A Friendship Best Forgotten

Chapter 11 - Pain.

Dis short.

It took a second of hesitation before I bolted towards the roaring ball of fire, dodging the hands outstretched to try and stop me.

I dove into the small lake that sat outside my home to dampen my clothes before climbing up the vines, my shoulder burning.

The heat from inside the tree was almost unbearable, steam rose from my clothes almost instantly and I knew I only had a few minutes until I was on fire myself, so I ran towards my knife and made a grab for it, careful to avoid the hot blade. The smoke infiltrated my lungs and made me cough, but I wasn't done. I needed my-

My bow.

A small shriek left me when I saw it on it's perch, which was engulfed by the flames. I grabbed it, ignoring the searing pain I was rewarded with for getting it.

I choked back a sob and fell to my knees when I saw its state. Brittle and charred, the drawstring was all but burnt up and one attempt at use would have the entire thing snapped in two. 

Pain brought me back to the situation at hand, as my sleeve had caught fire, the flames blistering the skin of my wrist. I quickly realised my clothes were basically dry and any longer in the blaze would have me a charred corpse. Knowing the vines would be burnt up by now I ran for the balcony, planting my foot on the railing to jump into the lake below me, but the railing was a charred stick by then, and instantly collapsed under my weight.

The momentum I had kept me going however, and I fell.

None too gracefully my fall was broken by solid branches, and so were two of my ribs. I fell for what seemed like a long time, and on the final branch I hit my head, dimming the world around me, muffling it's sound.

I barely noticed that I hit the water, I just realised from the cold. I briefly wondered if I could just stay there, in the cold and quiet, and drown, but a shadow blocked the light from my burning home from my view and picked me up. If I believed that Notch and his angels concerned themselves with the qualms of mortals I would've thought it an angel, but I knew life was too cruel, and it wouldn't let me die yet.

I lost consciousness as soon as I broke the surface of the lake.