Page 21 of Hell House
The headmaster glares at me a moment before releasing Pierce from his hold. Pierce vomits out the black liquid, tears tracking down his red face, his lips stained black.
“Clean yourself up. I trust that you’ll follow through with the plan tonight?”
Pierce hangs his head, nodding with a shudder that wracks through his body.
Salem would regret the day she arrived on this island. We’d make sure of it.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Salem
Iwake with a startled scream lodged in my throat. It felt like someone had been shaking me awake. My heart is hammering so loud that I can hear it in my ears. I’d been having my recurring nightmare, one that I’d had since I was a little girl. Every time I thought I’d outgrow it, it would rear it’s ugly head, leaving me in a pile of sweat and anxiety. My lungs burn as I take in a breath to steady myself. I sluggishly try to piece together why I smell smoke. Why I suddenly find myself coughing. I wonder briefly if I’m still stuck in my nightmare, my heart thrashes wildly as I continue coughing.
“Wake up Salem.” A distant voice calls to me.
My eyes are still bleary with sleep, I try to wrench them open but my lashes cling together. I knew falling asleep without taking my makeup off was a mistake. I rub at my face, my chest burning as my diaphragm convulses against my lungs forcing the deep smoke-filled coughs from my throat. I manage to pry my eyes open and kick my too hot blanket off when I hear the shrill screams of my roommate, Skye. As I look over a blinding light sears my vision, I could have sworn I saw a woman floating right above me. She looked eerily like a young version of my grandmother.
“Oh my God our room is on fire! Salem. Salem!” Skye screams as she scrambles over to me holding her shirt against her nose and mouth. My eyes finally adjust to see the blaze creeping up our wall and onto our ceiling.
“What the f-.“ She grabs me by my arm, and I'm sprawled out of bed, my bare knees slamming into the floor. I barely remember to grab my phone before fleeing our flame engulfed room.
The moment we land in the hallway we scramble to search for the fire alarm, my fingers are flying across my phone screen dialing 911. While I wait for my phone to connect, I bang on the doors that we pass. “There’s a fire!” I scream, my fist slamming into the next door. It dawns on me that I don’t have any pants or shoes on, but I’m beyond caring. We need to get out and get out now.
The hallway begins to fill with confused students as smoke billows out from our room. A blaring siren rings and strobe lights fill my vision before the hallway becomes utter chaos. Students slamming their bodies into each other as they push their way out of the quickly filling area.
“Oh my god! I’m too young to die!” One of the students cries as they shove other people out of their way.
The sprinklers are triggered, sputtering thick cold globs of wetness down on us. My phone beeps still struggling to connect to emergency services. My body is quickly soaked from above and I register my white tank as I’m shuffled along, my fists pounding on any closed doors that I pass before I’m being swept away by the surging crowd. We don’t have a large school, but the dorms are packed full of most of the student population, the exception being the fraternity and sorority houses.
“Move! Move!” An authoritative woman’s voice cuts through the chaos as we part, making way for one of the professors. A woman in her mid fifties comes through with rollers clinging to her gray flecked brunette hair. “Everyone out!” She takes in the sight of the flames cresting up the ceiling, when a few guys wearing nothing, but their briefs come barreling through holding buckets sloshing with water. I find Skye and put my hand in hers as we scramble to make our way out of the burning dormitory. The night air envelops us, the wind carrying a chill from the ocean. My body shivers with goosebumps as my wet shirt clings to my body offering no warmth. I feel a pair of strong hands being placed on my shoulders, making me jump with surprise. Pierce stands behind me with his hands up. “You look frozen.” If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I caught a glimmer of concern in those deep green eyes, before it’s shoved down, replaced by an impassive glare. At least those eyes of his didn’t dip down to my overexposed chest. I cross my arms remembering my transparent white shirt, my hand still clutching my phone which beeps incessantly with a busy signal.
Pierce rolls his eyes and shrugs out of his hoodie, leaving him in a black tank. I glare at his outstretched hand with the balled-up hoodie.
“For gods sakes take it, Salem.” I stand there debating for another moment, but when my teeth start chattering, I snatch it from him and shove my frozen limbs through. God dammit this shit smelled like Pierce’s arrogant ass. All woodsy and warm. I scowl and mumble a thank you, though every instinct inside of me roars to stomp away from him.
He takes a step towards me, “What was that witch? I didn’t hear you.” If my arms weren’t so frozen, I’d throat punch him. Fuck this guy. I was shivering out here in my underwear after my dorm room had gone up in flames and he had the audacity to try me.
“I said fuck off.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Fine. I said thank you.” His eyes dip to my exposed legs.
“We should get you some pants.” I’m fully shivering now, too cold to argue so I just nod my head.
“Shit, Salem, your lips are turning blue.” His thumb comes up to my bottom lip and I almost bite him from how hard I’m shivering. I can’t even feel my feet anymore. I feel my knees buckle, before Pierce grabs onto me by the hoodie I’d just put on.
“Woah. Okay, Salem? Salem, I’m going to lift you up now, okay?” I nod, feeling his arms wrap around me as he sweeps me up into his chest. I’m immediately grateful that Pierce is a such a meat head with his workouts as he lifts me easily.
“I’m getting you out of here.”
“Skye.”
He nods, looking for Skye amongst the crowd. “I don’t see her. We can just shoot her a text letting her know where you went.”
He shuffles my weight in his arms before heading to Paladin Hall, the closest building to where we are. He tries the first door only to find it’s locked. “Shit. Okay, wait there’s- there’s another set of doors here.”
I bounce against his rock-hard chest, letting my head rest on his large shoulders. The wind whips against us as he carries me over to the second set of doors which thankfully are unlocked.
