[Play Audio for the best experience]

You braced yourself for the impact, but the air is still knocked out of you. Your vision is blurry. Your chest aches, your throat burns, the only thing on your mind is the pain and the desperate need for your next breath.



It comes a moment later as your chest relaxes, and you take a deep breath. The acrid scent of smoke burns your lungs as you cough and choke, doubling over on your side. You are alive, at least. Then the crunch of leaves under your hand and the realization of how warm it is sinks in.



For the first time since landing, you look up.

Around you, a forest is in flames, heat scorching the skies and the smoke so thick you can't tell if it's day or night. A deafening crack echoes through the roaring of the fire, and as you watch, a towering tree buckles and falls. It crashes into the ground, sending tremors through the earth. You shield your face with your arm and turn to seek escape. You scramble to your feet, seeking safety, water -- anything.



A hot breeze smacks you dead in the face, and you throw a hand over your mouth, coughing. CInders float wildly in the wind, swirling upwards from the inferno. Your eyes sting and water, tears slipping involuntarily down your cheeks.



No route of escape presents itself, so you run. You leap over burning logs, zigzagging through underbrush overrun with fire, and diving out of the way of falling branches.



The flames rush after you as if they can sense your fear, jumping from branch to branch, from brittle bush to dry leaves.



Your feet pound against the dirt. Your breaths come in short, ragged bursts. Your heart thuds against your ribcage. Everything hurts. You are sweating, and every time you trip, a new scrape burns into your skin.



The fourth time, you land on your hands. Pain shoots up your arms, and you know your hands are grazed by the way they sting. You're about to stand up when you notice a small hollow in the ground. A cave lined with rock and covered in soil. It might be enough to protect you from the flames if you can get in far enough.



You are about to crawl inside, when a glimmer ahead catches your eyes. Through the burning trees ahead the twisting smoke, you can see a body of water. It reflects the fire, stretching further than you can see. If you can make it, the water offers potential safety.



A glance behind you, and the fire has almost caught up. You know if you try to make it to the lake, you won't be able to come back to the hollow.