♢ ###’s POV ♢
When I opened my eyes, I was sitting in an unfamiliar field.
“Where am I?” I murmured before realizing something. No, that’s not right. There’s a more burning question I need an answer to. “Who am I?” I had no memories of my own life. I-I’m so scared. What’s going on? What am I doing here? Where’s my home? My family? My classmates?
I couldn’t remember anything. No, wait, I had memories of my childhood. Though they were foggy, I could recall my parents’ faces. I have a younger...yes, a younger sister. I can remember the faces of my friends from elementary school, as well as the new friends I made in middle school. And... Ugh! A splitting pain erupted in my skull.
Someone’s voice echoed in my head. “Sumire!”
Sumire... Yes, that’s my name. I think, anyway. Okay, I remember my name. That calmed me down a little. But what about my surname? My head was still throbbing. I couldn’t remember how I’d ended up here. Wherever “here” was...
“###!”
“#####!”
That was when two men came up to me, chatting with each other in a language I couldn’t understand. For a moment, I thought to ask them for help, but when I saw the look in their eyes, I tensed up.
“#####!”
“######, ####!”
They were grinning at me, but in a way that wasn’t well-meaning so much as sleazy. Not only that, but they were wearing strange clothes and didn’t look friendly at all. My high school uniform, I realized, had fallen to tatters and exposed my skin in all the worst places.
One of the men said something as he approached me. An image of what they would do to me flashed through my mind, and goose bumps rippled across my skin from the fear and disgust.
“Don’t come any closer!” I yelled. “Don’t touch me!”
Of course, that didn’t stop them, and the first man grabbed my arm. The one behind him was yelling something in encouragement.
O-Oh no!
“Noooo!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, and in the next second, flames erupted around me. I only noticed that afterward, though, for I lost consciousness.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Wh-What’s going on?”
How much time had passed since I fell unconscious? Instead of the men from earlier, I found myself surrounded by flames. Oddly, I didn’t feel any heat. I noticed some black soot clinging to my arm, so I patted it off before standing up. The movement drew my attention to something unbelievable and, with a scream, I immediately curled up on the ground again.
M-My clothes! The uniform I’d been wearing had completely burned away, leaving me naked. O-Oh no, what should I do? Is there anything I can cover myself up with? I looked around but saw only grass. Even worse, the fire was rapidly spreading.
“Huh?”
I caught a glimpse of an enormous shape moving about. Is it the men from earlier?! No, this is far bigger than they were... W-Wait, is that a bear?!
Indeed it was—a massive one that looked to be at least two meters tall. It was rushing straight at me. It’s gonna kill me!
Or so I thought, but then the wall of fire stopped it in its tracks and forced it to turn tail and flee.
What was that all about? And hey, now that I’m paying attention...the fire is coming from me? What’s happening to me?
I stumbled over to a boulder, sank down against it, and pulled my knees up against my chest to hide my nudity. Then I cried. In addition to the bear from earlier, a number of other large animals showed up, including wolves and lions, but none of them dared approach me. I panicked a bit when more people appeared speaking a language I couldn’t understand, but they couldn’t draw close to me with the fire in the way.
“#####!”
“#####?!”
They were yelling something at me, but I couldn’t comprehend the words. Some of them were so cruel, they even shot arrows at me, but all of the projectiles were burned to charcoal before they could reach me.
The entire time, the fire spreading outward from my body grew in heat and intensity. Before long, it had transformed the surrounding field into a sea of flames. I felt like I was seeing a vision from hell.
What’s going on? Am I in hell right now? Did I die? I don’t understand... I don’t understand I don’t understand I don’t understand I don’t understand I don’t understand I don’t understand I don’t understand I don’t understand I don’t understand I don’t understand I don’t understand I don’t understand I don’t understand I don’t understand... If this is a nightmare, then let me wake up!
The tears never stopped flowing.