Burned 7.2

a/n: Only rated 16+ for one word near the end. Just wanted to be safe ^_^

For once I don’t know what to do. Protocol skips my mind. Am I supposed to go back to the dorm? Should I go to the dining hall? But not even the panic gets me moving.

Will does that. He grabs my arm, not quite gentle enough, and pulls me out the door. A thunderous roar sounds and it’s too close. Before a guess can even form, the building shakes and throws us off balance. I fall into Will who crashes into the cemented wall. Ceiling fragments rain down as we struggle to get back on our feet.

The sound blares again and we’re forced back to the ground. More debris finds its way to us, scraping the skin I’m too numb to feel. So much blood is sliding across my arm that I don’t know where it’s coming from anymore. I dab at it loosely with the extra length of fabric at the bottom of my shirt. It doesn’t do much, but it’s enough.

The alarm is still ringing, blaring in our ears as if we needed any more reminder. I wonder how much longer we’ll be tortured with the sound.

“Bombs,” Will chokes out as he pulls me up. “They have bombs.” He’s the one with the level head this time, leading us somewhere more safe than here. At least I hope.

The bombs keep getting closer, seeming to move as fast as we are. I don’t know if we’re following the bombs or if they’re following us. Each roar is as great as the last. The building is made out of such strong material that the attack never breaks through. Although the commotion it causes is more than enough. Especially in my mind.

Images flash by, pictures of children and families I don’t recall knowing. Each face rushes by quick enough to morph the features. I can’t recognize a single aspect of their being. Yet I know who they are.

It hurts. Not just the pounding headache from the screaming bombs, but the way my heart clutches in my chest. Whatever is happening outside takes a backseat to whatever is happening in my mind. These images I somehow recognize only reveal terrors: glances of bullets and fires and bloodied faces. I don’t want to see it anymore.

But there’s nothing I can do as the nightmare takes over. I’m standing beside a burning building, the collar of my shirt pulled up over my nose. The flames rise high into the early morning, fighting the sunrise for control of the sky. Smoke still finds a way to me and I struggle to catch my breath. A coughing fit claims my body and I’m doubled over. The ash is claiming my lungs. If I don’t leave soon I’ll be beyond saving.

Another explosion pulls me from my mind. The building shakes, but I’m expecting it this time. I move with the material and manage to stay on my feet. Will crashes into the wall again and I reach to try and soften the blow. His howl doesn’t do much to soothe my worries.

He clings to his right shoulder as we race down the hallway. I can tell he’s in pain even though he tries to hide it. His lips form a tight line that wavers with every blast. The vibrations must be aggravating his shoulder.

We’ve reached the wheel and I know instantly that we can’t make it back to the dorm. Tiles litter the floor, dusty couches are flung in different directions. Even the elevator we take to the basement for combat training seems less than stable. The glass surrounding it is cracked. I hope no one is down there. They won’t be able to make it back up any time soon. If ever.

“Another way,” Will shouts. I can barely make out his voice over the bombs. “The comms lounge is behind us.”

“A lounge won’t be safe,” I argue. “Windows and furniture.”

“This one doesn’t have any windows.”

Just as I’m about to let him lead the way, I spot someone across the wheel. They’re running toward us, hands flailing, only to retreat over their head as more of the ceiling falls.

Merith.

I sprint into the wheel, jumping over furniture and dodging debris as I go. As I get closer to her, the images from my nightmare return. I’m transported back to the fire, that early morning with the flames blazing. The wooden floors of the building don't seem very safe, but I have to find a way through it.

A girl’s voice calls out for help. I know who it belongs to, even if her name isn’t coming to mind. Tall, skinny, short brown hair, and dressed like her brother Ivan. If only the flames would fade I could find her, get her out with me. No way I can abandon her. Ivan wouldn't speak to me again.

“Help!” This voice belongs to Merith and I’m thrown back into the present. She’s on the ground, leg trapped beneath a broken table. I don’t know how she fell or if I was in a position to stop it. That damned image got in the way.

I rush to her side, only pausing to cover my head after another blast. Quickly, I pull the shards of wood off of her and help her up. She hobbles for only a moment before straightening herself. “It doesn’t hurt too bad. I’ll be fine.”

I don’t argue with her. There’s no time to. We can only turn and head back to where Will is waiting for us.

