A small, ripped piece of white paper with charred, blackened edges, dances and swirls above me  through the storm of thick air. My eyes follow it's wild, yet graceful movements, as it spins its way closer to the stairs, and closer to my unmoving state. With a painfully stiff spine, my throat burns due to the tainted air that's been forced into my singed lungs.

The piece of parchment dips and twists until it delicately drops to the side of my body. As it touches the burning ground, I gasp in a deep breath through parted lips. The weight of the situation crashes back upon me, the sound of rushing flames and crumbling wood overwhelming my senses. Scorching tendrils of heat lick toward my legs, and with a heaving chest, I roll onto my forearms, but stay close to the ground where the air is lighter.

Crawling forward, I squint my eyes to see through the smoke where a wide hallway follows the top of the stairs. I listen closely, hearing my own pounding heart among soft cries from a room near the end of the hall.

Taking slow, short breaths, I move quickly, recognizing that the house will crumble soon whether we're in it or not. I stay on my forearms until I reach the door where the heartbeats are strong and clear.

Rising to my knees, I reach for the metal doorknob to find that it's only slightly warm and safe to touch. I waste no time flinging the door open, simultaneously allowing more hot embers to drift into the room. Black smoke fills most of the space, but the flames are sparse, residing against only one wall and casting an orange glow over the interior.

The room appears to be a child's, as it's decorated with lavender walls and colorful toys to appease a youthful imagination.

Another booming crack echoes through the inferno, the floor shaking with the impact, making it clear that the structure of the cabin is only moments away from crumbling in on itself.

My eyes desperately search through the clouded interior, until I spot the hazy silhouette of what I can only guess is Aiden and Willow huddled together in the corner against the furthest wall.

"Aiden!" I shout over the whooshing sound of chaotic, destructive flames.

I can barely make out his head snapping in my direction, when I feel a blazing, blistering pain erupt over my ankle. Gasping sharply, I drop forward, digging my fingers into the carpet, and yanking my body away from the fire.

Flipping onto my back, my eyes widen slightly when I see that the flames have already created a wall over the doorway, and consumed the hallway I just entered from. I push myself back further, and kick the door closed despite my newly acquired burn.

Turning my attention back to Aiden, I notice that he has inched away from the wall with a small, dark haired girl clinging to his torso while his arms stay locked in a tight grip around her.

I quickly start toward them, only to freeze entirely when the floor lets out a shrill creak. My eyes snap to Aiden to find him already glaring at me.

"You did this, didn't you?" he yells angrily, fire reflecting in his round, dark eyes.

I immediately shake my head, and say, "No, I swear. I'm not the one who did this. I need to get you and Willow out of here."

My answer doesn't seem to lessen his anger as his face stays twisted in rage, his heart knocking violently against his ribs.

"No! Noah's going to come for us. He'll get us out," he argues, jerking his body slightly away from mine.

"The whole house is burning. There's no way to get inside." I shake my head lightly, sympathy seeping into my eyes when I see sadness and fear fill his. "Noah isn't coming."

I take a slow, calculated move forward, easing my weight onto the weak floor carefully in an effort to get closer to them. The floor screeches, and I fight back the urge to grimace.

Looking back to Aiden, I pleadingly say, "I need you to trust me, Aiden. I'm the only one that can get you and Willow out."

He shakes his head immediately, and I take another risky step closer to them, hoping I can get there before this floor collapses.

"Please, Aiden," I voice. "I need you to hand me Willow so that I can transport us out."

He hesitates, eyes trailing over Willow's tear stained face for a few moments before his head lifts, and he nods with a solemn, worried expression.

Tentatively creeping forward, he gently lifts Willow away from his body. Her fearful cries intensify as he guides her into my outstretched hands. I hug her body to mine immediately, feeling small arms snake around my neck as she presses her face into my shoulder.

The floor let's out another dangerous groan, forcing our bodies to turn rigid while the growing flames spread, and crawl in our direction.
Aiden's eyes become wide, stricken with panic and fear as he looks to me. Weaving my left arm tight around Willow, I extend my right hand in his direction, urging him to grab it.

His body is worryingly still as his chest heaves, and I delicately edge closer, feeling the weakening floor shift beneath my feet.

"Grab my hand, Aiden!" I shout desperately.

Another sickening crack tears through the air, the lavender walls getting singed black. A bead of sweat rolls down my neck as I release a couple of hoarse coughs, power buzzing through my body like my own version of adrenaline.

"We need to go right now!" I yell urgently.

His eyes, nervously flitter between me and the crumbling room, until they fall on my awaiting hand. With a gulp, he suck in a deep breath and lunges.

I grip Willow tighter and also lurch forward, catching his forearm and latching my hand around it just as he does to mine.

The blazing heat suddenly disappears as my power rolls through all of us, and promptly drops us to the grass in the front yard. Transporting so abruptly gives us momentum that rips my hand from Aiden's, and hurls our bodies to roll and skid down the hill that the burning cabin sits on.

Squeezing my eyes closed, I protectively latch both arms around Willow's small frame, keeping a hand over her head while my back repeatedly crashes against the ground, and the foliage that covers it.

Pain splits through my skull when my temple smacks against a jagged rock lodged in the ground, but my body comes to a rough halt as soon as my upper back collides with the base of a tree, bark scraping against my skin.