World on Fire

Abigail drove in silence back toward Raven’s Peak, trying to work through the turmoil of emotions inside her. It was sprinkling, and the only sound in the car were raindrops on the windshield and the occasional scraping of the wiper blades.

Despite what she’d said to Haatim, Abigail was barely able to sleep that night. She lay awake, thinking about her lapses in judgment over the last couple of days with Haatim, Delaphene, and the demon that was holding Arthur.

By the time they reached the campgrounds it was pitch black outside. Haatim was thoroughly exhausted from driving all day and ready to collapse. It was getting cold, too, and he wished he’d brought a jacket with him. Truth be told, he wished he’d brought dozens of things with him.

“What happened back there?” Haatim asked once Abigail was finally awake. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and rubbed the hair out of her face. “What happened in the park with that little girl? When you got back to the car you looked terrible.”

Bret wandered through the trees, bored and aimless. It was a cold and cloudy day; the sky looked like it was going to rain soon. He swatted at the branches and yawned, wishing his mom would just give up on this stupid vacation and take him back home.

The car came to a stop next to the curb, idling just outside the playground on Miller Street. Haatim glanced out the window at all of the gathered children, running around and playing on the swings and climbing objects scattered throughout.

Abigail drove out of the city and north on the highway, thoroughly exhausted from the day’s ordeal but not yet able to relax. Haatim sat in the passenger seat, a blank expression on his face as he tried to process everything that was happening to him.

Abigail rushed out after the demon, sprinting with long, even strides. The woman she was chasing was fast, and the demon inside of her was pushing the nurse’s body to peak capacity, which made it difficult to keep up.

Haatim lay on the hospital bed, gasping in agony as heat ripped through his stomach. It seemed like hours had passed since the doctor had injected him, but he rationally knew it had only been minutes. It felt like his insides were being turned into mush.