Heat

Warm wind brushes past your bare forearms as they wrap tighter around your chest. The dark night is illuminated by a large full moon that seems to take up more of the sky than it should. Your legs stretch out before you and follow the downward slope of the small hill you're sitting on. Summer is progressing and it's only going to get hotter. You push back sweaty strands of hair from your face as you stare ahead into the distance. The only life you've ever known has been in this small town in the middle of western America. The flat dry land ahead of you stretches out beyond your line of sight and disappears into the horizon. The mystery and terror of not knowing what lies beyond the horizon sends a shiver down your spine.

Another gust of wind blows past you and slightly lifts up the hem of your long skirt. Your brow furrows as the breeze blows past your face and you smell the light scent of smoke mixed in the air. You're just beginning to stand up when the sounds of bells in the distance reach your ears. Turning around you gasp in surprise when you see a pillar of smoke rising up into the sky above. It's coming from the same way as the bells and you start running in their direction. The small town in a good mile away and you feel your breath growing ragged as you press forward. You slow down as you reach the outskirts of the town and see the giant wooden church engulfed in flames.