13th of February (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter VII

A few days later, Sherin and James were sitting together in their corner on the rooftop, munching on some snacks they sneaked out. The rooftop had become their little hangout spot, their secret get away. How they still hadn't gotten caught was a mystery to them.

James had been writing something in his journal, and Sherin soon got bored and began bugging him, leading to a tickle war. "Ha....o-oh my god.....J-James, stop! Ha ha ha, please!" James just grinned mischievously at her, continuing to tickle her. "Oh no you don't, there's no way you're getting out of-"

"Shit! Someone call the fire department!" Someone yelled from below suddenly, interrupting the giggles and laughter. James and Sherin shared a confused look, and when they heard more shouting and chaos, both of them hurriedly slipped down the ladder, James managing to grab his journal before going. Soon, on a little asking around, they found out that a room on the second floor had somehow caught fire, and it was now spreading rapidly through the building as though someone had poured gasoline all along the corridors.

Along with them on the third floor, there was only one woman, who had apparently been helping everyone else on the floor escape. Now stranded on the floor above the one entirely on fire, none of them knew what to do.

"Jams, I'm scared." said Sherin, already crying, holding onto James' waist as though her life depended on it. "It's okay, Shery, we'll get out of here. Nothing's going to happen." said James, who was surprisingly calm for the situation, and that scared him. He was inside a building on fire, and there was a pretty high chance he could die, or worse, Sherin could die. Despite this, he was still calmer than he should be.

Suddenly, they hears a clang from a nearby window, and soon, someone peered in. "Hey, you three! Come here, quick! The fire brigade isn't here yet, and it looks like they'll take some time, but we found this ladder, and this should do for now. Come on, we'll be waiting down the ladder to help you, send the little girl first." he said before disappearing down the ladder.

"James, come with me, please, I'm scared. Don't leave me alone, please, not you too." Sherin cried, holding on to James like her life depended on it. Heart shattering at the last sentence he heard, James said "No, Shery, I can't come along with you, but I'll come right after, don't worry. Go ahead, don't worry, I'll come."

Sherin slowly nodded and, albeit hesitantly, let go of James and began climbing down the ladder with trembling hands. Right after, being the guy who always put others before himself, James sent the woman down. Just as he began climbing down, he suddenly heard one loud screech that sounded a lot like his name and also a lot more yelling down below, and peered down.

But looking down, James' heart skipped a beat. About halfway down the ladder, Sherin's hands had slipped, and she had fallen down the rest of the way. From what he could see, it looked like she had hit her head on something, and he was greeted with the sight of blood pooling around someone who held a special place in his heart for the third time.

"Sherin! No!" James shouted after he recovered from the initial shock of the scene, trying to go down faster when he saw a few people carry her off somewhere, but was unable to because the woman below him was in his way. Those people were probably just trying to help, but somehow, that eerie sense of foreboding never left him. In fact, it just grew instead.

The moment he reached down, he pushed away trying to treat the multiple bleeding cuts and wounds and help him, and screamed his lungs out instead, looking for his sister.

"Sherin! She - oof!". Not looking where he was going, James had run into someone. He turned around immediately to apologize, when he noticed the man's smirking face. "You?!" he screeched, staring into the heavily scarred face that he could never forget, the one he was sure would always appear in his nightmares.

"So, we meet again, huh?" said the man. "Why are you here you - you - murderer! Where's Sherin?" asked James through gritted teeth, fists automatically grabbing onto the guy's collar. "I swear if anything happens to her, I'll-"

The next minute, James found himself on the ground, hand on his stinging cheek. "You don't talk to me like that, boy. And don't ask me about that pathetic excuse of a human that you call your sister. I still don't understand how you can stand her. Anyways, this fire was meant to either flush everyone out and deliver her right into my hands so that I could finish her off, or even better, kill her." said the man, smirking all the while and looking proudly at the building.

That smug look on his face made the bile rise up to James' mouth. He couldn't understand how this disgusting work brought him satisfaction. James could the anger burning in him like the building I front of him, anger so strong that it drowned any inkling of fear of the man in him. Gritting his teeth, trying not to snap at him, not willing to get his other cheek bruised as well. Instead, he resorted to clenching his fist around the sand, a plan already forming in his anger blinded mind.

"Get up, boy. What are you still doing on the ground? I'm not do- ahh!". James got up alright, but without relaxing his clenched fist. He had grabbed the man's shoulder, turning him around, and had thrown the sand into his eyes. Without a second's thought, he shoved the man back. James watched with a blank expression as the man stumbled back, tripped on a stone and fell into the fire.

He watched with a blank expression despite the anger boiling his blood. He watched knowing that the guilt would never leave, but at the same time, knowing that he deserved it. Knowing that the guilt would at least be eased if he could just think of this as revenge for what he did to his parents.

He watched through his emotionless façade as the man roared and bellowed as he burnt alive in his own fire.

Still in a daze after what he had done, James managed to push the rage and guilt to the back of his mind, leaving it to pull out and mull over later. Deciding to return to his priority now, he resumed his search for Sherin.

For the second time in his life, he felt truly helpless. He screamed aimlessly, not knowing where to look for her, not seeing any paramedics or ambulances nearby, not knowing if she was okay, not knowing if she was alive. He almost slapped himself for that thought, but he couldn't help but let the horrendous thoughts hijack his already hazy mind, black spots swimming in his vision.

'Sherin....I'm sorry.....I'll find you....I'm sorry Sherin....I'll find you.....' was all that ran repeatedly through his head till he let the black spots turn into plain darkness, letting it swallow him, craving for everything to just end, pining for his old life, yearning for just peace, and praying for whoever made everything happen to keep Sherin safe.

If only he'd held on to his consciousness for a few more moments, he probably would have seen Sherin being carried away in a stretcher by paramedics. If only he'd held on, he might have at least been able to get the hospitals name. If only he'd held on a little longer......

If only......

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Unedited

Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think.

-Tristophobic