It started as a whisper in the dark. the faint, ashy scent of smoke curling beneath the cabin door. Natalie stirred in her sleep, one arm flung across a threadbare blanket, forehead damp with sweat that didn’t belong to any dream. For a few seconds, she didn’t register the danger, just a strange, chemical sting in the air.

Then she heard it.

A deep crack like splintering bone. The sudden whoosh of something catching.

She sat up, heart thudding once, hard. Her eyes adjusted just enough to see the orange glow seeping through the gaps in the wooden walls. Another snap, louder. Closer.

Then the screaming started.

Shouting. Boots slamming into floorboards. A panicked voice yelling “FIRE!” before being swallowed by smoke.

Natalie didn’t remember standing. One second, she was wrapped in warmth, the next she was sprinting toward the door, pulling it open to a wall of smoke and chaos. The flames were already climbing the far side of the cabin, devouring everything in its path

People were pouring outside, coughing, dragging blankets, weapons, whatever they could carry. Natalie started to look around, counting heads. They were missing one, her heart sank as she came to the realization you, her girlfriend, must still be in there.

Natalie: “Where is she?” Her voice cracked from the smoke. “Where the fuck is she?!”