the blazing building like a hissing snake. I look up to the window and see his hand pressed against the glass. My breath catches in my throat and tightens. He’s trapped. If I save him, I won’t make it, but if I don’t, I may as well be dead.