The Street Way of Life

Chapter One

The fire blazes hot against my skin. I see my father and scream to him, trying desperately to move away from under the wood thats trapped me. I see him look up at me one last time before a piece of wood falls from the ceiling and hits him hard in the head. Even above the roar of the fire, I can hear the crunch of his skull breaking. Even though the wood hides the worst of it, blood seeps out and creates an ever growing pool reminding me of what just occurred. I feel bile rising in my throat but quickly swallow it down as I hear a scream a few feet away. 

Chocking on the smoke, I finally see my mother stretching out her hand for me. I reach out, trying to get a grip on it, our fingers have barely brushed when she flinches back and clutches her stomach. I see the flame starting to envelop her. Her skin slowly blisters as she rocks herself back and forth on the floor. Parts of her skin begin to turn black and a scream that will haunt my nightmares forever comes from her throat. Loud, filled with pain and heartbreak, it is the scream the causes the bile to come back and force the contents of my stomach onto the ground as tears pour down my cheeks. I look back over at my father, and the parts of his body I can see have turned black and charred. The blood is practically on me as the pool widens and comes closer. I flinch back from it, but with no where to go, it quickly stains my hands and starts to seep through my shirt, touching my skin. 

"Kaia! Kaia where are you? Help me, help me, help me! I'm burning Kaia! Please, please make it stop!" Gut wrenching sobs accompany my little sisters words. At six years old, Embers voice is usually soft and angelic, but now, it is raspy with tears and smoke. I look around for her, but decide her voice seems to far away to be in the same room as me.

"Ember! I need you to listen to my voice okay? I can't come to you right now, so you need to go to the front door. It doesn't have any fire in front of it, you can do it, you just have to make it to the front door!" Embers sobs continue, but I think she heard me.

"Kaia, I'm stuck. My ankle hurts, and its twisted. I can't walk Kaia, please, please, you have to help me!"  I don't know what to do, I have to save her!

"Look Ember, I know it may hurt, but you have to-" I am cut off by a heart-wrenching scream that fills the air.

"I'm burning, it hurts, it hurts! Please just stop it!" Listening to her wails, I throw up the rest of my breakfast before wiping my mouth.

"Listen to me Ember! I want you to close your eyes, okay? You need to close your eyes for me. I want you to think of yesterday, we were all so happy. Think of yesterday, with mom and dad and Max, just think of yesterday." I hear a loud coughing noise before she responds.

"Are mom and dad okay?" My eyes glance over to their charred and burning bodies.

"Their fine Ember. You have to be strong now, so keep your eyes closed okay, it will all end soon, you will see mom and dad again soon."  Just not in this world. 

"I love you Kaia." I hear her say in a voice just loud enough for me to hear over the fire.

"I love you to Ember. So, so much." Just after I finish, I hear another pain filled scream, before it cuts off part way through. She's gone. Tears stream down my face as I think of Max. My brother can't be alone, I have to stay alive to be with him.

"Help me! Anyone, please, help me!" I scream at the top of my lungs as I try desperately to wedge my legs from underneath the giant piece of wood. But screaming has a price, and as I suck in breath after breath, the smoke fills my lungs and I can feel myself drifting away. As I take what I'm sure is my last breath, a pair of boots come running towards me, through the flames, where I will always rest.