I start to get used to the routine.
The smoke carries me to a new place, I stay there for about half an hour, probably less, and then the smoke comes back and it's starts all over again.
And every time I go somewhere, I just carry on searching in vain.
I'm taken to the top of a mountain, the bottom of a valley, onto a tiny rowing boat in the middle of the ocean, with the horizon a far away blue line all around me.
By the time the smoke reappears and carries me away from the old castle I'm exploring, tears are pouring down my face. I've searched in every corner of as many cold stone rooms I've had time to search, and still there's no sign of anyone. I don't even look at the new place I'm at. I close my eyes tightly, crouched in a despairing huddle.
Then I become aware that someone's rubbing my back gently.
Talking.
"Erin, what is it? Calm down, it's ok, just tell us what's going on-"
"Rosie?" I whisper. I open my eyes, hardly daring to hope.
Looking slightly blurred through my tears, Rosie peers at me anxiously. "Yeah, it's me. What's wrong?"
What's wrong? This seems like a bit of a stupid question. Oh, nothing's wrong, except for the fact that we have no idea where we are, or what just happened, or how to get back. I'm about to say all of this when Adam strolls over, carrying an armful of sticks.
"What the hell happened to you?" he enquires in his usual polite way, looking at my face. I brush away the tears and scowl at him as he dumps the sticks next to a fire and starts adding them one by one.
I look around. Somehow it's night-time again, and the fire bathes the trees around us in a red-gold glow. We're in a clearing in the middle of another forest, but this one isn't as thick and sounds of life are everywhere- twitters and scuffles and birdsong and rustles. The sky is darkening, but a few pink clouds are still hovering, survivors of the sunset.
Jack is sitting opposite me, holding his fingers out to the fire. A bag of marshmallows are next to him.
My unwavering confidence that this isn't a dream falters. This is bizarre. In fact, I'm suddenly almost certain that this is a dream. For a start, Adam would never willingly spend quality time alone with his younger siblings toasting marshmallows, actually breathing nature's fresh air. He's more likely to be with his mates, or up in his room listening to music or on his Xbox, pretending he's too cool for any of that stuff.
Nah. This is almost definitely a dream.
As soon as the thought crosses my mind, the campfire starts to grow, getting larger and larger. We back away, then start running into the forest as the fire quickly grows out of control. It touches the trees and starts to follow us through the forest, spreading from tree to tree until the whole forest is blazing.
So, what do you do when you're in the middle of a burning forest, with fire licking every tree in sight, and cinders raining down on you?
You run like crazy.
It doesn't hurt to scream your head off too. You never know, maybe someone can hear you. Not that anyone would be able to help much.
So that's what we do.
Adam's in front, dragging Rosie along. Jack and I are at their heels, taking turns to overtake each other. I suddenly feel a searing pain in my left hand and look down to see quite a severe burn.
I don't let it slow me down. I grit my teeth against the pain, curling my hand into a fist to hide the injury, and continue running. In fact, my pain seems to spur me on, urge me to go faster, to leave the hurting behind. I pull ahead of Jack, catching up to Adam and Rosie.
After a few minutes, I hear a yelp and a thump. I look over my shoulder and jerk to a halt.
Jack has fallen.
Dream or not, I start running back again, but the flames leap into my path, creating a fiery barrier. I can't see Jack through the flames. I start screeching his name, but there's no reply.
Before I can shout again, the familiar smoke closes in, taking me to a place where I know he won't be able to hear.