Battle Wounds
by
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There is nothing but darkness. It surrounds me, filling the air with an icy cold touch. Suddenly, a glimmer of light appears in the distance. I run towards the flicker as it dances in the darkness, but the more I run, the farther it got until it vanished. I looked around, feeling my heart beating out of my chest. Then the ember appeared and danced before me once again, but it was closer this time. So close that I could touch it. Reaching my hand out, I could start to feel the piercing cold air begin to burn my skin. The light had then burst from my touch as it than surrounded me, turning into blazing fires. The darkness had turned into black smoke that had soon filled my lungs. I could smell the gasoline in the air as the fire grew. It had felt like my skin was melting off my bones as the ashes started to enter my lungs. My knees crumbled beneath me, not able to breathe or move. On my hands and knees, I was clutching onto my chest as I violently coughed from the smoke. Wanting to run, wanting to do anything besides die in this fire. I look up, scanning around to find a way past the flames, but saw nothing except a shadowy figure that was slowly walking towards me. I tried to scream for help, but I had nothing left in me. My eyesight started to go blurry as my lungs and body burned from the heat of the fire. I felt trapped by the flames. The shadowy figure still slowly walking toward me, in no rush to come to my rescue. My arms and legs slowly started to give out as I could feel my body beginning to fall to the cold floor. The flames still grow around me, stealing the last bit of air I have left. Falling, I see the shadowy figure stand before me, untouched by the flames. Before I had a chance to hit the floor, my eyes shot open as I felt myself gasping for air. “It was only a dream," I mumbled to myself.
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About the Book
Battle Wounds is a short story about grief, and finding one’s inner peace. Skyler Reeds, a stubborn and passionate young artist, who loses her family in a house fire right before entering freshman year of high school. Struggling with grief, Skyler is forced to move in with her aunt and uncle. Unfortunately this also means attending a new school away from her friends and the life she once knew. Forced to start her life over after losing everything she once used to call home, Skyler goes on a journey to find herself once again.
About the Author
Allie Riches is a student athlete at Rider University, studying Sports Media and Journalism. She was originally born in Kansas, but after her parents got divorced, they moved to Pennsylvania. Her mom worked three jobs to make ends meet and her brother was off in college, so she had to learn how to take care of herself at a young age. She was soon diagnosed with dyslexia and anxiety. School counselors encouraged Riches to draw and write. She used those times to create characters that she could relate with or make a world that she could trap herself into. Soon she had explored the world of poetry and experimental film making, where she was awarded with “Best Story Teller,” for an experimental film called “Broken Wings.” This film was based off of her poem, also called “Broke Wings,” which is read throughout the background of the film. Now she focuses on making sports features to tell the unique paths of other athletes. However, she still loves to create worlds and characters for people to fall in love with.