189 Partout Lane

4

4

"Help! Help! We need help!" Ashley was yelling into the nearby payphone. "There's somebody in a burning car!" She began telling the 911 operator where we were.

"Oh my gosh! What do we do! No I can't calm down!" She looked over at me. I was getting closer to the car though. "They're gonna be here soon!" Then it blew up.

It was a flash of light and damn did it scare me, s-s-moke went everywhere, so did glass and, and, and, orange, yellow red, everything, everywhere, the light was extravagant but the fire got only bigger. I had to look away for a second but then I had to look back.

I-I-I had to try and to see if the person was alive in there or-r-r-r-r still somewhat conscious. "Hey! Drew!" Ashely ran up behind me. "Get away from here!" But I didn't listen. I had to see if the person was still alive.

I got even closer feeling the flames' warmth on my face and making me sweat like a pig. I was on the drivers' side only ten feet away now. I had a clear view too.

Yup, it was a person in there. I wish I was wrong. I really do. The person was completely covered in ash; soaked in black.

They almost matched their seat covering I could barely even see them. I got closer. The fire was melting the metal as it did to my face, and my heart was racing out of my chest. I was going to back up but then I saw it.

The person was a girl. She was a girl. Just sitting there. Cold as if the fire didn't exist as if she was in her bed or on her couch. Like she was sleeping or something. Like she wasn't here.

But she wasn't sleeping. Her eyes were wide open. She was dead.

I couldn't breathe. I was in shock. I couldn't move. I felt like I knew her. Like she was trying to say my name or something. Trying to get help.

I don't know what horrified me the most, the fact that she was dead or that she was just staring at me like she wanted me to do something. But there wasn't anything I could do.

Her mouth was open. But not filled with ash. I backed up in horror. She was dead. She was dead but how?

It's not like she could have just died in that position. If her car caught fire she would have gotten out and if she got in a car accident there would be another car and she wouldn't be facing upward. Facing me.

She couldn't have just died like that though. Not like that. That isn't possible. I was so confused. She didn't just die like that in that position. Someone did this to her. "Someone put her in the car."

"Ashley! Someone put her in it! Someone put the girl in the car! Ashley! Dear God! Ashley! Someone! Someone! They! Oh my God." I felt Ashley's hands go and grab my arm. She was dragging me back. We could see the blue and red lights coming off the neighboring houses. The sound piercing its way through the fire crackling. "Someone. They." "They're dead Drew. There's nothing you can do. The police are right there okay?" There was a fire truck coming and a couple of police cars along with an ambulance. They were at the end of the street. But I was still locked on that girl. That poor girl. They couldn't save her. Nobody could.

The firefighters hopped out of the truck frantically spraying down the car with water. From the curb and wrapped in blankets, Ashley and I watched the paramedics wheel a stretcher over to the car. They picked the girl out and flopped her onto the stretcher as if she wasn't even a person. Like she wasn't even alive at some point. Like she wasn't human. The police questioned us as that ambulance drove off slowly through the morning. Their lights not on like there was no rush for them. We told the police everything we knew: we just were walking down the street, going to practice soccer and there it was. A dead girl in a burning car. They told us it was clear arson and that they would keep us in touch of what goes on. And for now we needed to stay safe. We wanted to go home but neither of us could move off the curb we were on. We were just so horrified that that girl was person, a human being and worst of all, that someone had done this to her. I couldn't stop thinking, my thoughts were just racing through my mind in a panic but, I didn't want to leave the curb. It didn't feel safe. But that all changed when my mom came to take me home, I raced to her and wouldn't let go of her. That's just about when I started crying again.