Temperature

Illusions
I ran frantically from what was trying to get me. I didn't know what it was, but it was certainly trying to get me, regardless of my body's status - dead or alive. It felt like hours, running from it in a dusty wasteland-like setting with nothing to show that I was making any progress. It was just flat road, with occasional cactus and mountains that seemed the exact same every time. I didn't know what was happening. I looked back, and as there was nothing there, I started catching my breath, breathing in so heavy that my lungs could barely process it all efficiently.

But then..

'''Bam! '''

Reality
I woke up. I was covered in sweat and tears, and my throat felt so dry. I didn't know what happened in that dream, but I was glad it was over. I slowly got out of my bed, and slowly walked to the shower.. My arms and legs were exhausted and could barely hold me up right. I shrugged it off and began showering. It was a strange experience though. My body automatically adjusted the water to a freezing temperature, but the thing was; I didn't feel it? I stood in the shower, unaware of its chill.

"What the hell..?" I muttered under my breath, as I started to wash myself. I was still covered in gross sweat, and I needed to get that out quickly, before it filled my pours of something. Within minutes, I had washed my entire body and my wavy black hair. It felt good to get all of the grease and sweat off, and now I could feel the water, though it was only a passive cold temperature. I decided to experiment a bit, and I turned the hot water dial to release steamy scolding water, but instead came a warm, relaxing temperature. I was done with this. I got out of the shower and put my clothes on - A dark grey shirt, white-open jacket and black pants.

I grabbed my rucksack, containing some lunch, my phone and a couple of miscellaneous objects sitting at the bottom.

Travelling
"Mother, i'm going out!" I shouted, walking out the door. I heard a faint 'Ok, be safe' as I closed the doors behind me. I didn't know what this whole temperature thing meant, but I thought it was a fluke and shrugged it off anyways. About a quarter of a hour walking later, I came across a bunch of trees with makeshift benches, in a local park. There, my friends were, talking about hormonal stuff. I walked towards them, and nearly tripped over an ingrown root. I kept my cool, however, and managed to not fall over dramatically.

"Hey dude." A girl called, getting up from her seat and waving at me. She was wearing a black shirt with a white skull in the middle, ripped jeans and black eyeliner and nails. She was the definition of a goth in human form, but she was actually very nice, though she suffered from moodiness and mild depression. "Hey Jesse." I called back, walking more swiftly to the grounds. It seemed they'd grabbed some wood and made a fire in a damaged barrel; smart, I thought. I didn't notice it was winter, or that it would've been freezing.

As I sat down, there were others sat in a circular-type fashion, all gaining heat from the beautiful barrel fire. Jesse sat opposite to me, while Craig sat next to me and two others next to him.

"So how's life?" I asked everyone, most replying with a silent shrug.

"It's freezing, isn't it?" Jesse replied to me, her hands openly over the fire and her legs vibrating violently. I nodded as if I knew what she was talking about. I didn't feel anything but I didn't want others to know that. It'd be kind of strange after all. "Yeah. It is." I replied. I sat my rucksack down, opposite to Craig looked around peacefully, as the winds picked right up.

Coming out
At first the wind wasn't that troublesome, it was light and Jesse thought it was a relaxing warm feel. I wouldn't know anyways. Then the wind got more powerful, eventually ruining our hair completely.

One force of wind was going to tip the barrel over, but I just had to catch the edge of it. I didn't understand at all - The parts I placed my hands were red hot, yet I only felt a nice warm sensation. The others stared at me in confusion, their mouths wide open as were their eyes. I placed it back into its normal position and sat down nervously. My hands were scorched, yet I felt nothing. I was fixed on it being a problem with my nerves.

"What!? How!?" Jesse managed to get out. "You touched a super hot barrel, and felt what?" She exclaimed, the other 3 facing me, expecting an answer as well.

"Honestly, I don't know. I think it happened first in the shower? I tried freezing water and boiling water, yet I felt nothing but refreshing, nice water. But this, this takes the cake." I blurted out, rambling on terribly. Then at that moment, something came to me. Something reckless and stupid.

I got up and faced the barrel. Jesse was shaking her head, as if she knew what I was going to do.. She probably did, though. It was the moment of truth. I rolled up my sleeves and silently prayed. There were squeals and shrieks as I plunged my whole arm into the flaming barrel for a whole 10 seconds. When I took it out, it looked thoroughly charred, but I had full control of it and it didn't seem to hurt at all. Interesting, I thought as I say down speechlessly.

~More will be added soon enough..