The Vanishing

Prologue

Damien was running in the opposite direction, trying to save his own skin. He had already seen the flames burst from nowhere. The fire was spreading fast but I thought that I had seen Henry the janitor sweeping the floors around the corner. With the smoke filling the air and my lungs quickly, it was getting harder to move and see.

"Henry! Henry!" I called out between coughs.

"I'm over here!" He called back.

"I can't see through the smoke! Keep calling!" I yelled.

He called my name and I headed in the direction of his voice.

He was pinned underneath some rubble from the ceiling caving in.

"Henry!" I screamed as I got to him.

I helped him get the rubble off of him.

"Can you walk? Oh my god, Henry, your arm!" I said, horrified. It was covered in burns.

"I'll be okay. I'm going to need your help walking though." He said.

I helped him up and we started towards the cafeteria.

"I don't think the fire has made it to the cafeteria yet. I think there's an exit we can use there." I said as we walked.

Smoke was filling my lungs as we walked what would normally be a very short distance. Now, it feels like walking through quicksand.

"He's gone, Arden. He made it out before I could grab him." He said, looking at me with fear and sorrow.

"Shhh, don't worry about that now. I just need to get you to a hospital." I said, already hearing sirens coming our way.

We walked into the cafeteria and Henry grabbed my arm. "He's still out there, Arden."

I looked around us warily before nodding at him and opening the doors for us.

A firefighter approached us quickly. "Thank you, miss. We can take it from here. Let's get you both checked out." He said.

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I must have blacked out during the explosion because the next thing I knew we were all on the ground.

I scrambled up.

"Henry!" I yelled for him but all I could hear was a ringing in my ears, all I could see was smoke.

The firefighters went into the building, clearing all the rooms. They won't find anyone. He's already gone.

We were put on stretchers headed for the hospital.

"Promise me you'll leave." Henry said.

I hesitated, unsure if leaving was the right thing to do.

"You have to promise!" He yelled. Sitting up to look at me despite the paramedic trying to shove him back down.

"Okay, I promise. I'll leave." I said, and he settled a little. "I'll leave."

He exhaled. "It's for your own good."

"I know, Henry." I reached for him and he took my hand in his. This man was like a father to me. Without him being here today, I'd be dead.

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Hey guys!

I uploaded a short prologue to give you some background and mystery and ~action~

Hope you like it!

Jess xx