Hell Fire (Wild Fire: 2) (FINISHED)

5 - No...

Ember woke at a start, the sound of a tree branch outside cracking across the windows throwing her out of her dreams.

She shot up from the bed, panting slightly as she gazed around the room.

Where was Max...?

She narrowed her eyes.

That asshole. He never kept his promises.

But a shadow rushed across her vision, and she whirled around while following it, eyes widening when she took in its form.

He was a silhouette in the darkness, the moonlight from outside outlining his body in a ghastly white.

She sank back into her headboard, hoping to vanish into it.

It wasn't Max.

She breathed shallowly when the figure started to her, and she managed to scramble away from him, almost hitting to the edge of the bed as she covered herself with her blankets.

Panic pulsed through her, covering her in its frost.

No... No.

Who was he? Was this Elijah? Did he finally find her?

Tears boiled at the thought, and she watched his blurry figure pull something sharp from his pocket.

She breathed shallowly.

A blade.

Gasping, she froze in place as he advanced to her, his head tipping to the side as he got closer... and closer.

Ember watched in horror, frozen in place as if paralyzed.

Why... couldn't she move?

Her heart thudded against her chest, feeling her lungs cave as she struggled to breathe.

Would... she finally die this way?

Would... she ever see Max again?

The figure crept further toward her, whispering in a dark tone, "Can't move, can you? Sucks, doesn't it?"

She stared up at him, eyes burning.

What...?

He was doing this?

"Lay down," he instructed, and she immediately listened, heart pounding as he advanced toward her.

Why couldn't she control her movements...? What the hell was happening?!

She started gasping as he came around the bed, his unfamiliar blue eyes glowing in amusement as he raised the blade to her form, and she cried out.

But a sudden gunshot echoed through the room, making her scream in horror.

She opened her eyes, panting as her body regained its movements.

And she shot up from the bed, scrambling toward the headboard as she watched the figure collapse to the ground, deceased.

But when she gazed up, she saw a familiar man standing there, black hair pasted to his forehead from sweat as he aimed the gun to the body below him.

"Max...?" she whispered.

He lowered the gun as he assessed the body, watching it for slight movements before he darted straight over to Ember and looked her over.

"Are you okay?" he said, slightly panicked. "Did he hurt you?"

She stared at the man's whitened, dead eyes, nausea coiling her stomach as the moment settled in further.

She shot up from the bed, Max yelling out, and ran to the bathroom across the hall.