Flames of Despair

Lily turned around and found herself staring at someone she had been longing to see.

"Jake?" she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Hey, Lily baby. Are you not going to do the dares?" Jake's voice was eerily calm, but Lily knew it wasn't really him. She couldn't hold back her sobs.

"Why! WHY ARE YOU USING HIM AGAINST ME? WHY!" Lily screamed. "Isn't it enough taking innocent people's lives? And now you use their loved ones against them? WHY? TELL ME WHY YOU MONSTER?"

"Jake" laughed, a sinister sound that sent chills down her spine. "Don't shout, Lily. It's not good for you."

"SHUT UP, YOU MONSTER!" Lily screamed again, her voice breaking.

"Kill Ava... or you will die," the figure said, his tone icy and unfeeling. "This is your dare. You have exactly seven minutes."

"What?!" Lily gasped, her heart racing.

"And don't think of skipping this dare. If you complete it, at least you'll live. If you don't, you'll die. And don't think Ava will make it out either. She'll die because of the dare I will give her," the figure threatened.

"You monster," Lily spat, but before she could say more, the apparition vanished. She fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face.

"Why, God? Why are you doing this? Just when we were about to make it right..."

The door of the room creaked open. Lily wiped her tears and stood up, a determined look in her eyes. "I know what I have to do."

.

.

.

She descended the stairs and found Ava sitting near Noah's lifeless body, waiting for her.

"Oh my God, Lily, how long did you take?" Ava said, turning around with a worried smile.

"S-sorry," Lily stammered.

"It's okay! Let's do this! Let's end this together!" Ava declared.

Lily just stared at her friend, her heart breaking.

"What? What happened? Let's go," Ava said, confused by Lily's hesitation.

Lily walked up to Ava and hugged her tightly. "Ava, I love you. We are and will always be soulmates. Promise me."

Ava, puzzled but touched, replied, "Yeah, of course."

Lily handed Ava the lighter. "Let's go to the basement and burn it."

"Okay!" Ava agreed.

They went to the basement and approached the gas tank. Ava lit the fire, and as soon as the flames ignited, they ran up the stairs. Suddenly, Lily pushed Ava out of the basement and locked the door from inside.

"LILY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? OPEN THE DOOR!" Ava screamed, pounding on the door.

"I'm sorry, Ava. I'm really sorry, but I can't," Lily said through the door, her voice choked with tears.

"LILY, THIS ISN'T FUNNY! OPEN THE DOOR!" Ava pleaded desperately. "PLEASE!"

"I got my dare," Lily said softly, her voice filled with resignation.

"W-what do you mean?" Ava asked, horror dawning on her.

"It means I won't make it, Ava," Lily said, her voice breaking. "Listen to me. You are the only hope now. Whether I survive or not doesn't matter. As long as you burn this house completely, we all will survive. Not just us, but everyone who was a victim of this stupid game."

"B-but I—" Ava stammered.

"Promise me you'll do your best to beat this spirit. Promise me, Ava, you'll save all of us," Lily implored.

"I promise," Ava whispered, tears streaming down her face.

Lily smiled through her tears. "Then don't waste your time. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine as long as you are. Now go!"

Ava didn't waste another second. She lit the lighter and threw it on the kitchen cylinder. A huge explosion followed, and the fire spread through the house rapidly.

She ran towards the main gate, but it slammed shut, trapping her inside.

"OPEN IT! PLEASE, OPEN!" Ava screamed, yanking on the door. Miraculously, it swung open. She darted outside, but a massive explosion from behind threw her to the ground. Her back burned painfully, but she managed to look up and see the house engulfed in flames.

A small, triumphant smile played on her lips as darkness overtook her vision, and she lost consciousness, the house burning down completely behind her.

*****