The Unknown (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

16. I Get Set on Fire

Hey everyone!

I can't believe we're already on chapter 16! But we've still got a lot more parts to go, I think. Believe it or not, I have planned out this story more than BoO so I actually have a rough estimate of how many chapters I'm going to do XD

Anyway, hope you enjoy! And apologies for all of the authors notes in the beginning and ends of the chapters-if you find it annoying, let me know and I'll at least try to shorten them haha. 

Chapter Sixteen

I woke almost immediately.

I was coughing, my chest rising and falling dramatically with every shallow breath. Maybe I had never fell unconscious, or, if I had, I had been awoken by some deep instinct to survive.

The smoke was now clogging up the room and I could barely see my hand in front of my face. I could feel my lungs filling up with it, depriving me of the little oxygen I had left.

My head swam. But my thoughts were clear enough to make sense, and I thrust out my hand, shutting my eyes.

There was a rumble through the house and for one scary second, I thought I had made a grave mistake. Would the house collapse?

Then the sink burst open.

The cabinet underneath it was split apart as spouts of clean water sprayed out, along with pieces of broken pipes. I willed myself to get wet as the wall to my left shuddered and burst, sending jets of water all over me. It coated me like a protective veil, shielding me from the heat that was barely dampened by the water spraying from the broken pipes.

I saw the ceiling trembling and that spurred me to action. My head was pounding and my shoulder burned like it was being consumed in the flames. My arm was still bleeding profusely, leaking from both the entrance and the messy exit wound. Faintly, I recalled how lucky I was that the bullet hadn't been buried in the bone. But as I watched, the fire reached the ceiling and I knew it wouldn't be long before it caved in.

I stumbled to my feet, grasping the side of the counters for balance and support. Small infernos licked at my hands and my feet, heat slapping me with its harsh palms and dizziness made my vision flicker and darken at the edges like an old photograph. The back door was only a few feet away, but it was shrouded and guarded by a fleet of fire. As I glanced at it desperately, I saw the blinds covering the glass crumble.

I managed to escape the kitchen where the flames were worst. The hallway was pale with the wan sun shining through frosted glass, which was slightly ajar. A flicker of hope drove through me, and I lurched forward.

Cool air hit the back of my throat and I gasped in a lungful of it, momentarily shutting my eyes as I did. I fumbled with the locks, cold metal feeling like ice compared to the inferno roaring and crackling behind me.

I escaped and fell to my knees. The impact shook through my whole body and my temples clenched painfully with the onset of a crushing headache. The sidewalk was cold and hard and was littered with tiny cracks and fissures.

The fire alarm began to wail, breaking the sinister silence of the town.

I stumbled to my feet again, and started walking with no idea of what direction. I somehow managed to fall across the wooden porch of a different house, several blocks away. I tugged at the door uselessly; it was locked. But I had no energy to find another house, or attempt to get through any other entrance. Instead, I staggered to the side where the garbage was kept in large black trash bags.

I curled up in the corner. The shadow cast over me, concealing me from view.

Darkness embraced me and I warped into sleep.