"Oh my god!" Teagan screamed, clutching her head as debris started falling over.
Austin began screaming and pointing, "There! Get to the table!"
Aria immediately grabbed her sister and the others and led them to seek cover from under the oak table. While they held onto each other until the shaking ceased, Carter had grabbed a phone that dropped from the sofa and was sliding on the floorboard due to the earthquake. He attempted to call anyone amidst the chaos but to no avail, the natural disaster seemed to have also damaged the cell towers, resulting in no service.
The feeling of horror seemed to have gone forever. They were all stuck underneath a table they prayed would be sturdy enough to shelter them from the rocks; everywhere was dark, dusty, and smelled of smoke; most of the group started breathing heavily as their claustrophobia creeped in. They were the only people in the area; their parents far away from the forests—probably panicking and looking for them right now; and the thought of dying alone underneath all the rubble or worse, being burned to death terrified them greatly. It was just a total nightmare.
Livia was silent, pale, and trembling like how she reacts when something scares her. Teagan's eyes were shut and her mouth moved as though she whispered silent prayers. Austin held his hands tightly on his head as he buried his face in his knees. Aria and Carter, the bravest ones in the group, kept vigil and watched the situation from both edges; each of them trying to keep themselves calm even against the anxious pounding of their hearts.
When the earthquake stopped and the sirens from the town began blaring a mile away, Aria managed to crawl her way through the nearest window to look at the damage outside. The usual clear sky became a sea of dark gray clouds, it was snowing what most likely was ash. The trees surrounding them were in an inferno.
Loud crashing sounds were heard from behind her, which made Aria duck instinctively. Ash came falling from the ceiling, clouding their surroundings with smoke. The culprit was a large heating rock that confirmed her worst nightmares.
Of all the natural disasters she imagined, how on earth would they survive a shower of meteors falling from the sky?
The heat from the medium-sized space rock had started a fire in the forest behind and had now reached the cabin. Both Aria and Carter were quick on their feet. They immediately dashed forward to try and put out the fire. Teagan and Austin immediately pushed in motion and tried to open the door to leave, only to find the door was jammed. They immediately attempted the windows, but unfortunately, for some unknown reason, they were unable to yank them open.
At this time, the fire had erupted uncontrollably and began to swallow the place at a fast pace. They began coughing from the smoke and tasted ash in their mouths. Aria looked around frantically with bloodshot and tearful eyes and saw her sister still under the table, crying. When she made for Livia, something stopped her in her tracks.
A shadowy figure began to materialize from the fire. And this had Aria trembling. It was a humanoid figure with pale-white skin—like a corpse, wearing a red dress; its hair was like yarn and in a shade of silver; it had thin brows like a single thread; its eyes were glowing red buttons—like a gem, and trails of blood flowing from the corners like it was crying; her mouth was a thin line and stitched up in a way she couldn't open her mouth; and her neck was sewed to her body in a way as if she was decapitated and attempted to place her head back.
Cold sweat dripped from her skin and goosebumps pimpled her ivory skin. Aria wanted to call out but her inability to move had allowed ash through her nose, choking her. Aria fought to snap out of it, and when she did, Aria immediately pulled her sister towards where the others were. Mysteriously enough, all of her friends were also frozen in terror in their place like what she had been earlier. She tried to shout at them but the smoke had taken over her throat, so Aria had no choice but to grab a stool and break the glass window.
However, before she even had a chance, the terrifying figure materialized in front of her with outstretched hands. Its hands were already stretched and had shoved her with so great force that her body flew towards the flames and swallowed her–all of them. An explosion of ash and strange white fire swept through the forest trees. It was without a doubt that Aria, Liv, Teagan, Carter, and Austin, would have died in that fire.
They didn't.