Lights Out

Chapter IV : Smoke and Flame

The school was ablaze. Smoke filled the sky, dark as night. Jacob and the others stood in the hallway, unmoving, in shock. Students from other clubs stampeded around him like a thousand frightened wildebeests. Charley jumped as if she had just awoke. She convinced Dulce, Kalia, and Jenna to run. Peter, however would not leave Jacob behind. They began to sweat.

"Jacob! Jacob! You idiot wake up! C'mon!" Charley tugged at his sleeve desperately. Still, Jacob stood. Unresponsive, unconscious of what was going on around him, and filled with panic.

"Jacob, dude we've got to go! Hurry up! C'mon, Jacob! It's just a little fire!" He faked a smile.

"Screw it! I'm out of here!" Charley declared as she took off through the halls.

Peter sighed and thought for a second, knowing he could not leave Jacob. "Snap out of it!" He screamed as his hand connected with Jacob's cheek in a loud, crisp SMACK! Jacob jumped like a little girl watching her first horror movie.

Shocked from the smack, Jacob looked at Peter with fury, who started to cough. His dog tags glinted red from the fire. Quickly, Jacob's gaze shifted to the flames surrounding them. He began to see stars. He became dizzy. His knees wobbled a bit, and he fainted.

"Well, I guess that makes that a little easier," Peter muttered to himself. He heaved Jacob over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes with ease, and made for the entrance. Smoke built up in the halls. Breathable air thinned.

His lungs tightened and strained. His eyes burned. He gasped for air desperately at every breath, and he still stumbled through the halls, Jacob on his shoulder. His arms shook from the weight. He turned around the corner that lead outside, and there Charley stood, holding the doors open with another girl, and beckoning for Peter to hurry.

With a deep rattling cough, Peter stopped a moment, in the doorway. He hunched over, heaving deep breaths of ash. His chest rattled and his legs were singed. The sunshine hit his face, revealing the dark ashes that covered him.

"Here. I'll take him," Charley offered. Peter carefully lifted Jacob from his shoulder, with the strength he could muster, and set him down in the doorway.

"Be careful," Peter muttered in pain. His eyes were watering. His lungs burned, and it took every ounce of strength for him to stay standing.

Charley nodded, and dragged Jacob by the shoulders away from the school. Peter unsteadily stumbled behind them. Gasping for air. Struggling at every breath. His legs wobbled as he walked, and Peter winced in pain at every step. Still, he lumbered on.

Finally away from the school, Charley, Peter, and Jacob sat in the parking lot. "Where am I?" Jacob had finally regained consciousness. He squinted from the sunlight, scanning his surroundings.

"The school set fire and you fainted like a little child. Peter had to carry you out of the school like a sack of potatoes," Charley explained. Wheezing, Peter tried to smile, clutching his dog tags. Thinking of his future. He suffered minor burns on his legs and face, and Jacob was truly concerned for him. Peter let out a series of deep, straining coughs. Spit flew from his mouth, landing on the pavement beneath them, revealing it was red with blood. He clutched his stomach, groaning, and drenched in sweat. Plagued with nausea.

Charley screamed. Peter sat there trembling. Shaking in immense pain, and retching up globs of blood, which splattered the pavement, with a red tinge. The school continued to burn, and fire trucks dashed past them in a hurry to extinguish the flames. The sky was black with smoke. Peter remained unnoticed. Desperate to stay awake. Saliva dripped from his mouth and down his shirt, crimson, and burning. Tears streamed down his face.

"Help! Help!" Jacob cried. Horrified, he watched as the school was consumed with fire, hoping everyone else was safe. Peter winced in pain. "This kid needs a doctor! Someone! Anyone! Help!" He screamed until his voice was raw.

And yet, no one came. The three children sat in the parking lot. Alone. Afraid. And Abandoned.

Peter wheezed through struggled, panting breaths, "Sorry... I never... was... like my... my brother... never good enough." He began to see stars. His vision blurring. His stomach churning. His eyes burning.

"No no no. Don't say that Peter. You've been... you've..." Tears streamed from Jacob's eyes. "You've always been better than I... Than I could ever aspire to be, Peter..." He grasped his blood-covered hand. "I... I have always looked up to you."

Peter tried to smile, but the pain was unbearable. He grimaced in agony. He laid back onto the pavement, and his golden hair fell around his crystal-blue eyes, that overflowed with silver tears. Groaning, Peter rolled onto his side, and spit blood and ashes onto the ground. He wheezed, rolling onto his back again. Blood was smeared up his sharp cheekbones.

Jacob's chocolate eyes flooded with tears. "Peter you're going to be ok... You... You have to be! Peter?"

Peter closed his eyes. Jacob leaned closer to Peter, almost on top of him, which would not have been the first time. He gently shook Peter by the shoulders, whose eyes remained closed. "Peter?!" Jacob gasped. His voice trembled, "Peter... Peter c'mon! Wake up, man!" He continues to shake him. Charley sat there, head down, saying nothing.

"Peter! C'mon! Wake up, Peter!" Jacob sobbed, holding Peter's limp body close. "Peter! What about... about being valedictorian? What about your grandpa? What about being a marine?!"

A single tear fell from Charley's eyes. "He's... He's dead, Jacob. Peter... He's gone." She looked up, to see Jacob's face, red from crying. "He's... gone. I... I'm so, so sorry, Jacob."

Jacob held Peter's limp body close to his chest, as if they were hugging. "No... you... you can't be... dead. You... you'll be fine..."

"He's gone, Jacob. You have to let him go," Charley whispered. Jacob sighed, and nodded.

"I'll never forget you," Jacob murmured to Peter, stroking his golden hair from his lifeless face. Their last goodbye, ablaze in the flames.

"Come on... Let's go." Charley offered her hand to Jacob, and they walked solemnly away from the school. Heads down. Hearts shattered. No, not shattered. Burned.