The In-Between

He woke up disoriented, blistering heat blasting all over his exposed skin. He tried to sit up but failed. His entire body ached. Feeling defeated, he just laid on the hard ground, panting. The air was humid and thick, making it uncomfortable to breath. He had no recollection of where he was, or what had happened to him. Peering out through blurry eyes that were caked with sand, he saw a world on fire. What was going on? He wondered. The last thing he remembered was camping with his family. A million questions bombarded his mind. Had a bon fire gotten out of hand? Was there a forest fire? Oh god! He thought. Had his dad’s propane tank exploded? Concerned for his family, he tried to sit up again, but the vertical motion caused him such intense pain, that he passed out instead.

Waking up the second time, was far worse than the first. Along with the heat and pain, he now heard strange growling sounds coming from all around him. He knew bears frequented the area they were camping in, but the growls sounded strange. It didn’t really matter what was making the noise, he was defenseless and needed to move. Adrenaline pumping, he managed to roll over onto his stomach and army crawl across the harsh the sand. Scared and unable to see clearly, he aimed for the cover of what looked liked woods. Once he made it under the thick canopy of trees, he took a few deep breaths before rolling onto his back again. It was painful, but he did it. Laying there, he tried to calm down and think. The last thing he remembered was unpacking the tent with his dad. Then, nothing. Did he have a concussion? He felt nauseous wondering where everyone else was.

Something wet tickled his toes. Looking up, he saw a wall of blue fog rolling in towards him. Rubbing his hands over his eyes, he tried to see it more clearly. The fog appeared to be glowing, but that couldn’t be right? He really needed to find somewhere to clean up and wash all the gunk out of his eyes.

The fog moved in closer, slowly creeping up his body until it enveloped him completely. At first, the cold air felt nice against his warm skin. Then his lungs constricted, violently. Rolling back over onto his stomach, he choked and coughed into the dirt. Grabbing onto his neck, he gasped as his throat began to close in on itself. Staring out into the woods, he prayed for help. Feeling his consciousness fade away, he fought to keep his eyes open. It was useless. He had no strength left. Just before the world went completely dark, he saw the silhouette of huge white wings coming towards him through the fog.