Nightmare

"James, drive faster! She's burning up!"

In a car speeding down the highway, a young woman who seemed to be in her thirties was hurrying along the man driving in the front seat.

"Martha, dear, I am going as fast as I can. Please, just hold on." Although trembling slightly, the man's voice was calm as he tried to reassure the woman.

The woman held tightly onto a young girl who couldn't have been any older than 6, wiping away the beads of sweat on her face. "Oh, Elaine, you must be alright… you have to be…"

"Don't worry, dear. She is our daughter, after all. She is strong, we just need to make it to the hospital and they will surely be able to take care of her." From the front seat, James continued to soothe Martha.

He knew that he couldn't show any of the fear and panic he was feeling at this moment. He and Martha had gotten married several years ago, once they had found out about Martha's pregnancy, but he had never seen her so stricken with fear and anxiety before.

"Dear, I can see the exit, we are only 3 minutes away. Just hold-" James began to speak again, but he was cut short by the sound of metal crashing against metal.

"BANG!" In an instant, the car that the family was driving lurched forward, and like the tides of hell, a sea of flames erupted all around them.

As the car had slipped into the exit, an oil truck had begun to shift over, having not seen them. The car, which had been speeding at nearly 30 km/h over the speed limit, slammed into the back of the oil truck before a deafening explosion shook the street.

At that moment, it was like time had slowed. In the car, flames reached out like the claws of a demon, engulfing the bodies of James and Martha.

Wrapped in the arms of her mother, the flames could only reach the limbs of Elaine, but strangely, they seemed to be repulsed. Elaine, whose face was covered in sweat and wore a pained expression, suddenly opened her eyes.

The flames, her father's panic as he was scorched by the fire, and her mother's body wrapped around her own. In that instant, Elaine saw it all and felt an unknown sensation rise in her body. Her blood began to surge throughout her veins, and she felt the agony from the fever disappear.

"ROOOAR!" A primal cry erupted from within her body as out from her chest emerged a frightening creature. As though the devil was trying to claw his way free from the nine hells, the scaled claw of a beast reached out, grasping the seat in front of Elaine.

As she watched the creature emerge, its body covered her from the flames. However, in the process, it knocked away the bodies of her mother and father.

"No! Mother, Father!" Elaine saw them fall into the flames, shown no grace by the beast which stood over her. "Save them! You must… save them…"

Although she attempted to move, a single, pointed claw touched her chest and stopped her. The power in her body, which had surged through her blood, was now gone. Instead, her blood felt like lead as it flowed through her veins, causing her limbs to feel heavy and numb.

All she could do was watch the bodies of her parents turn to ash in the flames, the tears that streamed down her face evaporating in the heat that surrounded her.

She looked away from the sight of her burning parents and turned to the beast which had ignored her pleas, her expression filled with pain and anger.

"You-!" She was about to scream, to curse the creature, but found that there were no words in her throat. Instead, her mind went blank as she gazed at the pair of golden orbs that seemed to contain a majestic power and indomitable authority.

She watched as the beast opened its mouth, and heard the deep voice that came from it. "It is time to awaken, Elaine."

…

"Mother! Father!" Shooting up from a small bed in the corner of a dark room, Elaine was coated in sweat, panting heavily.

"Ah… It was just another dream…" Slowly, she began to calm down, holding a hand over her palpitating heart. She could feel that her face was wet with tears and dried them on her sheets.

It had been 2 years since her parents' death in that freak accident, and even now, she still had nightmares about their deaths. She didn't remember much from the accident, and what she did remember was so blurred from the constant dreams she had been having over the past 2 years that it likely wasn't what actually happened.

"But… that monster keeps showing up in my dreams…" Elaine muttered to herself as she brought her knees to her chest. From under her pillow she brought out a flashlight, and flicking it on, she pointed it at her left hand.

Sitting on the backside of her palm was a vicious-looking scar, a burn that had been there ever since that day. It had a strange shape for a burn, though, shaped like an egg with a blurred figure curled inside of it.

As she studied it, she felt repulsed. Although Elaine wasn't sure exactly what had happened that day during the accident, she was well aware that she most certainly should have died. The only clue she had to this question was this small, strange burn mark.

However, she was still filled with helpless anger as she studied the burn. Why couldn't what saved her have saved her parents as well? Why did she have to be left alone, without anyone to rely on?

"Whatever this thing is… It saved my life that day. It's useless to keep thinking about it." Sighing, she threw the flashlight back under her pillow and collapsed back into her bed. "It's been two years now… I hope I can get out of this place soon."