Shards of Black Glass

Prison Riot

Zak's POV

I wake up like normal. Take my shower, check my Twitter, push Alex into action.

    He falls off the bed, landing with a thump on the pillows I laid out in the space between our beds. He looks at me, bleary eyed, and shakes his head. I smile, and turn back towards my laptop.

    As Alex gets into the shower, I look at my screen. Saira's face stares back at me from the front page of a newspaper. It's a younger Saira, but the same hair and same eyes still pertain. I read the article, and notice no quotes from Saira. The end of the article concludes with the sentence "And though little Saira was unhurt from the fire, police say that she was too perfectly okay; some private sources suggest that maybe even little, innocent Saira may be the cause of the ashes of her family".

    I lean back in my chair, gaze still on the screen. Saira's words echo in my head from last night. They died because of me. I was warned, and didn't listen. It's a miracle I'm still alive. I pull up the photo gallery on my computer, and scroll through the photos I downloaded from Saira's phone yesterday.

A smiling family gleams back at me. Saira is nestled between her parents, with the little boy laying across the family's outstretched legs, grinning like mad. I click a button, and an astonishing view shines back from the screen: the Grand Canyon. The two parents are gone; instead, the three kids lean against the railing, smiling. I smile slightly, since the children's smiling faces remind me of when I was carefree kid.

    Another click. A beautiful woman smiles back at me. Her long black hair is braided, and swept over one shoulder. A white corsage flutters on her wrist, and a guy's arms are linked around her waist. Trees dot the background, and autumn leaves fall through the sky behind the couple. I feel a pang in my chest, and quickly click the button again.

    A teenage boy glares at me from the screen. A small smile curls the fawn-haired boy's lips, and his dark eyes glimmer with mischief. Another click, and I see a younger Saira sitting next to the boy, leaning her head against his shoulder, a playful smile on her lips. Another pang sounds in my chest, and I click the button once more. The same boy has Saira on his back, and she's reaching for an apple. The next photo shows the two on the green grass, laughing.

    Another click. The sudden change from humor to horror shocks me. Gleaming from the photo is a house, perishing in gold-red flames. I see the silhouettes of firefighters aiming hoses at the roaring flames, but the picture is caught in such complete perfection that the water seems to become part of the flames.

    I click the button again, and see four smiling faces gleam back at me. The family, with roses and lilies around their photo. My stomach curls at the familiar sight of graves in the background, and the pit of earth shown below the gray marble headstones. I turn away from my laptop, gut clenching. I find it horrible and sad that Saira keeps these photos on her phone, photos of the family she believes she murdered. Not looking at the screen, I click the button, praying for it to show something happy.

    It does. Two smiling girl faces stare back at me, caught mid-laugh. One has vibrant red hair, pale skin, and numerous freckles. The other has short blonde hair and sparkling brown eyes. The next photo shows the same two girls, but with Saira in between them, as if taking a selfie. The next photo is similar, but with two boys on either side of the three girls.

    Another picture shows a beautiful beach, caught at sunset. Light gleams on the palm trees in the background, probably from a stage. People lounge on the sand, and the water glitters like jewels. I hear Alex exit the bathroom, and quickly close the beautiful image of Saira's spring break vacation.