The Dream That Changed Everything
Mira’s eyelids fluttered beneath the heavy veil of slumber, the dream unraveling with a terrifying clarity that set her heart pounding before she even opened her eyes. Flames licked cruelly at the edges of the school’s old brick walls, their orange tongues twisting like living serpents, casting flickering shadows that danced across the hallways. The acrid scent of smoke burned in her nostrils, sharp and choking, while a cacophony of screams echoed through the corridors, blending with the frantic crackling of the inferno. She could taste the bitter tang of fear, metallic and raw, on her tongue.
Her legs moved instinctively, carrying her through the chaos with desperate urgency. The polished linoleum floor beneath her feet gleamed eerily in the firelight, slick with spilled water and scattered debris. Students shoved past her, faces pale and wide-eyed, their voices rising in panicked cries. Mira’s breaths came in ragged gasps, chest tight as she searched for an exit that seemed to shift and dissolve with every turn. The smoke thickened, curling like dark ribbons that threatened to choke the life from her lungs.
Then, suddenly, a searing heat slammed into her back, forcing her to…