Flames (Rated PG-13)

Hi guys! I decided to make my own original story because... I was bored. ._. Just kidding, I actually liked the idea of the story and liked to write anyways, so I went to Microsoft Word and made the prologue. Anyway, the story is called Flames. It is Rated PG-13 due to violence, deaths, and depression, so I would strongly advice on not reading this if you are a younger member! Anyway, without further ado, let the Prologue begin! *Copy and paste from Microsoft Word GO*

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Spoiler

I stare into the fires. I stare into the fires that swallowed my family. I had lived with them for my whole life, so naturally I was crying. Who wouldn't? I thought I hated my two older brothers, Rick and Vicky, but now I'm not too sure that I hate them. I was the only one left alive in my primary family, and I thought I had lost the meaning of life for me. Then, something extraordinary happened.

A young, beautiful 14 year old girl came to me as soon as she saw me, the last one standing from the flames, and we came to eye contact.

"What's your name?" The 14 year old girl asked.

"My name is Thomas... And I don't know what my life is living for. See that?" I asked, nodding towards my corner house that held my dead family.

"Of course. The whole neighborhood and all of school know about it. The school district e-mailed the parents of the school." She answered. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. It's my fault that I couldn't save —" she stopped me.

"It's not your fault at all!" the girl exclaimed. "It just... happens. I've been through the same thing with my own brothers, Shane and Noah. Luckily my parents were out at work, but I was the only child left."

"I sound like you," I said, trying to make a laugh come out of my even though I know no laughs will come.

"I can't believe I never introduced myself! Anyway, my name is Anne," the girl said, trying to start a better conversation.

"Hi, Anne. You said that the whole school knows about what... just happened." I said. "Does that mean we go to the same school?"

"I think it does... Maybe we just never noticed each other until now." She answered. That's when it hits me. She was the same girl in my 5[sup]th[/sup] grade class, which was like five years ago. I had a severe crush on her and wanted to have her each moment of my life. And here is my chance to ask, now that I am an unguarded Sophomore.

I don't know why I had a crush on her though. I still do however, but I didn't remember Anne until now. Could it be her orange hair, or her skinny body? I don't really know the answer... All I know is that it was love at first sight for me.

"Hey, Anne... -" she cuts me off again.

"Thomas?" she asks. I nod as I try to take in the next few words out of her mouth.

"Do you want to live in my house, because your family is... well... dead, and your house is buried in flames?" I am stunned. Get really nervous. My heart beats fast. I don't know what to answer.

"Don't worry," she says. "We have a guest bedroom and my mom and dad said it was okay once I asked. I'm sure that they would treat you like their own —" she cuts off.

"Son?" I try to complete. She starts to cry.

"Don't worry about it... How long has it been since your own house got swallowed in flames?"

"It wasn't swallowed in flames. There was a flood we didn't know about and I was the best swimmer in my family, so naturally I was the one to survive. It still haunts me every night though." She answered. "It was three years ago."

"We'll help each other then, I guess. That's what friends do, right?" I say.

"Of course," she says. "I just don't want to see you in a scummy orphanage when flames took over your family. No one else."

"Also, you never answered my question," she says, trying to cheer us both up. "Will you live with us?"

I stare into her breathtaking eyes. "Sure," I say giving a chuckle.

"Hey," Anne said.

"What?" I asked, confused.

I get the answer when she leans forward for a kiss.

I was amazed about how much I liked that kiss. I thought I forgot about her and moved on. But I guess not. What just happened right now was luck. No. Not luck. More like a blessing. I know I will have Anne for the rest of my life. We walk to Anne's house, which is surprisingly only about two miles away.

"Thomas?" Anne asked. For some reason, I know that she wants to talk about the kiss. She probably knew that I liked the kiss, because she saw me get nervous when I talked to her on the way to her home. Or my new home, I should say.

"Yes?" I answer back. My voice cracks and we both laugh.

"What did you think... when we kissed?" This is actually a good question from Anne. I honestly didn't know myself. I try to think of what I would have thought if we kissed right now.


"I thought it was the best moment of my life," I explained. "You see, I think I had a crush on you when we were in 5th grade. Yes, that was a really long time ago — like 5 years actually — but I think I still do have a crush on you." Anne laughs again and we walk home. To my new home, of course.

"Does that mean you want me to be your girlfriend?" Anne asked later on during our walk.

"Yes. I think it does," I answer.

"Well then it looks like you got something you wanted today," said Anne. My heart warms up for a minute. Does this mean I am now in a relationship with Anne Mesane? I think it does. And I like it.

We don't talk at all during our next few minutes on the sidewalk. We finally reach our destination. I like her house. It's a big house with three floors — with a staircase going up and a staircase going down. I meet her parents, and get nervous.

