The first thing Ethan felt was heat. The lights had been too bright and he had been forced to close his eyes. When he opened them again, he was surrounded by fire.
It was literally a field of flames.
The ground beneath his feet crackled as if it were alive, every patch of earth glowing red like smoldering coals. The air shimmered, distorted by waves of heat that made it hard to breathe. His throat burned with every inhale, and the stench of smoke clung to his tongue.
The fire did not spread in random chaos. It moved as though it had purpose, walls of flame curling inward to corral him, forming a blazing cage that tightened with every passing moment. Ethan's heartbeat thundered in his chest as the realization struck that he had no idea how he had come here, no memory of stepping into this inferno.
