Fire

I push, I pull, I dig my nails in, anything to make the solid wall move in any way. I had to get out of this eternal fog. Shadows pressed in close, but I couldn't tell if they were urging me on or trying to stop me.

I began to hear some sort of anguished wail. I hadn't realized how silent the fog had been until that noise began. It took several moments before I realized it came from me.

I felt the wall. It seemed to connect with the floor and continue farther out and up than I could reach. It was smooth and yet had no temperature. I sat and leaned my back against it and let tears envelop me.

After several minutes or hours, it was hard to gauge time, it began to warm, then grew hot. I scrambled up to my feet and noticed a warm glow in the fog, turning gray to reddish. Heat began to overwhelm and I was forced to retreat. The light grew brighter, orange to yellow, then white hot.

The sound I heard now was not from me. It rumbled and whooshed. Hot wind knocked me to my knees. Then the world exploded.