Triple Threat

Triple Threat

It was the day before Friday the 13th and I had awakened with a sense of melancholic unease. I felt like something wasn’t right. I slid out of my warm and comfortable bed as my stomach yearned for food. The floors were cold against my bare feet as I wandered into the kitchen to wash my clammy hands. The kitchen sink water wasn’t flowing. I wasn’t sure why and I sighed with disappointment. I looked out the window and the view outside was shocking and disorientating.

The thick smoke wafted slowly past my kitchen window. My heart began to pound, palpitating with unease. I couldn’t quite smell the smoke through my house, although I knew it would be around due to the smoke wafting around outside. I quickly decided to inspect my property. My animals were out there. I prepared myself and put some shoes on. It was incredibly windy outside and what I saw outside wasn’t what I expected.

The horses on the adjacent land to mine hysterically neighed. I could see burns and blood dripping from their bodies. One horse was stuck in the fence trying its hardest to escape while the other horses tried jumping over the fence to escape the fire. I was astonished and rushed over to see if I could help but the horse was already dead by the time I got there. The other horses managed to jump the fence and ran away from the fires and towards to the sea. I knew I had to follow them except I need to investigate my estate and township. I could see the fires coming closer to my house. The heat was unbearable I couldn’t put the fire out so I decided to leave.

The eerie silence once the horses left grew strong, grappling the entire estate. I knew something was severely wrong with this fire and wondered how the villagers were so I hiked my way back to the house. I managed to find a clear path to the left of my property where I might be able to also jump the fence to see what everyone was doing. I made my way along the path as the winds blew strongly, making me lose my balance. I fell to the ground. I looked around me and noticed behind me that the fire had started burning my house. Ashes spread through the air and it became hard to breathe. I needed to make it to the fence. I got up carefully and ran towards the fence. I jumped over the fence and onto the road.

I glanced around and noticed the fire ravaging the remaining of the township, quickly incinerating everything in sight. The villagers screaming and crying as they slowly burnt and bled while escaping their homes and the wall of fire heading their way. Some of the villagers were consumed by the fire wall and didn’t make it out alive. The others managed to outrun the firewall. I knew the rest of the town would’ve been incinerated by now. Everyone began heading towards my house which was very close to the line of the fire on the other side of my burning house where the horse incinerated.

“Bruce!!” I heard a familiar voice yell. “We need your help!! We have to get to the sea!!”

There was no other form of help in sight. No fire brigades, no police, nobody to stop the fires consuming our township. The skies above billowed with thick smoke and my trees swayed strongly with the wind. Ember consumed leaves swayed in the air around me, somewhat peacefully amongst the chaotic fires. Every nearby abode behind me was lit on fire; slowly yet fiercely turning to ashes. Blackness grew everywhere.

I needed to help and somehow leave. I had to get out of here with everyone remaining alive.

“Follow me” I screamed to the villagers.

The villagers listened and began to follow me to the sea. As we made our way through the ashes and nearby fire the burnt tree tops began to shake and leaves were strangely falling uniquely on the ground as loose dirt fell from their roots. The unincinerated trees rose from the depths of the Earths soil angrily yelling,

“It was you” as they pointed their branches towards us. The tree monsters assumed we burnt down the township, alighting other trees and creating the ravaging fire.

“It wasn’t us” we frantically yelled in return as we began to run towards to the sea and away from the fire and monstrous trees. The trees angrily began to follow us surprisingly fast towards the sea.

Once we made it to the sea. I was anxious to dive in, although my feet and body temperature yearned for the freshness of the sea water. I looked back and the fire had spread wildly, consuming everything and continuing to billow thick smoke into the air. My house and estate had been incinerated. We needed to get away from the trees and fires. I decided to lead and rushed, stepping into the sea and suddenly my feet filled with warmth; a nice kind of warmth, unlike the fires. I submerged my body into the sea and swam as far as I could. The fellow villages followed me.

The water started bubbling continuously, releasing a strong scent that I couldn’t quite catch. The mysterious scent loomed so strongly, it was overwhelming. It was blood, fresh blood. We entered shark infested sea waters. It wasn’t known that sharks inhabited the area. Everyone screamed, yelling and swimming anywhere they could to avoid the sharks. By the time I made it back to the shore, the trees began accusingly berating me, wrapping their roots around my body. It was hopeless.

Word Count: 956

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