She was sitting up . His mouth felt full of bits of ash .
She was groggy , the dreams far more vivid than usual . She hadn ’ t dreamed about the pine trees in years . Her chest was tight as she thought of Riley , another thing missing from her dreams for a long time . Sarah wasn ’ t sure where she was . Rubbing her eyes , she tried to clear her vision . Something came over a PA system , a burst of names she didn ’ t know .
Where was she ?
Finally her vision cleared and she realized she was in the hospital , sitting next to Marcus . She heard something , a tone , a long droning single pitched note . It must ’ ve been what had woken her up . She realized it was the heart monitor attached to Marcus . She looked at the screen , a long flat line stretching across black . There wasn ’ t a heartbeat . A flurry of motion , a group of hospital personnel burst through the door , doctors and nurses rushing to help him .
Sitting up , the cobwebs wiped from her mind , Sarah finally saw the thing standing next to Marcus . It was hideous . Rutted tracks of blood red moved beneath the charred , bark-like outer skin , a constant sea of moving crimson beneath . The smell hit her , like burnt meat , smoke rising from the thing , wisps bursting upward with each motion .
The doctor reached for Marcus , rushing through the beast , bursting it apart like a handful of smoke . The
21