Sqaishey
I cough violently as I open my eyes, looking around. I don't see anything, so I sit up and feel weight on top of me. I push it off and turn around to see Stampy passed out behind me. I gasp, and quickly check his pulse. He's alive....barely. His breath comes in short, raspy wheezes, and I pull his shirt over his nose so he doesn't breathe in smoke.
I look around, trying to remember what could've caused the wreckage, then I remember. The fire, trying to get down stairs to warn everyone, breathing in too much smoke, then nothing. I cough again, my lungs burning, but I try to ignore it.
The house is a wreck.
A small fire in front of the door still lingers, as well as one near the kitchen. The couches are burned and covered in smoke, there's a giant piece of wood blocking the doorway out, the TV has exploded as well as two chairs, the dining table is still on fire. So many things just...destroyed.
I slowly stand up, and pain shoots up my left leg. I nearly scream at the pain, it's definitely broken, and in more than one place. I ignore the pain and limp over to the mantle, looking at pictures on it. Burnt up pictures of him, Justin, and Netty together, him and his dad, him and his parents. And one picture, completely unscathed, of the entire Magic Animal Club, including me. I smile a bit and take the picture, still in it's frame, and stare at it.
I hear a loud wheeze and drop the picture, running over to Stampy, my leg screaming at me to stop but I don't listen. My priority is Stampy, not me. But it might not be anymore, I realize as I kneel down next to him. His chest isn't rising.
He isn't breathing.
"Help! Help me, please!" I scream, hoping to get someone's attention. Nothing. "Please help me! My boyfriend isn't breathing!" I cough from the screaming, my lungs begging me to stop. "Please..." I trail off, not able to scream anymore. I lay my head on his chest and sob, harder than I've ever sobbed before. Because I know it, I know that he's going to die.
Squid
"Move out of the way, everyone! Move out of the way!" A paramedic shouts. Everyone moves to the side as the paramedics come rushing through the crowd with two stretchers...
Stampy and Sqaishey.
Sqaishey is coughing loudly and wheezing and Stampy...isn't even breathing. I breathe in sharply and glance down at Harmony, staring over somewhere with a horrified look on her face. A woman pulls a blanket over two adults and looks at them sadly, and she bursts into tears. They must've been her parents. I lift her up and pat her back as she sobs into my shoulder.
"Shh, it's okay, Harmony. It's okay. They aren't gone, they're just going on vacation. It happens to everyone, but at different ages." Her crying slowly quiets down. "My parents still haven't gone on vacation, but my dad might soon. But since your parents went early, that means you're strong enough to be okay without them! Show me your muscles!" I laugh. She giggles and flexes her arm, her tiny muscles showing. "You're very strong! You'll be fine while your parents are on vacation, and you'll join them at some point too, okay?" "Okay. Can I live with you while they're on vacation?" She asks me, her big brown eyes staring up at me hopefully.
"Uh...sure," I say. She squeals and hugs me again, and I stare over at Stampy as they perform CPR on him, and put a breathing mask over Sqaishey. I breathe in sharply at the sight of it, and glance over at the others. Netty is paralyzed with fear, Amy is crying, Lee won't let anyone see his face, and Nicole is coming over to me and Harmony, her eyes glistening with tears. "David! What's wrong?" Harmony asks me. "Oh, my, uh, my friends aren't doing to well right now," I tell her.
"Do you think they're going to go on vacation with mommy and daddy?"
"No, I don't think so, little one," Nicole answers for me. I shoot her a grateful glance and she smiles. "What is your name?" She asks. "I'm Harmony! What's yours?" Harmony says, offering her hand. Nicole shakes it and laughs. "I'm Nicole. I'm David's girlfriend," she tells her. "You're pretty. David is very lucky," she says, making us laugh. "Well, Harmony, why don't you go ask Amy to introduce you to everyone else? I need to talk to David," Nicole says. "Okay!" She jumps out of my arms and runs over to Amy and greets her.
"David, Stampy's alive, but only just. He broke his arm and fractured some backbone that I don't know the name of. He was protecting Sqaishey, she had passed out." I choke back tears. "Sqaishey has bad bronchitis, and broke her leg in more than one place," I bite my lip to keep back tears again. "Where are they?" I ask, not sure if I wanted to know the answer. "In the intensive care in the hospital," she whispers. "And Ash?" I ask. She nods her head, meaning he's in the same area. "Does Netty know?" I ask. She shakes her head. "I decided to let Amy and Lee, and now Harmony, distract her. And I think that she's doing a pretty good job." We look over at Harmony dancing around and flailing her arms, making them and us laugh.
"In the meantime, we need to get to the hospital. Now." I take a deep breath and head over to the others. "Guys, we've gotta get to the hospital," I say, avoiding Netty's eyes. "Okay. Let's go then," Lee says, his voice hoarse.
"Hey! Get off me!" I hear Harmony squeak from behind me, and immediately turn around. There's two police men trying to get her to come with them. "No! I live with David now! Ask him!" She says, pointing over at me. Lee, Amy, and Nicole look at me with a knowing look, and I smile sheepishly back at them. "You're David?" The cops ask. "Yes." "So, you're adopting Harmony?" "I...uh," I glance back at my friends to see what they thought. They all had smiles on their faces, and Amy was looking at me encouragingly. "Yea. Yes, I'm adopting Harmony." I say, and she smiles.
"Okay, you'll have to fill out some paper work, but she can stay with you until then. Should be ready in two days," he tells me. I nod along as he explains everything, and then he walks away, leaving me to listen to Harmony's excited babbling. "...Are you listening David?" She asks, and I snap back to attention. "Uh..." She rolls her eyes and laughs. "You are gonna be a handful," she giggles.
