I haven't decided on a title..: Prologue

I opened my eyes. A familiar scene came into focus. Black, crumbling rosebushes that looked like they were made of charcoal were strewn across the terrain. The ashes littering the ground suggested that a fire had reduced the surrounding area to a barren wasteland. What trees remained were almost devoid of life. There wasn’t any green for miles. Almost everything was dead. It started to rain and I felt a pang of sorrow.
                     I walked down the tired cobblestone path I knew so well. It seemed like the stones flinched away from me as I passed, or perhaps I had only worn them a little smoother on each of my numerous visits.  The only living things I noticed were the birds who sat silently in terror, as if I was a hideous monster that would attack them at any moment.
                    Wandering off the path, I felt the grass part under my feet with every step I took. I knew where I was going, and I knew I couldn’t escape it. My heart beat faster and faster.
                    BOOM.
                    Right on schedule. The light drizzle became a heavy storm. I had been here often enough to know what was going to happen next. Thunder roared angrily at me and lightening flashed as if daring me to run.
                    I ran.
                    I covered my ears and ran as fast as I could.  But there was no way to escape the storm,  no way to escape the madness that would follow.
                    A huge bolt of lightening struck the ground only yards away from where I was standing. The thunder echoed in my ears and they rang with pain. The bolt had sent taunting flames to dance around me. I staggered back trying to get a hold of myself. The flames were closing in. Stop! Please! The flames only snickered as they crept closer still…