Chapter Six:
Electric currents became vines that entangled my laze, squeezing it into a worthless splutter that withered away like dead flowers into the ether. A rapid change in velocity was what my body had experienced, this time in a way that was not blinding, but calculated and powerful enough to actually get me somewhere.
My eyes fell onto every inch of the surrounding environment, searching for any means of escape.
I heard it from where I stood, the thing that shone the noises of anything but itself to void, the thing that horrendously etched itself into the fecal matter that was my brain, the thing that would scare, but only the old version of myself, to paralysis; not this one. This one was as level-headed as a hippie, as calculated as a logician.
The sound, it was one of crackling fire.
There were two exits as far as I was knowledgeable about. A front door to my left and a window.
My eyes aligned with the front door and my legs followed suit at a carefully balanced pace. I twisted the knob. It was locked. Shit. I approached the window; it was barred. Shit, shit, shit! Cursed my mind as clearly reflected on the outside was exactly how I felt.
My lungs were becoming strained with smoke, so through the bars I gasped for a breath. Into my lungs was ripped a refreshing dose of oxygen to which I held within to venture the house.
Using my eyelashes as somewhat of a shield, I traveled through the thicket of the smoke, holding my shirt over my nose and mouth, only to find that all escapes were either barred off or perfectly sealed.
Panic was like a death threat that continuously found me wherever I would hide and for a moment I actually thought it crept in, but it didn't, and then just when I thought it was gone for good, it struck me right in the spot, making me embarrassingly defenseless.
I was back by the front door in the staircase and it was then my biggest nightmare manifested horrifically before my very eyes.
I had a moment of depersonalization. I used it to stare into my own eyes.
It was breathtaking, the sight of the gradient flames of vibrant orange and red, its size, massive, its power great as it was perfectly reflected into the eyes. The eyes that took the shape of a perfect circle, the eyes that made the projected flames even more glorious as tears sparkled in its glassy self.
And just like that, I was brought back in.
My eyes scouted the environment for anything that could be of use, but great flames quickly enveloped it all, removing the cleanliness that once stood dominant in the precious home faster than the period of life itself.
I looked above once more for help and there it was; the staircase. It reconfirmed something I stand by to this day. There's always a way out of anything, you just have to find it.
And so, I dashed, at a pace that then became an unconscious routine, the flames chasing me like the hunter would the prey. The flames, they were as if there was a plastic snake tied to my ankle as no matter how much I tried to accelerate, the flames would only follow suit.
Mindlessly, I jolted into the room, ramming the door shut as if it would keep the flames out forever.
Insufficiency became of the oxygen, my lungs expanding against my rid cage only to inhale a gas heavily imbued with the particles that were once a part of something greater than themselves.
Come to think of it, I wasn't so different from those particles. Being ripped away from what they knew against their will to become a meaningless series of matter.
My spine found an innocent solace against the wall farthest from the door, dilation becoming of my eyes as the fire crumbled and folded the door into disgraceful chunks of coal.
Soon, enveloping the room like a sleeve was the fire, disintegrating everything in its notorious path into ash. The room, it became so thick with smoke that I could have sworn I was feeling it threading aimlessly around my brain; the lack of oxygen making the thought completely rational at the moment.
My throat soon grew tired of coughing up black spunk from my body and, like an athlete needing to rest after exhaustion, I gave into the part of myself beyond control. I carefully laid on the ground, hugging my legs as I dozed gently off into unconsciousness, allowing the fire to do as it pleased.
I didn't want to give up, but I no longer had the resources to push on.
The small dose of fight left within me was used to open my eyes one last time to admire the beauty of my demise.
I knew I'd come back, but I'd never be able to erase the pain. It was terrible, of course, watching your death slowly approach you, consuming literally anything in its way just to be with you. I smiled at that thought, because why not? There are millions of girls out there who'd see the literal devil and feel safe in his arms. And it's funny because no matter how much he'd hurt her, she'd always see him the same, thinking that just because it's him, it makes it all worth it. And maybe she's right? I wouldn't know.
All I knew was that the fire was as ghastly as it was absolutely beautiful.
Whilst admiring its incredible flames, something peeked through it. I squinted and saw an image, an image of me.
Through suffocation, dread, and the insufferable feeling of my flesh boiling, I saw a painting of me among a group of three who faintly resembled me.
I stared in astonishment until I could feel the fire begin to eliminate the tissue cells of my very toes. I grimaced at the pain before closing my eyes and smiling at the image as I made sure it was deeply engraved within my memory for later reference.
I didn't escape this place yet, but I learned something.
I wasn't sure whether it would be of value or not, but I knew one thing, two, actually. Including my name. Be that nothing to you, but to me, it really felt like the greatest moment of my life.
The last thing I felt in the moment was the cold of a single tear as it finally left my body.

Finding a passage thoroughly buried in magnificence was the air that entered my sanctuary, caressing every inch of my soul as I relished in its freshness.
This time my back wasn't against the hardness of a rock, instead cushioning me was the softness of luscious grass that gently hugged the edges of my body as I lay.
Becoming open were my eyes, my brain sending signals to automatically peel the skin back in order to be attentive with what was around me.
Darkness was what I was met with, though not in totality, as great were the stars that lit the night with its radiance.
Soon, like a teenager trying cigarettes for the first time, I became so mindlessly entranced by the beauty of what was before me that my mind eliminated all negative factors of such.
Fully encompassing my mind was the vastness of its beauty, etching every inch of my being with its essence as I gawked relentlessly into its enthralling glow.
Onto my face there crept a smile that reflected like a mirror exactly how I felt within and the smile, of course, it was genuine, but it lasted just a moment as just as fast as it came it slipped right into the slippery slopes of what was known as panic.
From the grass, I arose and allowed my eyes to scan the environment that completely engulfed my being with its spirit. And there I was, in the middle of an open field that had not a seeming end.
For a time unbeknownst to me, my being sauntered, the concept of time being of no relevance that it completely hummed a nearly mute tune to me.
Eventually I gave in, my body no longer grasping the ability to support the weight of itself, and so I laid against the soft grass that caressed the spiking feeling to one of pure gentleness. Gravitating above were my eyes, as if it were drawn heavily to the magnificence that glared down with the eyes of a seductive siren.
I took a breath of the stars and dwelt on the sweet feeling that lingered, nuzzling my head into the grass as I pondered of how long it would take to count every one. It was amazing to stargaze, to feel them glisten against the tenderness of your cheek, to capture who would shine brightest, to smell yourself sick of contemplation and curiosity. Really, the experience was far beyond comparison to anything.
The more I gazed into them, the more fascinating they seemed to become. It was almost as if they were... human, in the way, of course, that they were more complex with every layer peeled back. There were obviously way more stars than people. Nevertheless, its quantity left a nostalgic tingle at the pit of my soul. They resembled humans also in the sense that from a far, they mildly resembled, but if you look a little closer, you'll realize they're all unique in a way relative to each other.
I relished the idea of viewing them as humans. It made me feel just a little less lonely, and that was simply... beautiful.
The corners of my lips steadily became upturned into a smile, representing the warmth that settled within and right there it chose to remain.
 Author's note
"𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬." - 𝐖𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚
𝐆𝐔𝐘𝐒! 𝐈 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐃 900 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐒 𝐓𝐘𝐒𝐌𝐌𝐌!! 𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 10𝐊 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒!!
𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏, 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐄𝐙! 𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐒𝐌𝐌!! ♡︎♡︎
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