Unending Trails

The heat… it’s too hot… I can feel it searing everything that I have.

I’m floating. Floating in a sea of everything around me. Or is it just me? I move, but with every move… I just keep floating. As if I can’t stop myself.

There’s screaming I can hear. Too much screaming in my ears… in every direction I turn.

I look around… there’s fire. Fire everywhere. My sight is bright with flames, my body hot with the heat. My voice is empty without its power. I look down to feel what I can —feel how hot I am, only to see my hands are not there.



As if I feel within myself that they are present, but truthfully they aren’t. As if I’m just a body floating in its own thoughts.

Where are they? Can you all hear me? Can you all see what I do? Where are you? Please… I need to know…

The house… it glows with the heat around me. It’s breaking, crumbling apart with each step I take.

Where are they? Can they hear me? I’m yelling… all that I can; but it won’t come out. There’s nothing in me.



One step at a time, the hallways are extending. I can’t reach the end, and it’s breaking around me —burning with the flames eating everything. I can’t reach the end…

I need to know… please tell me… where is everyone?

Have they left?



It’s all echoing. I hear only remnants now. The screams, the breaking, the crumbling, the flames… all of it. Fainter and louder, as if it was beating like a heart.

The walls, they’re no longer there. The roof has disappeared as well. I look up to find the night sky above me. It’s darker than usual. The stars are not there, but I can faintly feel them.

The floor is now a path —a stone path. I notice houses around me. My body is not there… only the path around me.

The heat is behind me, yelling at me. The fear is building… and I can’t help it.



There is no breeze. I don’t feel the ground under me, as if I’m flying through the air.

Where are you guys? Where is everyone? Where have they gone?

The houses around me… they too are being eaten by the fire. They too are falling down. From both sides, the fire is roaring at me, telling me to keep running.

The path seems infinite. I can’t see the end of it. I try and scream, hoping to find someone… but I can’t. It won’t make a sound.

Please… please hear me.



The path goes down. I can see everything from here. Everything is on fire. The fire is eating everything.

But where is everyone? Can they not hear me?

I can feel my own fear. It’s building, and the tears will roll soon. Mother… father… have you left me?

I keep turning around, looking for anything. But there’s nothing. All around me, the buildings are crumbling. The screaming has returned.

Something’s whispering to me… but I can’t hear it. I try to answer, to ask what it’s saying. I can’t.

Can you hear me?

I close my eyes, only to open them to where I was. The house… still stands, just as if nothing happened. The fire is gone?

Right in the middle, I stand alone in the room. I look around, and there’s no one. I try and call out, but nothing comes forth.

Are you all asleep? Where are they?

The heat… it’s getting worse. I look around, but there’s no fire. It’s searing me…

My sight grows brighter. Now the fire has reached. It came from somewhere… but where?

It’s too loud… I cover my ears to hide it away. The house is falling —it’s crumbling, making an indistinguishable sound. I look up, to see black. Is it the smoke?

I close my eyes and yell at it… as loud as I can.



I open my eyes, and there I am. Outside, the night sky above me. The stars are looking down, watching as everything burns.

Something else is here. The screaming faints, and all I can hear is the roar of the gods. It’s impactful, just as if all else was quiet… all but it.

I turn to see it. There it was… high atop the castle. The fire illuminated the base of it, as it crumbled under its weight. There it was, high atop the falling castle.

But there I was, standing and looking. The screams were running past me, away from it. The fire was urging me to run.

Why am I still here? Where are you guys? Are you all safe?

It turned its head… and looked at me. There it was, still without movement. The flames around it were dancing… dancing upon the falling city.

I try and move, but I have no legs. I try and hide, but I have no arms. I yell as loud as I can, but my voice is not there.

Can you hear it? Can you hear my call?

It’s eyes I can see glowing. The same color as the fire. The fear is building, but I can’t do anything.

Please… please tell me…

It stretches its wings and the smoke goes with it. It prowls closer to me… keeping its eyes locked onto mine.

Can you hear it?

Everything crumbles beneath it. The fire spreads, to all that I can see. It’s searing… it’s too painful that I want to cry and scream.

I try and scream and yet it’s empty.

It stops, as if it heard me. It stares as I stare back. It breathes in and roars. My ears hear nothing, as everything flashes before me. It’s all too loud for me to hear; so loud it's silent.

Everything’s too fast… I can’t keep up.



I jolt awake, and immediately feel the beat of my own heart. I notice the intense heat, and how sweaty I am. I see the ceiling above me and make out what else I can. The walls around are just how I saw them not too long ago. I turn my head to my left and notice Alton still sound asleep. The nightstands separating our beds are still there, with everything intact.

I try and calm myself, taking control of my breath and grasping my chest. I throw the sheet covering me, smiling as I’m glad. Thankful that it was as it was.

‘Just a nightmare…’

I stretch, turn, and reposition myself. I can feel the cool air on my body. I lay there, still staring at the ceiling, debating on whether or not I should go back to sleep. Ultimately I warn myself I should.

And so, I close my eyes... hoping it wouldn’t happen again.