All I could see from Mum and Dad's tight embrace was a sea of roaring red flames. My senses were all dulling rapidly and I was quickly getting dizzy from all the smoke.

"Adalyn, wake up, stay conscious. Listen to me! It's going to be ok," Mum rasped out into my ear.

"Hang on, guys. I'm sure help's on the way," Dad said as he kissed both of our foreheads while smiling weakly. "We can definitely survive this together."

That was all I could make out before my vision started becoming more and more blurry, and the voices were becoming dimmer.

In my period of drifting in and out of consciousness, I had a strange dream.

I was in a dark room and there was a black figure standing against blinding white lights. They were smiling—or were they smirking—at me. I could see them speaking, yet couldn't hear. I tried to respond, but my voice couldn't come out. While I struggled to make a sound, the figure slowly advanced and knelt down before me. Gently, they pushed aside my long bangs and pressed their lips against my burning forehead.

Their lips were freezing cold, and startled me. At that moment, I experienced the most agony I had ever felt. It was as if someone was pulling me apart while stabbing millions and billions of tiny needles into every part of my body.

Then there was the scorching pain, like lava pouring onto my head. It began where that person had kissed me, and spread across, my body, slowing burning.

I withered into a ball due to the crushing pain, and rolled around the floor— holding my throbbing head with my hands. The figure rose from their knees and retreated, leaving me to suffer alone. The dark room suddenly began to heat up even more— although it was already warm— and the room grew dimmer and dimmer until it was pitch black. The pain in my head was worse now, I felt like I was barely alive.

"THERE'S A SURVIVER!"

What? Who was shouting? What was going on?

I was in a state of confusion when it seemed like everything had stopped.

The next thing I knew, I was in a bed on an IV drip with a bandage wrapped around my head looking at a startled nurse.

I was in a hospital, and Mum and Dad were nowhere in sight.