The Heat of Fire

Chapter 2

My thoughts all seem to melt together. My classmates gather around the fence, peeking out in awe. Smoke means fire. I look at the teacher expectantly, waiting for her to bring us to a safer place. But she just stands there, not sure of what to do. I realize that it's been almost 70 years since there had been a fire in America. But shouldn't there be protocol? "Ms. Tyrana, shouldn't we be leaving?" I ask nervously. "Um, I- I wasn't told that we were having a drill today," she says. Drill? We've never had a drill before! "How could the smoke be fake? This is real! We have to get out of here!" She thinks a minute, and then barks, "line up now! We have to take attendance now." I stare at her in disbelief. "So you're just going to sit here while the Fires come towards us? We are going to die! See what the last Fires did to the land? That's going to happen to us." I shout, and other students are starting to look worried. I hear people muttering, "Yeah, maybe we should go...This can't be a drill... We've never even had a drill!" The teacher narrows her eyes at me, and says, "one more time, and you'll be on your way to the principals office. "Fine." I say defiantly, marching to the door. I am reaching for the door knob, when I hear screams. I jog back over to the fence, and look for where the sounds are coming from. As I wheel around, my eyes are overwhelmed by the tall flames. Billowing in the wind, orange, red, and blue dance, twisting and turning in a never ending battle. They destroy everything in the wake of their fight, and jet black smoke plumes in the air. I am shocked by the beauty and destruction of this sight. This is the first fire I have ever seen. It brings death, yes, but I sense something else deep within it. I sense life. Life, that is taken, or given to those around it. Or that life is somehow connected to this fire. I snap out of my stupor, and notice that the fire is right by my house. My mom is still there! I lunge towards the fence, and begin to climb it. My teacher shouts something at me, but I hear nothing but the crackle of the far off fire, and feel something inside of me take flight. I make it over the fence, and run through the hoards of people headed towards the school. I desperately push past them, and make it to the ramp of the skywalk. I run, and quickly trace my path home. When I get there, I sigh with relief, but still, all I hear is the crackle of fire. My house has not yet been touched by the flames. I try to open the door, but it's stuck. I somehow find the strength to kick the door down (so cliche), and find my mom. "Mom, we have to get out of here!" I scream at her, over the crackling, witch is intensifying. She grabs her suitcase, and we start to the door. But we took too long. The door frame collapses and traps us inside. "Golly jee!" I shout in frustration. I open the window, and look down. Gosh, I really hate heights. "Mom, we're going to have to climb down." My Mom has a pale face, but nods. I'm about to climb out the window, when I hear an explosion. Then another. Another, another, another, another, another, countless times. 67. I stand through the window, watching as one by one, the tunnels are engulfed in flames and smoke, and as the mountains crumble above them. My mom is screaming my dad's name, and this time, I hear nothing. Not the explosions, not the fire, not my mom. Just my own breathing, and another's. A ragged, deep breath, and a voice saying a single word. "Fire." My father is gone. I snap out of it, and see my mom with tears in her eyes. "We have to get out of here." She repeats my previous statement. I slowly stretch out the window, and grab onto the house below us's window sill. I hang on for dear life, and my mom follows me. We steadily begin to climb down the walls, 8 stories, 7 stories, 6 stories. I think, "we can do this. We're going to make it out together." But suddenly, the house above us crumbles and sends wood and ash down on us. I flatten against the walls, and feel hot ash and sharp wood scrape my back. I bite back a scream, before looking around. That one wall of the house had fallen, leaving the whole other stories balancing precariously on top of it. My mom still clings to the wall. "Mom, the next window we see open, we have to get into that house. Ok?" I say, and she agrees. About one story down, there is a window. I slide in, finding the insides empty. I demonstrate how to get in, when I feel a creek of wood above me. "Mom, hurry, get in!" I shout, but it's too late. The houses collapse and the ceiling is crushed. Just before I am pulled under a pile of rubble, I see my mom, and her back arching backwards, as she falls towards the ground. I stretch my hand out, but am crushed by plaster.
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My eyes open. There is something in front of them though. They can't open. My hand claws at the material that's blocking my eyes, and light pours through. It takes a minute to remember what happened, but when I do, I bolt up. My tan skin is covered in a layer of dust, and my lip is bleeding. Somehow I didn't sustain too many injuries. I remember my mom, and dread fills my heart. I stand up, and look over the side of the building (the window was brought down with the ceiling). I stare down, and i begin to cry. Silent tears run down my face as I find myself looking down at the faint outline of my mom. Lying on the ground 5 stories below me. Dead. Gone. I rock back and forth, thinking that, again, I'm the orphanedkid. I loved my parents. But in a single day, they were taken from me. Everything was.
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Everyone gathered at Spork. It was the place to be, ya know? All of the students were still there, and I met up with Danielle. This was something normal, a part of my schedule I could find comfort in. "Omg, you totally are considered the hero now!" She says smiling. Danielle notices my expression, and asks, "what's wrong?" I don't want to tell her, afraid I'll break down, but everything rushes out. Tears come to her eyes, and I feel tears running down my cheeks. I stop my tale, feeling like I'm being watched. I glance around and see the new kid staring at me. His family came here a little over 5 months ago, and I think his name is Dante or something. I can't read his expression, but he looks away when I see him. Suspicious. Danielle hugs me tightly, when all of a sudden, the city's loudspeakers come on. "Citizens of Ojai. Please listen up. We have just had confirmation that the Great Fires have returned. There have been Fires in LA, New York, and 10 other major cities. Fires in Ojai have been controlled temporarily, but there is no guarantee of safety. There has been an official evacuation order, but, unfortunately the collapsing of the tunnels has trapped us in Ojai. At this moment, our men are working to find any way out. We will announce any further updates. Thank you." The speakers turn off, and everybody begins to chatter. My eyes darken. I will get out. I will leave this cursed city. No matter what.
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Sup y'all. Sorry about the super "emotional" chapter... also about any typos or grammar issues... I want this story to be pretty cheesy...but how is this so far? What do you think happened to get the Great Fires to start again? How will Naomi get out of Ojai? What's up with the new kid?
Thanks so much for reading this weird story if you are reading it! - happysun_23!!!!