(A/N): I do not own Ghost Hunt, but this is my original work. Please do not lift chapters or copy anything, as it is plagiarism.
This is dedicated for all those who may be suffering with amnesia.
Run.
Run for your life.
That's what he was telling me.
A strange man, all grease and dirt and blood. The grimy substances streaked his face, and the red water ran down his chin. A familiar smell lingered underneath the stench of sweat, the smell of hospitals and sterilised floors. His speech was muffled, like it was underwater. It was hard to hear what he was saying. Whatever it was, he looked desperate. He was repeating the same thing over and over again. Every now and again, he coughed and wretched. It was the smoke, that was it. The air had too much smoke in it.
My head hurt. A lot. It kept on pounding and pounding and pounding. It was so loud, with all the alarms ringing, and I wanted it to stop. Nonetheless, the screaming sirens just wouldn't stop. Neither would the screaming people. Everyone was running and shouting. And I didn't know what to do. I was getting scared. What was happening? I wanted to ask, but my throat was raw and scratching. I couldn't make a sound.
The floor was warm. I looked down at my bare feet. They were purple. But the soles were warm, from the smooth floor. I stared down at it. There was a lot of red on it. The red was on fire…? No, just a reflection. The glassy surface was like a mirror, I could see the fire dancing and the people running. The red ran to my feet. It was luke warm, and made my toes sticky. So it was blood.
Terror was beginning to cling to me. Something was wrong, but I didn't know what. My mind knew that it was dangerous here, but my body felt numb, like I had been injected with anaesthetic. I willed my feet to move, but they ignored me.
Then the man grabbed me. His grip was tight on my arms, and it hurt. I tried to tell him to stop, but my voice was still gone. He shouted something that didn't register, and then began to push me. My feet began to move again, and he lead me through the people and the blood and the fire. Where were we going? The smoke was thick, so I couldn't see. I just let him drag me.
We carried on for a while, until suddenly the smoke was gone. Where was I now? My hands and body shook violently. It was so cold. A blast of air buffeted my face. Outside. It was so cold out here. I wrapped my arms across my chest, shivering, and looked up. The stretch of blue above me was completely clear. The sun was out, and I stared at it mindlessly, until my eyes began to sting. Sharp, dry grass itched at my feet, and when I shuffled backwards a bit, towards the warmth, my feet left behind more red. Around me, there were a lot of trees, and each one cast a looming, clear shadow towards me.
Shadows. Dry grass. Clear sky. No clouds.
It was not cold outside.
So why was I still shivering?
It must have been hot where I last was. It must have been very hot.
But I couldn't remember where I was.
Suddenly, everything was coming back. I was in a room with fire? And smoke? I was in a burning building?
A burning…building?
And the red…it never occurred to me why there would be so much blood. People were dying in that burning building.
I turned around to face where I had just left, and it sent every inch of my body crying in pain.
Behind me, I was met with a mass of flames that consumed a dying frame of concrete. A building. I could still hear screaming inside it.
The man next to me was lying on the ground now. His chest was rising raggedly and irregularly.
"Run…away." He gasped. "Run…"
I just stood there.
"Run!" He shouted.
Then he lay still.
At first, I stared at the man, lying on the grass. But I did not feel anything. No sympathy, no sadness. Instead, I decided to follow his advice.
I ran.
I stumbled towards the trees, tripping and falling. Each time was more difficult to return to running. I was so tired. I wanted to lie down, badly. The trees were spinning all around me, and the grass was like liquid. No, I had to keep going. Keep going.
But as I fell down again, I knew I could not. On my hands and knees, I wretched and wretched. I came up with disgusting, yellow liquid mixed in with something that turned it suspiciously orange and pink.
Then I heard the voices. Someone was shouting. Was I going mad? No, I wasn't insane. I could see someone walking towards me. A mere silhouette. A person…had someone come to help me?
Yet already I was on my feet and scrambling away.
I ran faster than I ever thought I could. What was wrong with me? Why was I running away from this person, if they could help me? But something inside me wanted to stay away from people as much as possible. So I tore through the undergrowth instead.
Branches whipped at my face. I continued regardless. It was as if the trees were telling me to stop running, warning me of some danger ahead. But I ignored their warning. I had to get away from the person, that was most important right now.
I steadied to a halt. Where was I? Where the hell was I? In the middle of a forest? And why was I here?
Once more, I stumbled through vegetation, coarse and lifeless. A clearing was just up ahead. At last, I burst through.
I was met with a sheer drop.
A river coursed underneath the face of a cliff.
I stared at the dizzying height. The water churned and frothed. It crashed against the rocks, and spray managed to reach me somehow from this high up.
Behind me, the undergrowth erupted. A man charged out. He was not too different from the other man, the man who led me out of the building. His clothes were stained with black and red. And he stank of disinfectant. For some reason, that smell made my heart freeze, and filled me up with cold dread.
The gun he was carrying was most worrying of all.
"Hey, kid, come back. Come back from the cliff." He rasped.
I shook my head.
"What…? Look, just come with me and everything will be fine." His words were coated with honey, and it made me step backwards, closer to the edge.
"Stay away from the edge!" The honey was gone, replaced with a harsh sting to his tone.
I was tired. Very tired. I didn't care anymore, about anything. I just wanted to sleep.
So I spread out my arms, and felt the wind and spume pushing against my back. The man was screaming angrily, so I just closed my eyes and blocked it out.
Then the water engulfed me. And everything became still.