Chapter Text
She hissed in pain as she yanked her palm away from the glowing hot doorknob, her heart pounding in her ears as she desperately tried to think despite the chaos erupting around her.
Sweat poured down her face and arms as the unbearable heat began to seep through her skin, her slick hands clawing at her bedroom door in desperation. She quickly began to slam her full body weight into the wood, the door creaking loudly in protest as smoke slithered through every crevice of its frame. Several sharp jolts of pain shot through her shoulder before the door finally gave out, splintering open before she could pull back.
She barreled through the opening she had created, tumbling to the floor of the main upstairs hall with a gasp. She was hit with an even more intense burst of heat the moment she’d hit the ground, causing her to yelp as flames immediately began to lap at her arms and legs. She swatted at her nightdress when a stray flame managed to latch onto her, frantically dabbing at the thin fabric in a poor attempt to put it out.
Just minutes before, she had been resting peacefully in her bed, oblivious to the state of her father’s home before being pulled out of sleep by the sound of the massive structure groaning. The smell of smoldering wood had begun to suffocate her instantly, choking her until her body forced her to wake up. By the time she had awoken, the flames had already made their way to her door, demanding entry into her space and forcing her to break out of her own room.
She had managed to escape that part of the home, but it appeared that things were much worse out here. The back of her throat quickly became coated with ash, filling her lungs with smoke and causing her to sputter uncontrollably. She tried desperately to take in each breath, only for her body to reject the air forcefully, sending her into coughing fits that made her jerk uncontrollably. She grabbed the neckline of her gown and pulled it over her face in a poor attempt to filter out the smoke, forcing herself to run despite having no way to breathe.
Her eyes stung violently as the brightness of the flames nearly blinded her, making it difficult to see through the thick smoke that had spread all throughout the mansion. The fire spread its tendrils in every direction, swallowing as much of the home as it could in a hunger-fueled rage that she knew would result in the complete destruction of the Valemont estate. But the state of her father’s mansion was the last thing on her mind; she was more worried about Neil.
Her father was still gone on his business trip, but he had left Neil in charge of the house until his return. Neil would have woken her the moment he knew a fire had broken out in the house, but it was the flames that had woken her instead, meaning something may have happened to him.
The flames continued to nip at her skin as she forced herself through each room and hallway, the fire hungry for its next victim as she frantically searched for the butler. She prayed that the older man had managed to get out of the mansion unharmed and safe, finding an exit and calling for help before the flames could get to him. The blaze’s heat was so intense that it was beginning to turn white, spitting embers at her in fury as she searched the home desperately. But there was no sign of him anywhere.
“Neil!” She called out weakly, her voice raspy from the thick smog that tried to force itself into her mouth. “Neil, where are you!”
The smoke was becoming unbearable, scorching her face as she wheezed and croaked, her body slowly becoming too weak to continue her search for her friend. Her vision had blurred too much for anything to be visible, her esophagus burning painfully and her skin preparing to blister. The sound of more cracking wood sent her into a panic, prompting her to take a desperate breath, which only filled her chest with more smoke.
Her body locked up and convulsed suddenly against her will, her lungs pulsating beneath her ribcage as she crumbled to the ground feebly. She wheezed desperately, drool and spittle flying from her lips as she fell to her knees, seemingly at her limit, until…
CRASH
Several massive wooden beams gave out in front of her, preparing to smother her prone form by crushing her. With her last remaining bit of energy, she managed to roll away, narrowly avoiding the beams as a wave of embers shot out at her and burned her skin. She arched in pain, letting out a pitiful wail as the burns littered across what felt like every inch of her flesh.
She couldn't think. Her mind felt like it was clouded with the very smoke in the room, her hair and what little remained of her nightdress sticking to her body from the sweat that was rolling off her. The heat was so intense that even the moisture on her was starting to evaporate, scalding her already overheated frame as if she were being boiled alive. Her eyes darted wildly around her, trying desperately to find a way out of this nightmare, but every room and hallway had now been taken over by the ruthless blaze. If she didn’t move… she was going to die here.
She managed to pick herself up just enough to crawl, grasping at the floor as she shuffled towards the front hall in a final attempt at escape. Her eyes were wrenched shut, relying solely on the feel of the hot tiles to try to navigate. Her body went rigid as she unseeingly planted her hands directly into a pile of searing hot ash, burning her palms and fingers in an instant. She cried out in pain and ripped her arms away as fast as she could, forcing her eyes open to see her bright red and bubbling skin as the pain pulsated throughout her palms over and over again.
“Neil, please,” she whimpered hoarsely, her voice raspy and taut as tears began to sting at her eyes. “Somebody, please. Please help me…”
But there was no answer.
She began to hyperventilate, only causing her more distress as she breathed in more of the thick smoke, making her gag and curl into herself. She grasped at her neck with her injured hands as she coughed uncontrollably, barely able to breathe as she became surrounded by the very flames that had taken the manor.
The very flames that were about to take her.
But then… she saw it. Slight movement became visible out of the corner of her eye. It wasn't anything that came from the fire; it couldn’t have been. She squinted as she tried to adjust to the bright light once again, attempting to make out who she was seeing through the flames. When she saw a human shape, her body flooded with relief, her thoughts becoming hopeful that someone had heard her plea. Maybe it was a firefighter coming to rescue her, or maybe Neil had heard her calling out to him and was now coming to save her.
But her relief was short-lived. Her hopefulness began to fade the moment she realized that the figure approaching her was too big to be Neil or any kind of fireman. Way too big.
Her hopeful expression dropped as a massive man emerged from the flames, the familiar figure narrowly avoiding the white-hot heat as he began to walk slowly towards her curled up figure on the ground. He seemed completely unfazed by their surroundings, his stride slow and methodical as he stalked towards her like a fox would a rabbit caught in a snare trap.
He was the one who had started the fire. He had heard her pleas and had followed the sound of her cries, but not to help her.
He was here to watch her burn.
He then emerged from the flames as if he were the Devil himself, his bulging frame demanding her attention be on him instead of the crumbling house. His veins stuck out of his skin like thick ropes, twisting and slithering across his biceps and forearms in a way that shouldn’t have been biologically possible. His entire upper half was barely contained by his leather jacket, his cargo pants stretched taught over his thick thighs. His body was terrifying, but the scariest part of it all was his face.
He hadn’t come out unscathed, the fire having clearly gotten to him too. A portion of the skin of his face had been melted off, revealing the muscles beneath his charred flesh that glistened in the firelight. Part of his lips had been burnt off, his canines protruding from the top of his mouth as his teeth bared into a gory snarl.
She stared up at him with frightened eyes as he looked down at her writhing form, towering over her like a God would a mortal awaiting their judgement. Time seemed to stand still as their eyes met and her gaze locked on his, unable to look away from the hellspawn she was looking at.
The man before her had been consumed by fire long before he had ever known her, both inside and out… and now he was going to watch her burn.
He remained silent as her coughing fit began again, struggling to get any air as dark spots began to dot her vision. He took slow and calm breaths as he watched her eyelids grow heavier, completely unaffected by the smoke that was engulfing them both. She watched as the reflection of the flames danced off his irises, making them appear a demonic red.
She made a pitiful noise, her half-lidded eyes pleading with his, searching his gaze for any sign of mercy. The sound made him tilt his head ever so slightly, the leather of his gloves creaking as he curled his fingers against his palm. But he said nothing in response to her pleas. He didn’t have to.
She knew this was the end.
Those red eyes were the last thing she saw before everything faded to darkness.
