Burned

I sat alone in what used to be my room, everything had been destroyed because of me, everyone I loved was gone. A firefighter came and told me I had to leave and I noded slowly, slowly pushing myself up onto my feet. I looked around the ashes of what was my house and sighed before following him out into the street, every part of my body still on fire.

I looked down at my burnt skin, charred and red, peeling off here and there, bleeding all over the place. I looked like a monster. I sat on the back of the truck while medics tried to clean me and questioned how I lived.

Someone came up and asked me what had happened and I felt a lump rise in my throat as I choked out the only words I could think of. "I did." I whispered into the night, letting the cool air take my words far, far away to somewhere I can only imagine until they finally danced on someone elses ears, from someone elses tongue.

The person stared questioningly at me and I just shook my head. I couldn't even begin to explain what I had done. All because of the fight, I had ruined everything, and now mom was dead, and suzy was dead. She was only one years old and I had killed her. The memory of a burned Suzy sat in my head, her skin more back then even mine, her blanket cooked onto her and unmovable, I remember trying to pull it off her, but my efforts were in vain.

I remember mom's hair, the way the blonde curls had been burned inches shorter then what it was, and singed black on the tips, the way her face bled everywhere, and her skin peeled off, some of it on the floor, black and crisp.

I remember choking on the smoke as I crawled on the floor in an attempt to try to find dad, the only one who seemed to have escaped. I remember the feeling of the fire, licking hot on my skin and I fumbled around my house, riskign my life to try and find everyone, only to find burned bodies.

I cried as they drove me to the hospital, rushing me into a room when we got there. They laid me a white bed, my skin looking a darker black and more grotesque against the serenly white room. They tried to stick an i.v into my arm, but couldnt break the barrier of rough crisp skin. They ended up peeling off skin to reveal burned pink flesh as I screamed in pain to stick in the nessecary i.vs and fluids.
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A week after the fire I was able to leave, only to be sent to an orphanage. I solemnly walked into the small building and was sent to the head of the orphange, who smiled at me politely as I looked up at her.

"Hello sweetie, my aren't you crispy fried?" She said with a strange southern accent I'd only heard from the american tourists that buzzed around London's square. I nodded, and walked into her office as she talked for a second with the social worker before saying goodbye and coming into the room.

She slammed the door shut, making me jump and I looked at her face, the smile had been wiped clean and replaced by an annoyed, almost disgusted look as she eyed me like I might explode at any moment. "What's your name?" She hissed and I shivered a bit at the venom in her tone.

"Alendra Queenby." I whispered and she nodded looking at my paperwork. She seemed satisfied as she looked up at me and eyed me.

"Don't get any of the charred skin on the floor. It's disgusting. And don't scare the other kids. You can go now." She said and I scrambled quickly out of the room, walking around and up the stairs. I heard laughter coming from behind a door and I opened it smiling, happy to find someone to hang out with.

My smile dropped instantly as I saw the look of horror flash across the faces of the kids in the room. A tear slid down my cheek, making the left side of my face radiate with pain. I turned away and left the room, running down the hall into a small and empty room. Everyone in that room had been my age, pretty, the type of people I would've hung out with in school before this happened.

I sat on a table letting the tears run down my face, which eventually became numb from the pain. I heard someone open the door and I looked up from the table to see a boy walk in. I wiped my tears, watching some skin fall off onto the table before me.

"Hey. I'm sorry about them. You just.. what happened?" He asked me and I just shook my head.

"Fire." I whispered and he nodded like he understood, making me want to cry all over again. No one would ever understand what happened.

"It'll get better here, I promise. We had a girl who was in a fire here a month ago, she got sent to a foster home instead, but her arm looked like you kinda do... all over. But by the time she left for the home, it just looked really pink, and look. Your cheeks aren't black anymore, they're already pink!" He said, a laugh escaping his lips on the last lines. I chuckled a bit. "That must've been a bad fire, I'm sorry." He said holding out his hand. I took it and he pulled me out into the hallway, dragging me back to the room with him.

"Fire." He said and they nodded. "Well, I'm Greg, my parent's dropped me off here when I was a baby. This is Charlie," He said pointing to a girl with a sad smile, who nodded, I waved and instantly put my hand back to my side as she stared at it wide eyed.

"How did you get that bad?" She asked and Greg looked frustrated he didn't get to finish the introductions. I sighed and prepared to tell them the story I'd already told twice today.

"Um, my dad and me were in a fight that night with the black out," I started and they nodded, remembering the night the power had gone out through the whole town, "And so we had some really old, like I'm talking ancient oil lamps my dad found. And well, they got knocked down by me. The next thing I know I'm crawling through flames to find my mom and sister, my dad was never found, they think he escaped, but my sister and mother... Were burned to death." I said grimacing at the image of their bodies in my head.

"You crawled through fire? That's pretty brave man." She said and I laughed at her sudden interest in me.

"My sister meant everything to me and I just.. had to find her." I whispered.
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The woman came to find us soon enough, yelling at us for not being where we should be. I smiled at her as we walked out of the room. She glared at me and slammed the door behind us. The other kids lead me to the room I'd be in, and I sat on my bed, talking to them once again.

By the time everyone was asleep I lay in my bed awake in the darkness, my skin burning from the contact with the sheets. I heard a noise and looked up to see Greg get up from the room, I followed him out of the room quietly and onto a small fire escape. He turned around smiling at me, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Hey, I really like you, you know?" He said and I smiled at him.

"Thanks I mean I-" I said but he cut me off, his firm lips pressing against mine. He pulled away after a moment and I smiled, breathless. He stared at me for a moment before pulling something out of his pocket. I stared at him confused and he opened his palms, two white pills in his hand.

"Take one with me?" He asked and I raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Look. I'm leaving.. forever, if you get my jist and ya know.. this pill is gonna take away my life, and if there is a next life. I want to be there with you." He said and I nodded taking one in my hand. He looked at me and smiled. "No more pain, and no more being alone." He said and I nodded again.

"One... two... three." I whispered and we put the pills to our lips together. He kissed me one last time and my eyes closed, I fell onto the ground, drifting off, my body entwined in his.