The Fire

Chapter One

Present

It had been two years.

Two years.

My mind could not comprehend the length of time that I had been without my best friend. Without an explanation, without an answer. The fire that had taken Leah from me burned away in my mind every day. Nightmares of the hooded man haunted my dreams each night as I slept. A constant reminder of the mystery that would never be solved.

***

She was at my house that night; mum had left to go on a spa weekend with her sisters and my brother had stolen that opportunity to go out with his secret girlfriend. We were relishing in the privacy.

"Have you seen this?" Leah turned her phone towards me with a smirk and I watched a cat jump away from a cucumber with the utmost fear. I laughed; Leah was obsessed with cats. She'd even bought me the cat pillow that I rested my head on now.

"No," I giggled again as it replayed for the second time. She pulled her phone back and smiled at it one more time. She nudged my leg with her toe.

"So, how's Christian?" She said in her most exaggerated coquettish voice with a huge grin on her face.

"Nothing to do with you," I replied, burying myself in the book I was reading. Christian O'Connor, the cutest Irish guy in our year, also the only Irish guy in our year, but that's beside the point.

"Oh, come on," Leah rolled her eyes, the grin still plastered on her face, "it's blatantly obvious that you're both seriously in love with each other."

"Nope, nope, nope." Yes. Yes. Yes. I couldn't stop a smirk creeping onto my face.

"Seeeeeee, you can't keep any secrets from me, I know you better than I know my cats and that's saying something."

"I'm blocking you out now!" I shoved my headphones onto my head, closed my book, and turned away from her. I heard her shout before my music started playing.

"Suit yourself, I'm going to get some snacks, want any?"

I shook my head and she walked out the door. I turned up the volume and nodded to the music playing, it was Queen. My favourite band thanks to Dad, he'd always blast The Show Must Go On whenever he was cooking in the kitchen. Now when I listened to them, all I thought of was him, it was like a warm hug from him, wherever he was.

A few minutes later, I heard a muffled cry coming from downstairs. I ripped off my headphones and the cries became clearer. I rushed downstairs, the shouts of desperation were getting louder. A wave of heat hit me like a knife, pricking at my eyes, making them water. There was fire everywhere in the kitchen ahead. How the hell did this happen? Had Leah tried cooking something?

I searched frantically. Forcing my way through the cloud of smoke that seemed to have consumed my living room. There was another cry of help coming from the kitchen. I didn't pay attention to the flames raging ahead of me. I only wanted to reach Leah.

Both the kitchen and dining room were drowned in a sea of orange and Leah was trapped in the centre, like a sailing boat trapped in a storm.

Small.

Helpless.

Lost.

"Sophie! Call for help!"

"Hang in there Leah! Everything will be okay!"

I could feel the flames licking at my heels, anxious to take me, and never return me.

I reached into my trouser pocket and fumbled around for my phone. My fingers made contact with the cold surface of the glass, before wrapping themselves around the corners and pulling the mobile device out of my pocket.

I saw a figure on the other side of the glass.

I coughed. I could feel the smoke pouring into my lungs and clogging up my airways, but I still managed to enter the three numbers that mine and Leah's life depended on.

There was just one ringing sound before a woman's voice entered my head. I could no longer see Leah: panic rose within me.

"Hello, which service do you require?"

"Fire, please, hurry!" I urged.

"Of course, darling, I just need you to stay calm for me now okay? Could you tell me your address please?"

"Uhh...23 Crane Way. In Canterbury, please, my friend...she...she..."

"Hello?"

Nothing came out of my mouth.

"Can you hear me miss?"

Then the smoke was too much, I heard one final scream, and everything went black.

The next morning, I woke up to the dull repetitiveness of:

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

As my eyelids fluttered open, the light stung my eyes, blinding me until a shadow appeared above me.

Mum.

I forced my body to reach up to hug her but a stab of pain in my chest hit me and pinned me back onto the bed.

"Shh...don't force yourself, darling," Mum whispered.

"Wh...where's Leah?" I tried to say. My voice came out as a pathetic attempt at speaking, but my mum appeared to understand.

"She...she didn't make it Soph. We've lost her."

Those were the words that changed my life.

***

My phone beeped next to me as my replay of that night's events suddenly came to a close. With a sigh, my hand clumsily grabbed my phone from the bedside table. My eyes squinted as the light lit up, a surprise in the darkness my room was drowned in.

01:03

Beneath the four numbers was a notification for a message from "UNKNOWN." My eyebrows curved down into a frown. Who would message me now? Probably a scam.

I swiped the screen, my phone making a clicking sound as it transitioned to the home screen that held a picture of me and Leah on holiday together just two weeks before she died. I had to stop myself from thinking too much about her, it was too early in the day to start crying over something that couldn't be changed. My finger curiously wandered to the messages button on the bottom of the screen and clicked on the first contact. The message before me read:

UNKNOWN: It's been two years, I think it's about time for round 2, don't you think?

My heart stopped when I saw the name the message was signed off with. I had to grip on tighter to the edges of my phone to stop the clamminess of my hands from allowing it to slip out of my grip.

Just three words made me sit up in bed and immediately switch my light on.

Just three words.

The Hooded Man.

A/N If you liked this chapter, please feel free to give it a vote :)