alpha story part 3

chapter 7

Once dinner was over, the men handed the women beers and wine, and collected all the dishes.

Sara followed the women outside onto the deck, where someone had started a bon fire. Sweat beaded on her upper lip, her heart rate increasing.

She was frozen on the deck, entranced by the flames. She could suddenly smell burning fabric, smoke, and burning flesh.

Darkness consumed her vision, and the urge to flea rose. Before she knew what, she was doing, she was up and over the deck railing, and running full speed into the forest. She faintly heard her name being called from back at the house.

She ran until the lights faded, until the smoke smell was replaced by the smell of wet leaves and dirt.

She ran for miles, until her foot got caught on a root and she was pithed to the ground.

She didn't bother getting up. she didn't bother even moving. Instead she curled into a ball and started sobbing.

Flashbacks rendered her incapacitated. Her brother shoving her into the closet, locking it. Her being in there for what felt like hours. Smoke started curling under the door, choking her, taking her air away.

So terrified, she had peed her pants, and started to scream and bang her little fists on the door. She prayed for her mother to open the door, or even her brother, to turn remorseful and open it to save her. but no one came.

She had started to choke on the smoke, then the fire had come. She hid in the farthest corner, away from the flames, but they had still come.

Her legs ached. Her head pounded.

The firefighters had found her, pulled her out of the closet, and rushed her to the hospital. They had feared that they would have to amputate her legs, or at the least, she would be paralyzed. But she had her wolf to thank for that.

She had no nerve damage, but her skin was scared forever. She was in intensive care for three months, trying to get the burning down.

Yet none of her family had come to see her, to even call her to see if she survived. She remembered when her stay was over, she had to walk home because no one had come for her, nor did she have money to get a cab. What ten-year-old would have money for that?

She sobbed. She cried. She screamed. The memories wouldn't stop. They where in every thought, all she could see was the darkness, the flames and felt the heat.

She grabbed her hair and started to pull, started to hit herself. Anything to get the memories to stop.

Hands suddenly grabbed her own and pulled them from her, and she struggled, not seeing anyone, just the fire coming.

"what's wrong with her?!" she heard someone yell, someone young.

"it looks like a panic attack." A man said, and she was pulled off the ground, and against a hard body, his body cradling hers. His arms went around her and held her tight. So tight she could barley move.

The smell of patch permuted everything, settling her thoughts. She gripped his shirt and held on for her life.

He stroked her hair and rocked her gently. "its ok, your ok. what ever it was is in the past, leave it there."

Slowly her vision started to focus, and she was in the forest. Alex stood off on the side, staring at her with a mix of concern and horror.

She took a shallow breath. she tried to get out of his arms, but he held her tighter.