It takes us forever to race down the hallway. I keep waiting for another blast, but there’s more time between them now than there was before. Could our enemies be fading? Maybe they’ve done enough damage; whatever damage it is they wanted done.

No. I can still hear their planes flying above. The noise is too far away to be a danger to us. But I don’t doubt for a moment that they will come back. We need to find cover.

Will is beckoning us from down the hallway, holding open the lounge door for us. For a moment, I let myself believe that everything will be okay; that once inside that room, we won’t be at the mercy of our attackers. They can be dealt with in time. The school is too well protected to be lost to a couple of bombs. It’s lasted all these years for a reason. Vido isn’t at a loss of enemies.

But then the planes come back for another round and I know my hopes are useless. Their engines roar just above us, rattling the windows as they approach. Merith squeals in my ear as we rush toward Will. When the bomb hits, throwing the building into chaos, we dive into the room. A sudden pain stings my elbow as it connects with the tile. I grimace for a moment, but it’s not an unbearable pain. I’ve been through worse.

The walls shake as another bomb connects with the building. This explosion is closer, shaking the walls of our room. But the now deafening noise of the plane engines tell me they’re right above us. Merith whimpers, pulling her knees to her chest. I wrap an arm around her shoulders in an attempt to calm her. My protection doesn’t seem to be enough.

Suddenly, the girl from my nightmare cries out again. I sit up straight, shaking, wondering if she’s here.

“Bryn, relax,” Will shouts from beside me. I turn to see his eyes firm on mine. “No one can reach us here.”

Instead of seeing Will, I see the burning building again. I’m running now, desperate to escape the flames claiming the wooden structure behind me. My lungs beg for oxygen as they burn with each breath. Coughing hurts. My vision isn’t clear. The broken ground stabs at the skin of my feet. I had to give up my shoes when they were attacked by flames.

Most importantly, the girl isn’t by my side. And I don’t hear her screams anymore. No, there’s one clear as day. My name; she screeches my name into the dark sky as if it’ll change my mind and return me to her. No matter the way it tugs at every inch of my soul, I can’t turn back. The helicopter will capture me in its search beam and I will be dead. I couldn’t die. Not then.

The girl knew what she was getting into, who I was. Death wasn’t something she thought would come so soon, but everyone knew the risk. Any day could be your last, a thought that was constantly on our minds.

Shit. How was I going to tell Ivan? The panic chokes me and for a moment I can't breathe. The nightmare attacks my body as if I'm actually there. I find an old church, a single story masterpiece with stained glass still in place. They won't be able to see me here. The fire still lights up the sky, but the ash can't reach me. I'm able to catch whatever breath I can.

Just a few minutes. Then you're back up and moving. I remind myself of the danger I'm in. The helicopter can easily move on from the building and come searching for me at any moment. And I would be helpless against its attack.

An explosion rips through my memory and it fades from view. The lounge returns. It shakes so violently that we can't keep our balance and we topple over. My already bloody arm scrapes across the floor, gathering a few pieces of debris along the way. The pain isn’t so bad anymore, I can almost ignore it.

What I cannot ignore is the memory this brought about. I don’t know why my memories are returning all of the sudden, but I have figured out that certain events trigger them. The planes reminded me of that damned helicopter, the explosions sounding all too similar to the crackling flames of the burning building.

My eyes start to burn and before I know it the tears are falling. The tightness of my chest only worsens as I fight to keep the sobs away. This isn’t the time for this. I can’t be having a breakdown. We don’t even know what’s going on outside our walls. I need to keep a calm head.

But when Will pulls me close to him, arms holding me still, I lose it. I cry; cry from the pain in my arm, cry from the fear of the next bomb breaking our defenses, cry for the girl I left to burn to death who knows how many years ago. I let every inch of pain, inside and out, flow through those tears. When I’m finished I take a shaky breath to calm myself.

“It’s all going to be okay,” Will says to just me. “The professors will protect us. They’re trained for this.”

I shake my head. “That's not it.”

“Then what is?” His voice wraps around me, creating the protection I’ve been searching for.

“I don’t know what to do anymore, Will. Somehow it might be better that I don't remember. The memories keep coming back and they’re not exactly innocent.”

“How so?”

The memory stings my heart as I explain. “I left someone to die, someone I knew well. She’s gone because of me. And if I wasn’t who I am she wouldn’t have even been in danger.”

“And who exactly are you?”

“I have no idea.”