The Blaze: Worlds Apart

Chapter 1

12th March 2019

The sound of rain hitting the iron roof resembled that of jagged shards of glass being smashed to the floor. Roxanne rolled her eyes and ran her hands through her greasy, purple bob. She could remember a time when she had enjoyed the rain; her and her twin brother Brick menacingly kicking puddles at each other, laughing as the dirty water soaked their clothes.

It must have been at least 8 years since Roxanne had seen rain, let alone a puddle. She missed it; building snowmen and sledging in the brisk, freezing winter and lounging in the hot glow of the sun in the summer. The only light she saw these days was that from the blinding, industrial bulbs that were planted every meter along the concrete brick wall that enclosed her existence. Their glow was cold and arresting, not like the sun at all.

It was true that she missed her past life and the freedom that she, like everyone else in this school, had taken for granted. But, just like her classmates, she had learnt to not only accept but understand and willingly follow the rules by which she now lived. After all, it was her fault that she was here.