Isolation

Burning

Mike sunk onto the floor and pulled his knees to his chest, whispering to himself and backing away as deep as he could into the corner of the kitchen.

"Mike?" A worried voice asked. "What is it?"

Footsteps were running all around, and sounds of ringing and coughing filled Mike's ears. It was all so much, he just wanted quiet.

"Mike! Mike, are you okay?!" A new voice asked. Mike could hear the footsteps going over toward him, but all the voices seemed so distant now. Like they were a mile away, and all Mike could hear now was the ringing.

"Hang on," a third voice said comfortingly. A loud bang caused Mike to let out a sob and throw his hands over his ears.

"I got it!" The first voice said, coughing. "I got it."

"Oh come on, you little...MICKY!" The third voice screamed over the sound of the alarm. "HELP ME OUT HERE! I CAN'T REACH!"

Mike only cried. It was so loud. He could still hear the footsteps running around him, the sounds of doors and windows being opened. He could hear talking and someone whispering reassurances to him, he could feel arms wrap around him and pull him into a hug, but he couldn't hear anything over the banging and ringing.

He felt a hand on his foot and opened his eyes to see someone sitting on his knees in front of him. It was hard to make out who though, between the darkness and the smoke, it could've been anyone. Behind the figure, he could see another jumping up and down with a broom in his hands, banging it up against the smoke detector. But it didn't turn off so now there was just this terrifying world of noise, ringing, banging, screaming.

Mike pulled himself further into the corner, turning away from the noises.

"Hey, hey," a voice said, putting his hand on Mike's back. "It's okay. It's gonna be okay."

With one final bang and crash, it was quiet again.

"See, it's gone now," the voice reassured him and a hand began rubbing circles on his back. "There's nothing to worry about now."

"There's always something...something new...something to..." Mike muttered, trying to pull away.

"Easy, you're okay now. Don't worry about it."

It was then that Mike realized the voice seemed closer now. It was so far away just a second ago.

"Are you here...?" He asked, voice breaking slightly.

The sounds of frantic running and the opening doors and windows filled Mike's ears, but he still could hear only the ringing.

"Yeah, I'm right here, Mike."

He could feel someone come and gently take his hands off of his ears. Mike tensed up.

"It's just me, don't worry."

Who? Mike wanted to ask but refrained himself. He could recognize the voice but didn't know who it was.

He opened his eyes and turned to face the figure again. Mike squinted, trying to recognize the face through the smoke.

"Mike, it's Davy," he said and Mike frowned, but didn't say anything.

"You're okay." A new voice said. Mike looked up at Micky, who set the broom down on the ground and walked toward him.

"All the doors and windows are open," Peter declared with a cough, looking at Micky.

"Hi, Mike," he smiled. "I appreciate it...but..."

Mike frowned confused. He was still coming to his senses.

"What?"

Micky sighed and sat down, wrapping his arm around Mike.