Inner Demons

It was almost midnight, and Gerard found himself to be the only person awake in the room. He sighed and shifted around, trying not to cause any noise. He always had trouble sleeping on Christmas Eve, he figured it was really only part of childhood he had left. California pranced over to him, staring at his arm tentatively, before rubbing against it. Gerard smiled and scratched her behind her ears. She purred loudly and laid down next to him, rolling her her back, demanding more pets. "Hey Cali..." Gerard whispered.

She mewed softly and swatted at his finger. He sighed gently, staring over at Nadine, the entire four weeks he had experienced running through his mind. All the drama, and the fear, and the blood. He leaned backwards, propping his body up with his arms, feeling the soft carpet on his dry palms. His stomach lurched a little, mostly out of hunger, but also out of anticipation. The fire popped loudly, causing Mikey to groan, roll over, and then quickly fall back asleep. Gerard yawned and could feel the warm smoke wrapping around his body, and he slowly drifted away.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
"What the fuck?" Gerard mumbled, having only slept 30 minutes before being awoken by the sharp noise.

He sat upright, to see half a dozen other bewildered faces. Ray sat up, "I think the fireplace set off the smoke alarm."

"Oh... well then go shut it off..." he groaned, flopping back down.

Ray muttered and went out of the library, gasping slightly at how hot the floorboards felt. He went over to the alarm and removed the batteries, cursing to it and trudging back. But what he didn't see was the thick, black smoke coming from underneath the basement door.
********************
Gerard was awoken yet again, but this time by an overwhelming heat and the sharp sting of smoke in the back of his throat. He opened blurry eyes and stared at the fireplace, most of the embers had long burned out. He sat up a bit, fully expecting to see someone smoking. But he didn't. A light panic gripped at his chest and he slowly pulled himself upright. He slowly walked to the door, feeling an intense heat on his still bare chest. He placed a hand on the door, pushing it slightly. The entire foyer was in flames, engulfed in acrid black smoke. Gerard coughed as a plume invaded his lungs, squeezing the life from him. He quickly slammed the door shut and tried to even out his breathing, "GUYS! WAKE UP!" he yelled.

Ray shot upright, while everyone else muttered and squirmed in their sleep. Gerard rolled his eyes and began to wake them by force, "The fucking house is on fire!" he yelled.

"Yeah right Gerard..." Bob muttered, closing his eyes.

"I'm serious!" he screamed, coughing slightly from the smoke.

Ray sniffed slightly, "I-I smell smoke."

Everyone's eyes turned to him as he slowly walked over to the door, placing his hand against the thick wood. As soon as he opened it, the flames burst into the room, catching on the carpet. Everyone shot up and stared around the room, there was only one way out, and it was one fire. Nadine raced over and huddled up to Gerard, 'I don't wanna die!" she cried.

Gerard stroked her hair, "We're gonna make it, just gimme a second to think."

"If we ran, could we make it to the kitchen?" Frank asked.

"I dunno, this whole house is made of wood, its going down no matter what." Ray sighed nervously, a scary tone to his voice.

"We need to call 911, we can't get out on our own." Delia gulped.

Bob pulled out his phone and quickly dialed, explaining the situation and on the verge of tears. Mikey started to shake, "What about our instruments, all our music, and our stuff?"

"We can get more, we can write more music, and we can get new guitars." Gerard cooed, strengthening his grip on Nadine.

Delia let out a strangled sob and collapsed in her brother's arms. "I'm so scared Bob."

"Shh, I know."

They slowly found themselves backing away from the door, watching as the fire crawled closer. They soon huddled together, the thick smoke seeping into their mouths. "Is anyone in here?" a voice boomed.

The group gave a loud "in here!" before they all began choking on the smoke, burying their watery eyes from the heat. A group of firemen burst through the doors and rushed over to them. "Are any of you hurt?" he asked.

They all shook their heads, and they took Delia first, "Try not to move until we can get more help." he explained.

They raced off with Delia, and another with Nadine. They men crowded together, "I guess this is how we really wanted it to end, " Ray sighed.

"Don't say that, we're gonna be okay." Bob argued.

There was a sickening crunching noise as the bookshelves became dismantled and started to topple over. The books become fireballs and showered down on them, catching their clothes, and skin, on fire. The shelves cracked more and the entire structure began to fall. Ray, Gerard and Mikey managed to scamper away, but Frank was frozen in place, watching the flaming wood coming closer. But then he felt a strong hand around him, pulling him away. He turned to see Bob smiling down at him. Bob pushed Frank away, felling a book land on the back of his leg. "OW FUCK!" he yelled, swatting at the flames.

They faded out, leaving a badly bleeding burn. The firemen returned, and both men had to carry Bob out. Frank and Ray trotted close behind, leaving the two Way brothers alone. Gerard wrapped his arms around Mikey, "Hey bro, if I don't make it, tell Nadine I love her." he cried.

Mikey nodded, "Same for Alicia, okay?"

Gerard sniffed and nodded, hacking on the heavy smoke. His vision blurred and he felt horribly ill, but he couldn't give up, not yet. The flames were paralyzing, it felt like his skin was peeling off. A figure appeared before him, "Get up, man."

Gerard did as he was told and found himself and Mikey being pulled to their feet. Gerard leaned into the strange figure, fatigue over taking his body. But then he heard screaming, like an injured baby. "CALI!" Mikey yelled, wrenching away from the fireman and bolting back.

He searched for the kitten, not noticing as she raced past his leg towards Gerard. Mikey found himself alone and confused, being surround by blinding fire and smoke. A support beam above him became dislodged, crashing down on his frail body. Mikey felt a colling wind pass by him as his vision was flooding with light.
**********************

They entire driveway was packed with emergency vehicles, and a pestering rain had started to pour. Delia and Nadine were wrapped in grey blankets in the back of a cop car, trying their best to answer their questions. Ray was with the fire Marshall, trying to explain what had happened before they actually called. Frank, Bob and Gerard had been rushed to the hospital to be treated for burns and shock. Gerard found himself thinking about Mikey the whole time, and if he had made it or not. Delia was absent mindedly petting Cali, shaking slightly. The cop sighed, "Let's get you girls down to the hospital, I'm sure you're worried about your brothers."

Nadine nodded frantically, and stepped out of the car. She walked slowly to Ray and stared around, "Wh-where's Mikey?"

Ray shrugged, "I think he went with Gerard."

Nadine nodded and slumped down to the floor, watching as they tried to combat the fire. A pair of figures emerged from the doorway, one carryig the other. Nadine immeadatly saw Mikey, limp and dead in the fireman's arms. His glasses dirty and askew, a thin trail of blood dribbling from his hairline. She released a tortured cry, falling on all fours and crying into the dirt. Delia saw too, and Nadine could hear her screaming from the car. "Shhh, Nadine, don't look hunny."

They didn't even bother to revive him, they placed him on the stretcher and put a thin white sheet over his body. Delia closed her eyes and gagged, vomitting all over the back of the car. The cop cleaned her up and ushered Ray and Nadine to come with her. They drove silently to the hospital, theire heads hanging in a silent prayer. They rushed inside as soon as the car stopped, finding comfort in the arms of their loved ones. Gerard looked up from Nadine, blinking back tears, "Where's Mikey?"

Ray bit his lip and took ahold of Gerard's hand, "He... he didn't make it out in time Gerard."