"Dawn! DAWN!!! Wake up! get out! Grab your stuff!" I blinked open my eyes and froze as my world was engulfed in flames. Mae was screaming from outside my window. She was bouncing around and crying, not knowing what to do.
I jumped out of bed and grabbed my wallet and phone then reached for the door handle. Fire surrounded the handle and it was to the point of falling. I looked around for something else.
"The window! Dawn! The window!!" she wailed.
I scrambled over to the window and unlatched it. Swinging my arms up, I tried to open it. It wouldn't budge. The smoke burned my eyes and stung my throat. The fire clawed at my feet and licked my clothing. Sirens went off outside and I felt my legs beginning to buckle. No, I wasn't going to pass out. I grabbed a shirt and tied it around my mouth and nose then grabbed a lamp. I swung the lamp as hard as I could and winced as the lamp struck the glass. Splinters flew in all directions and pierced my bare skin like little darts.
I was numb to the pain. The fire and smoke was a bigger problem.
"Dawn!! The cieling! The ceiling!!!" Mae screamed and covered her eyes.
I glanced up to see what I thought would be a white ceiling, but what was actually a grey one that looked more like a water balloon about to burst.
"Aye!" I scrambled up onto the window pane and jumped into the grass. The cool ground was like heaven compared to the heat of the flames. The heat had been so hot it was like sitting right next to a bonfire with no clothes on. Just think about it. It's hot.
"Dawn!" Mae sobbed and hugged me. I hugged her and started crying too.
We let go of each other and faced the condo, watching it burn to the ground. The skeleton was visible and pieces of everything fell in flame. And ...there went our house.
"God! I was kidding about the Adventure you know!" I shouted to the sky and bit my lip as it started quivering. Just imagine losing everything. All your pictures, all your clothes, all your school work, your stuff for work, your dishes and paintings and bed and jewelry and memories and just.. half of your heart. It was like starting from scratch. All we had to work with were the clothes we went to bed in and whatever we grabbed. That reminded me, I'd forgotten my phone and wallet when I picked up the lamp to smash the window open.
"Mae, where are we going to live?"
She wiped away a tear and glanced sideways at me. "Troy?"
"I don't know, don't you think it'd be weird to live with a guy you're not dating or siblings with?"
"Troy is different." A smile slipped up her face.
I nodded. Troy was different. He was practically a brother to us. But Riane was also an option.
"To Troy's!" I shouted, and started walking towards our car, then stopped. "The keys are gone aren't they."
Mae nodded, then laughed. "We can just use the firefighters phone and Troy can pick us up."
We walked over to a guy standing next to the truck as others hosed down our house. "Can we use your phone?"
"Sure." He reached in his pocket and handed me his phone. I called Troy. "Troy? It's Dawn. Can we live with you for a little while?"
"Why?"
"Our house burnt down."
"What!!?"
"We'll tell you later... but also, can you pick us up?"
"I'm at work!"
"Please?"
"Fine, I'll be over soon." *Click*
"He's coming."
"Good." Mae sat down and stared at the road. "I don't know who burned our house down. It might have been a cigarette or something."
"You know we mght have to go to court if someone burnt our house down."
"Eh, probably not. It was most likely just an accident."
"Hmm.." I stared at a snail as it inched its way up a blade of grass. "Maybe."
