Other than my black thoughts rushing through my head, I have one aim: to save my friends and destroy this building. We've been here over night and they've cut the bonds of my friends, we're in cages after all.
I've had plenty of time to talk with the others. I've tossed a few walnuts to Nutty and she seems content. Out of all of us, she's taking this surprisingly well. Mark is as determined as I am to get out of here and Jewel is helping us to come up with a plan. Misty needs a lot of comfort right now but it's difficult because we're not in the same cage. Storm is sitting there defiantly, he looks almost bored like he expected this and is just waiting for the end.
Spirit is acting similar to Storm, but she isn't as worried about Misty as he is. She does care but she's just melancholy like me. Looking at Spirit's shadowy fur an idea sparkles in my mind and I run it past Jewel and Mark. Jewel doesn't think it will work and Mark's a little sceptical what we'd do afterwards, but as it's something to do we decide to try it out.
No one's currently surveying us so I give the all clear. We don't notify the others because we don't want them to act any differently. Spirit's cage is at the back, so whilst the others have their attention turned Spirit slips into the shadow and my plan begins to unfurl as she slips into cage after cage. She manages to free Misty first and the rest of us follow fairly quickly.
Spirit's quite drained now so the others form a protective ring around her as I lead on. Mark feeds Spirit some scraps of meat from our food supply and we rush round a corner and hide in a little unused shelving space behind some boxes. I can't risk them getting hurt so I leave them there and go to locate some area to set off an explosion.
No one's in the next room but I decide to go to the farthest room so that I can give the others time to get out. I should survive this because fire doesn't burn me, but I'm more concerned about the others.
I set to work, gathering everything flammable into a massive pile. When I'm finished I walk slowly out the room and fire a few flames once I'm as far away as possible. I break into a run and I soon reach where the others are. They're waiting for me and we decide to put some distance between us and the explosive inferno before we look for an exit.
We rush down many flights of stairs until we reach a corridor. This one is different to the previous corridors we went down because this one appears to be wider and seems more 'homey' than the others.
I'm slightly faster than the others and I'm a little distance ahead when I hear a shudder right behind me. I turn to see a thick glass barrier between me and my friends. I freeze for a moment until I hear a roar and notice a massive wave of fire rushing towards them. I notice sparks as the fire starts affecting the technology in the ceiling and walls.
Spirit is trying to get through but soon accepts the inevitable. Mark puts his arms protectively around Nutty and Spirit stands over Misty and Storm. I gently say goodbye to each one and cry a little with Misty, Storm and Spirit. I try one last time to break through to them. I frantically kick the glass and throw fire at it, but it won't work.
I can't give up, not now; I need to get them out. Jewel moves slowly to stand opposite me and moves her hand to press towards mine. The roar of the fire gets louder and the walls erupt in flame as the ceiling starts to send showers of sparks. Through the commotion Jewel, still stands opposite me, oblivious to it all.
The fire is dangerously close now and there's still no way out. As the fire engulfs my friends, Jewel mouths two words: Love you, and with that she burns to the ground. The glass doesn't melt for some reason it shatters into a million pieces and I rush forward to grab them.
I reach into nothingness and my hands pass harmlessly through the flames. As I break down and cry I realise how close I'd grown to Jewel. I knew I loved Storm, he was my buddy from the beginning, Misty and I had a bond shared since I saved her, Spirit was like an older sister. Mark was like a shy younger brother and Nutty was like a little baby sister that I had to protect more than anyone. Jewel, she was like the others, I loved her like I loved them, but we had another bond.
They were all my soul mates. I know that sounds cheesy but my whole being is tied to them, with Jewel I had another bond too. Mortally I loved her, I mortally loved my friends too but there are three different types of love. There's the love where your being is tied to someone else, the one where you mortally love someone as a friend or family member and then finally mortally loving someone. I don't want to explain it because I'm rambling; I'm off the deep end in my misery.
Now I finally know what it's like to be broken, my emotional dam has completely cracked and I feel more alone than ever before. I struggle to my feet and I walk through the wrecking building. I can hear fire engines outside and yet as I walk through the fire, all I can think about are my friends and Jewel's last words to me.
I go to the stairs without a thought. I take flight and wind upwards following the path the stairs would have taken. As I fly, the goodbyes of my friends echo through my mind and chip at the last fragile wall of my heart. As well as Jewel's last words being stuck on replay, I have Misty's goodbye clamouring in my mind: Goodbye, it's not your fault; you saved me once you don't need to save me again. I dig my finger nails into my palm as I reprimand that last part. It will always be my fault, I can think of more than one-hundred ways right now that I could have saved you all.
I break through the smoke and look at the remains below me. I'm a failure, I am to blame, and I killed my friends. I led them here; I waited for Misty, Storm and Spirit when I should have gone on. I could have made sure that Mark, Jewel and Nutty got out. I could have insisted they went. I shouldn't have given them the choice. I set off that fire; it was my fire, therefore I KILLED MY FRIENDS. My heart finally shatters and I know it won't ever be put back together.
YOU ARE READING
Alone in a Busy World
FantasyA young boy with talent is searching for his memories. When he recovers them, he's not sure if he'll be able to keep going. With the help of a kind wolf he finds a loving family and sets out to destroy the group that destroyed his life.
