Impenetrable Heart | Lams College AU

This Broken Place

   John's breath caught in his throat at the sight of the rubble. The place he and Laf have lived for so long and shared so many memories was reduced to charred wood and stone. Though some of the house was saved, it was hardly worth considering 'saved'.

     "Wow," was the only thing Laf said when they stepped in. Alex and Herc were behind them, carefully stepping over heaps of god-knows-what. It still smelt pungently like smoke, so much that John was afraid the place was still smoldering.

     "Should we split up?" He suggested, running a hand over the burnt part of a nearby wall. "Cover more ground?"

     "I don't know how I feel about you guys in the basement," Laf said. "If it collapses-"

     "It's fine, Laf," Alex said, hitting a wall next to him for demonstration which coincidentally caved on itself upon impact.

     "Perfectly sturdy."

     The four had been busy replacing whatever they could from the fire. Being broke college students, there wasn't much that needed replacing besides money, passports, and other documentation. As for the rest, they were given the go-ahead to find and recover as much as they could- which so far wasn't a whole lot. They split up, Herc and Laf searching through Laf's room while John and Alex tackled his basement bedroom. As they walked down the steps, the two held on for dear life and didn't dare go down at the same time.

     "Is this safe?" Alex said, holding a flashlight on the bottom of the stairs. Soot had settled at the bottom like snow, and as John stepped down into it his foot sank.

     "Maybe?" He offered his arm to Alex, who gingerly stepped down.

     "I promise it was a lot better before."

     When they got to the door, John found himself hesitating outside, not sure if he wanted to open it or not. He knew he had to but at the same time, he didn't want to face reality. As he went to open it, Alex said,

     "Hey, be careful. If something in there is kindling the air might reignite."

     "If this place catches fire a second time, I'm just going to assume the universe wants me dead," John laughed.

     He slowly pushed the door open, and thankfully all they were only met with was a cloud of dust and soot. The two covered their mouths and walked in, flashlights in hand. Just like John had feared, the room was badly damaged. It would've been one thing if everything had been completely lost to the point he couldn't recognize it, but seeing everything half charred, covered in ashes made him want to cry. He took a deep breath and began the work. As he went through some clothing, Alex said,

     "Hey, John, is this you?"

     John turned around and saw Alex had a small piece of paper in his hands. He walked over and peered at an old photograph that had been tucked away. Incredibly still intact besides some browning on the edges. He laughed to himself.

     "Wow, I forgot I had this," he said. It was a photograph of his family from a long time ago, he was only fifteen old. It had him and his four siblings plus his mother and father. He pointed to himself, then to the others.

     "That's me right there, and that's Martha, Henry, James, and Mary. Then that's my mom and dad. I was a pipsqueak back then, 'late bloomer', my dad always said."

     "Wow, you all look so young," Alex laughed. "How come I never hear about your mom?"

     John frowned