A spark of hope

'"April?" I shouted.

The thick, ash-filled air burned my lungs as I looked for my best friend.

"Emma!" I heard. I followed the sound to see April, hurt and laying on the ground of her home.

"April!" I helped her to her feet, but she pushed me away.

"I can get out by myself," April told me, coughing.

"Run, Emma. Trust me."

I started to run, and when I turned back, she had disappeared.'
*************************************************************************
Emma doesn't know what happened to April, her best friend.

Nine years earlier, there had been a white fire, destroying homes. Forcing people to run. Killing people.

Emma is fourteen now, and determined to fight.

Nobody thought much of it anymore.

They all say the same thing.

"That was years ago."

But Emma never forgot.

And worst of all, April had gone missing. The police assumed she died in the fire.

But Emma didn't give up hope.

She still believes that April found a way out.

She searches for April, clinging to the tiny thread of hope she still has.

What did she have to lose?

Her family had also gone missing during the fire, and she now lived on the run from everyone.

If she were spotted, she'd be sent to live with somebody else.

But she spots something even scarier.

White flames, spreading towards her town again.

And she knows.

It's just getting started.