A day later...
I stared at the wooden roof of my tree house, wishing that my friends would just go away and stop looking for me. I could hear them calling out, " Sophie! Where are you?" I was sure that they would never find me, but just to be certain, I started to snap off branches from a nearby tree and weave them into the already tangled mess of branches, leaves, twigs, and mud, with the odd bit of moss here and there. I wasn't ready to face them yet. I was sure that everyone thought that the collapse of the training gym was my fault, as I was the only one with a dragon. I sighed. I wish they would leave me alone.
I heard my friends walking away, but then heard a new sound. It sounded like two people crashing through branches. I quickly scaled up the tree to get a closer look. A boy and a girl were walking through the woods, talking loudly. The boy was saying, " No way dude! This is awesome and totally safe!" I felt bad for the girl. She obviously didn't want to be there. She frowned and said, " But Zach, it's getting dark. I think we should go back." I couldn't take it any longer. Obviously the boy had an ego the size of a blue whale, and wouldn't listen to her. I dropped out of the tree, startling them. The boy screamed, and started to run back out of the woods. The girl jumped back, and I said, " It's ok, don't be frightened, I won't hurt you." She smiled. " I thought you needed saving," I said. She thanked me and walked off in the direction the boy had gone in.
Feeling happy, I jumped on Rhoda, and we soar away. It's time to go back to school.
I arrived at the campus, and looked around. I didn't see anyone I recognized. Where is everybody? I asked Rhoda. She replied, Look! Fire! Where the cafeteria used to be, it was burned down to the ground. It was gone.
I wandered around, looking for anyone, everyone. I walked through where the cafeteria used to be, and saw in the middle of the empty, blackened space was a drawing of a flame in the ashes. Under it, spelled out in block letters, was the acronym, F.I.R.E.
Nearby, I spotted a figure lying under a section of roof, the only part of the cafeteria still standing. I walked closer, wondering who it was. " Oh my gosh," I gasped. It was Jack! I ran over to him and kneeled by his side. " Are you ok?" I asked. He sat up, and said, " Sophie! Thank the gods! Are you ok?" "Um, yes? I'm fine. Are you ok? You're the one lying down in the rubble of a burnt- out building," I said. "I was worried about you. Soph, I've been sleeping here for 5 days. Do you know how worried everyone has been? All your friends are going crazy, your parents are going insane, and I've been having a mental breakdown. All the adults are really mad, and it's not just about the fire. They are mad about all of this. The whole thing," Jack explained. What whole thing?" I asked.
"F.I.R.E," he said.
