A 14-year-old girl in a normal town, or so most people think. Serial killers are on the rise, going anywhere alone is dangerous and you never have the tranquillity of feeling safe. Shayd has had a troubled past, first with her mother dying in a frea...
Shayd's POV "Shayd, Shayd get up." I felt something nudging my side. Slowly, I opened my eyes, a loud ringing filled my head. Blake was sitting next to me, shoving my shoulder to get me up.
"Wh-what?" I asked tiredly, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. He smiled and helped me get up. I wobbled slightly, my head started spinning. I felt absolutely terrible. My limbs were stiff and sore and my head throbbed, plus, I was starving.
"You ok?" Blake asked, helping me regain my balance. I nodded, touching my head.
"Soooo, what did you wake me up for again?" I asked. Blake sighed.
"You're an idiot. There are freaking sirens blaring and you didn't realize? There is a fire!" He snapped, pointing at the lights that flared above.
"Oohhh." That explained the ringing in my ears. At least I knew I wasn't going completely insane.
"C'mon." He said, grabbing my wrist. Before he tugged me outside, I grabbed my jacket and slammed the door shut behind me.
~~~
We made our way down to the evacuation point, sirens still blaring in every hallway and room we passed. I tried desperately to see over the crowd, even going as far to stand on my tip-toes to find Aspen. I really hoped she was ok. At that thought, my phone vibrated in my hoodie pocket. I pulled it out, tears stinging my eyes. What if it was Auntie Connie? To by relief, it was Aspen.
I laughed, staring at the screen. "I completely forgot about my phone," Blake stared down at me, a grin plastering across his face.
"Ok, shorty, why do you need that?" He asked. I stared at him.
"Don't. Call. Me. Shorty." I snapped sternly. He held his arms out and nodded, acting defeated. Before I said anything else, I swiped through my find and clicked on the massages. A series of texts popped up, all urgent. My stomach lurched in my body.
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Without another word, I closed my phone. I turned and walked away swiftly, trying my best to raise little attention. Of course, Blake saw me hurrying away. I would have turned to tell him off, but I considered saving my breath for the sprint.
I broke free from the crowd, and I started gaining speed with each step. No one even noticed, not even the teachers. I thought that it was pretty odd, but didn't think any better of it. After all, I had a friend to save, and I wasn't going to be late for her, not ever, not after everything we've been through. She was the only one who understood, who had some sort of faith in me. She was my best friend, and I wasn't going to let her die on my watch.
~~~
I turned the last corner, the heat searing through the air. I skidded to a halt out the front of the door, pulling on the metal handle. My skin seared underneath the heat, awful smell of burning flesh filling my nose. I was too preoccupied to even notice that my hands weren't blistering.
~~~
Inside, fires licked at the air, filling the room with thick black smoke that curled and shifted. Tables were overturned and alight, windows and glass smashed and melted. I pulled my jacket across my mouth and nose and continued through the darkness, my eyes watering.
It almost felt hopeless. I couldn't breathe, so there was no way I could call out to anyone. I felt the thick smoke entering my lungs, lightly filtered by the cotton across my face. I wanted to gag, to cough out my very lungs until they bleed, but I pushed the feeling deep down into my gut and continued my search. It was almost too dark to see clearly, but I could see the odd shapes that shifted in the heat. I noticed a humanoid-lump, turning my attention to reaching the figure. I turned it over, stumbling back from shock. His eyes were wide open, but he had no eyelids. His hair and body were charred to a crisp. I held down the tears. He was gone. I couldn't save the dead. My thoughts were interrupted by a series of coughs and groans. I would recognise that voice anywhere. It was Aspen, and by some miracle, she was alive. I clawed my way through the smoke, stumbling desperately around the glass and broken objects. I made my way towards the kitchen, the steely bench glinting in the orange light. Smoke almost appeared to be getting sucked inside, so perhaps Aspen had opened a shaft. I slammed the door with my shoulder, but it didn't budge. Then, to my surprise, another figure approached.
"I'll give you a hand." He said, shoving the door. It cracked open and we fell forward. Sitting in the middle of the floor was Aspen. Her hair had turned a deep shade of brown from the soot and ash, soot smeared all across her face, but she was alive. I let out a cry of happiness. Blake hurried to her side, helping her to stand. Then, I noticed her bloodshot eyes. They looked terrible, almost as if they were about to burst.
"Are you alright?" Blake croaked. She coughed a few times before nodding. Relief flushed my body, and I couldn't help but smile underneath the cloth covering my face.
"Can you walk?" I asked. She shook her head, motioning towards her legs. Both her legs were badly burnt, the fabric from her pants melting into her flesh. As if through telepathy, Blake and I helped Aspen to her feet, making out way back out of the smoky maze. She hobbled through, alongside us. She was going to be all right, I told myself.
Soon enough, the door was insight and with a few more steps, we were outside the sauna. As soon as we stepped into the light, we all collapsed onto the floor.
Almost as if on cue, my stomach growled. I wheezed, staring back at the cafeteria. I supposed we weren't going to be eating there for a while.
~~~ A few minutes later, a crowd had surrounded us. The firefighters and ambulance tended to Aspen's wounds whilst Blake and I were given some oxygen. Despite the pain they must have felt, I couldn't help but smile. My friends had made it out alive, they were alive. I wrapped my arms around both of them. Aspen groaned and Blake just smiled.
They were alive.
~~~
Over the next few days, we were interviewed to see if we knew anything about the incident. Of course, we didn't. After further inspection, we found that no one expects for Aspen had survived the blaze. The next few days, the school remained on lock-down. We would eat inside the meeting area and we would attend no classes. Over those days, Blake and I played Silent House with the occasional few visits to the hospital wing. Aspen was doing all right, and the doctors said she was healing surprisingly well. She would make it back to walking normally again within the next week. Of course, that was humanly impossible, but Aspen has practically healed up again. Perhaps they had given her some new drugs.
~~~ One night, on the final stages of Silent House, the door clicked open. I would deny it, but I screamed so loudly, Blake nearly died from laughter. Once we had regained some sort of pride, I studied the figure. She wore a fitting tuxedo and a pair of sunglasses, no doubt an investigator.
"I have some news for you two." She said, her voice surprisingly polite. "The fire was deliberately lit. We found traces of gasoline." The investigator continued. I gasped. "We also found traces of singed hair, it has been sent away to get it examined. A simple DNA test. It should be back within the next few days. Just hold on tight and you'll be fine."
I stared back at her. Technology today was crazy and I hoped against hope that they had found the perpetrators hair and not some random kid who was killed in the blaze. After all, everyone at this school would have hung out in the cafeteria, so there would by thousands of hairs floating around. I suppose we had to find out.
Hey guys! This is yet another chapter of my story! Hope you enjoyed! If you did, be sure to vote and comment!
