The Phoenix Girl

9. Visions

Campsis stared in horror at the glowing firey whirlwind that had consumed her house. The blaze mirrored her rapidly swirling ember-colored hair. Panic and grief clenched her stomach. The heat of the fire struck her on the face as if it were a whip. She fell to her knees, her legs not able to support her because of the extra weight of the scene that was put upon her. She screamed for her sister - but no reply. Smoke swirled into the sky, making it impossible for her to breathe. 

"Dahlia!" 

No, no, no, NO. 

Tears streamed down her face. In that moment she realized she'd lost everything. 

Her mother and father had been kidnapped by Zandar. They had no time to warn Campisis and Dahlia about the fire - but that was not needed. Campsis and her sister had been on the couch, trying to listen to what was going on in the other room, when flames burst out in front of Dahlia. She screamed, pulling her hand away as the flames struck her arm, leaving a terrible burn. But it was nothing compared to Dahlia. Both her hands had been right on top of the place where the flames erupted. The fire had burned her hands and her left arm. She gasped in pain and fell back, not able to use her hands as supports. Campsis had run over to Dahlia, helped her up and tried to bring her out of the now-burning house. 

All their memories. 

All the fun their family had. 

Everything.

It was all lost. 

Determined to get each other to safety, Campsis and Dahlia worked as a team, running for the exit - if they could find it through the smoke. Campsis coughed and choked on the ashes. She saw her sister's determined face - determined to get her family - what was left of it - to safety. 

Finally, through the black and orange cloud of fire and smoke, they saw the light of the exit. 

"Campsis," Dahlia turned to her sister and looked at her, her eyes filled with pain, fear, determination and love. She could barely see her sister's face - it was as if she was fading away, getting engulfed in the flames. "No matter what happens, don't stop running. I'm right behind you, but you have to get out." Campsis was very confused at this. 

"Why? What's going on?" Campsis needed an answer.

Before Dahlia got a chance, a burning piece of wood fell from the roof above. The house was tearing apart. Dahlia pushed Campsis out of the way, screaming in pain when she used her hands. Campsis stumbled backwards just as the wood smashed into the ground in front of her. 

"Dahlia!" she screamed, a lump of panic forming in her throat. Her eyes scanned around desperately. 

"Campsis, go!" Dahlia's voice sounded full of worry - but she didn't sound hurt. 

"Dahlia, I'll get this out of our way. I'm not leaving here without you!"

She ran to the debris and, ignoring the pain in her arm, and pulled at it with such determination and strength that it moved just enough. She got to Dahlia and pulled her up. 

"Campsis, what are you doing?"

"Shut up, Dahlia! You knew I couldn't leave you." Campsis looked at her sister as a smile spread across her face. 

"Fine then, idiot. Let's get out of here". 

Together they ran for the exit. 

That's when everything went wrong. 

The exit was only 7 meters away. 6 meters. Now 5. We can make it, Campsis told herself. We'll be fine. The exit only about 3 meters away, the two sisters used their remaining strength to leap towards the door. Jumping too late, Campsis tripped on a burning piece of debris that had fallen, twisting her ankle in the process. Dahlia tried to help her up, but with her hands and arm burnt, she couldn't. Campsis gasped in pain as she tried to get up. 

"Campsis, I'm getting you out of here, don't worry". Campsis couldn't see her sister's face anymore, but she felt her presence there. Dahlia reached out her good arm and hoisted Campsis up. She winced as she put pressure on her foot, pain zipping up her leg. A few more steps. Then they'd be safe. She had already wasted precious time because of her clumsiness. 

Beside them,  Campsis heard a growl. Her heart thumping against her chest, she whipped her head around. In the heat, she saw the glowing face of a metal dog. It glowed with a strange aura, the colour of red-hot metal. She subconsciously heard someone screaming... she couldn't make it out. The dog's glowing red eyes were fixed right on Campsis. Before it could take another step forward, Campsis felt a strong push, and she snapped back into reality. 

"GO!" was all she heard, as she stumbled and fell back, out the doorway. She hit her head on the ground, and everything went black. 

Campsis woke up after what felt like seconds. But she knew it had been at least 10 minutes. She got up and looked in front of her - which was not a very good idea. 

Campsis stared in horror at the glowing firey whirlwind that had consumed her house. The blaze mirrored her rapidly swirling ember-colored hair. Panic and grief clenched her stomach. The heat of the fire struck her on the face as if it were a whip. She fell to her knees, her legs not able to support her because of the extra weight of the scene that was put upon her. She screamed for her sister - but no reply. Smoke swirled into the sky, making it impossible for her to breathe.

"Dahlia!"

No, no, no, NO. 

She had just lost her family. She would not lose her sister too. The only person who believed in her. The only person who helped her stay strong. 

"Dahlia!" she screamed once more, fear and panic filling her voice. 

No response. 

It's all my fault, she thought as tears streamed down her face. I've lost her. Because I thought I saw a stupid, stupid trick of the heat. She sank to her knees, grief clenching her heart mercilessly. 

It was all her fault. 

"Campsis" she heard a voice yell. Her head shot up. 

"Dahlia?" Campsis said hopefully. 

"Campsis!" the voice was different now...

"Campsis, WAKE UP!" She jolted awake, breathing heavily. Leaning over her bed was Elina. At first, she swore she saw Dahlia... but what did Dahlia look like? 

Oh no. 

Campsis couldn't remember what her sister looked like, at all. It was as if she had been wiped of her memories. She heard Dahlia's voice yelling "GO!" in her head. But it was getting softer and softer and softer until she couldn't hear her anymore. She tried to grab onto the memory, but it slipped out of her grasp. 

Her only family left - and she couldn't remember. The only thing she could remember was her name. Dahlia. Beautiful, brave Dahlia. And she was gone. 

"Campsis, what's wrong? You were yelling and thrashing around... did you have a dream or...?" Elina asked, obviously worried and shaken. 

"I-I'm fine" Campsis lied. Her hands were shaking, but she did her best to hide it. 

"Okay, if you say so. I just wanted to let you know that we'll be leaving soon. I'll go prepare breakfast". With that, Elina left Campsis, somehow knowing that she needed some time on her own. 

Campsis' hand flew to the arm she had burned. It still felt raw as if she had just burned it. She looked down at where her hand was and she gasped when she saw the scar. 

She looked down at her glowing arm. The burn mark was not just any burn mark. It was in the shape of a flower, flames curling off of the petals.