Dark Silences

Five.

I held her squirming body until we were outside, then I collapsed in exhaustion and relief. We both lay panting, and I looked at her.

"Why would you...?" Her voice trailed off and she passed out.

I lay her down next to me and sat up. "Fuck, man!" I heard Jack's voice yell. Looking up, I saw my three friends, standing there in complete shock.

They sprinted over, dropping their boards and shouting. "What the fuck happened? Dude you're covered in burnt shit!" Danny crouched down next to me.

"I'm fine." I bit my lip and looked down at Alice. "Can you guys leave? It'll freak her out if she wakes up and sees you."

"What?" Jack asked.

"Just leave. Please, bro. All of you. I'll see you tomorrow. Tell me if you find anywhere good to skate." I begged.

"Is she okay?" Danny pointed at Alice's limp body. "She looks really fucking skinny."

"She's fine. Please let me deal with her alone. I get the feeling she's not... I don't know. She'd be more comfortable with only one person here. Please. And take my board with you. I'm begging now." I pleaded with them. I wasn't sure why, but I knew that Alice wouldn't want anyone there except me. She seemed like someone who takes a lot of time to build trust, and I needed to do that alone.

They all frowned at each other. "Okay... Fine. But please, keep in touch, Blondie. We're worried." Brandon looked a little frazzled. Can't say I blame him, I literally nearly was just frazzled.

"Yeah, dude. Keep safe." Danny picked up his board. "No homo. See you around, squirt."

I watched my three best friends skate off down the sandy path then turned to the strange girl next to me. Carefully, I picked her up and lay her in my lap. Stroking her hair, I noticed her eyelids flicker. "Alice?" I called softly. "Hey, Alice." No response. She looked dead, but I knew she wasn't. Looking up at the attic, I could see the flames dancing out of the window. We should probably get out of here. I can take her back to her Dad later. But... That house looked pretty abandoned.

Whatever, I'll just clean her up and take her back here later. Not that I really wanted to. This place gave me bad vibes.

I swung her over my shoulder and started walking back to my house. Walking at this rate would take maybe an hour. Who cares? I just had to clean this girl up and give her some goddamn food. She looked like a skeleton. Hopefully her Dad wouldn't murder me too much... But let's be real, I was dead meat.