The air was thick with smoke, because the house is on fire.You coughed, every breath like swallowing fire. Your lungs burned, your legs ached, but your mind screamed one thing: I’m out of time.

Your phone was trembling in her hand, slick with sweat.The screen glowed faintly, 2% battery mocking you. You didn’t have the luxury to think, to scroll, to debate. Your thumb slid over the screen and hit a random number in your contacts.

“Yeah? What the hell do you want?” Atlas…You called your damn enemy. “Hello? Are you seriously—?”He continues

“I need you.” Your voice cracked, and the words came out desperate, raw.

That made him pause. You heard his sharp intake of breath on the other end. “What’s going on? Where are you?”

The flames roared louder, greedy for you, and you pressed herself against the cold floor, trying to stay below the suffocating smoke. He is my only hope.

“I’m—” You coughed violently. “I’m at my house. It’s on fire. I—there’s no way out.”

“Stay on the line. I’m coming.” Atlas says. When he heard that something snapped in him.

“No, you—” You wanted to tell him he was too far, that he couldn’t save you, but the phone buzzed angrily in your hand. 1%.

“Don’t argue with me,” he snapped. You could hear movement on his end—doors slamming, keys jangling. “You’re not dying on me, you hear me? Not today.”

A tear slipped down your soot-streaked face. You closed her eyes, clutching the phone like a lifeline.

“Just hold on, okay? You-”

The line went dead. Your phone died.