I know it was bound to happen some day that I meet her parents, but I just get very nervous. It's my first impression on them and I want to make it last.

Anne's parents actually look pretty good for their age. Her mom is forty-nine and looks like she is twenty something, and her dad is fifty but looks like he is thirty. Both look they are good parents of Anne's, and I guess mine as well.

"Ah! You must be Thomas," says Anne's dad. "I'm Jerry Mesane."

"Hi, you are correct. My name is Thomas." I say back. "God, I'm so stupid!" I thought. "Who corrects their girlfriend's dad when they say your name even though they had it right the first time?" I decide not to worry about it, even though I am extremely worried about what I just said. I then meet Anne's mother, who's name is Mrs. Christine Mesane. She seems a lot more calm then Annie's dad, and she has the same eyes as Anne. She doesn't talk, but only whispers. I make a mental note to ask Anne why her mom never talks except to whisper something. All her mom does is shake my hand and whisper, "Hi."

It's sad, really. I think something might have happened to her recently that she doesn't want to talk about or just hates to think about. You can tell she was crying because her eyes were red.

Mr. Mesane looks like he could be in the Army. Seriously. And he is fifty. That is surprisingly well for a person his age. Mr. Mesane is also bald and tall, but in a good way. It suits him. He is tan for his skin, so it almost looks like a light brown.

Mrs. Mesane looked a little shorter than Mr. Mesane, and she was skinny and blond. She looked like she didn't want to talk or eat though, because she just stared at her food and only whispered to talk. It's sad, really. Maybe this is what being depressed is like. If I didn't meet Anne, then I probably would have been the same way. I don't know if she is depressed or anything, but she sure does act like it.

After I meet Anne's parents, we eat dinner. Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, and Broccoli. Mmm, Spaghetti. I haven't had Spaghetti in a long time. It's my favorite kind of food, even though it's plain and simple to make. We also drink water as our drink. Dinner doesn't last long, and right after dinner we go watch the news.

"BREAKING NEWS IN NEWTOWN, FLORIDA." The news reported. "The house on '63406 Oakford Lane' got burned down. There was only one survivor in the family, and that was the eldest. The name of the survivor was Thomas Woodlik."

A picture of myself showed up on the television and it reflected my Black Cardinals' shirt that had the name "Holliday" on the back, my Black and White sweat pants, my dark Brown hair, and basically everything else that I was wearing today. I'm surprised that they got all of the footage this fast.

"Great," I thought. "Now everyone in the state will know about this..." I didn't even want the school knowing at first, but now the state knows. It's bad enough with the school knowing. I begin to think of what I will say as my introduction when I go back to school.

My name is Thomas Woodlik. My house was burned, along with my family. I live with my girlfriend. I have a feeling her mom is depressed. My best friend died a few years ago in a car crash, so I plan to live my life in bed so I don't have to deal with life outside; in the real world. I don't think that I can do that, though. I have no idea what to do right now. No idea...

No. That isn't right.

My name is Thomas Woodlik. I am a Sophomore in High School, now that I have passed my Freshman year. I am 15 years old; born on March 11th, 1995. The year is 2005. My best friend died in a car crash three years ago and my only other friend grew depressed because his dad — his only parent — won't stop drinking because my friend's grandfather died in a bombing. My house got burned down along with my family. I am currently living with my girlfriend and her family, but her mom acts depressed and only whispers to speak.

And that is when I will sit back down. At least school doesn't start until three more months.

 

Thanks, guys! Not that big of an update today, so sorry about that. ~ (Warning: Has death and depression.)

Spoiler

PART I: "The Disaster"

Spoiler

Chapter 1
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Today is the day. Today is the day, on July 5[sup]th[/sup], 2008, we go on vacation. It has been almost two years since my house burned down into ashes, and I still wake up from nightmares screaming for my family to run. I hear them screaming in my dreams as well, too. When I wake up, my girlfriend Anne, comes to comfort me. She has a soft, soothing voice. She has been through the same situation too — except with a flood instead. Anne only lost her siblings. She was the best swimmer in the family, so of course she would be able to get out. I don't know; I guess she didn't have enough strength to save her siblings.

Anne and I both just passed our Junior years a few days ago. As a summer vacation, Anne's parents are taking us to a surprise. All Anne's parents said about the surprise was that it was a vacation. I can tell that Anne's mother isn't happy about the vacation because all she wants to do is stay in bed all day. I wouldn't blame her, though; she had a drug overdose and went into depression. Anne's mother went to the hospital that day and the doctors said that they couldn't do anything about it. All that will happen is depression and thoughts...

If I recall correctly, Anne said something about her grandmother taking a bunch of sleeping pills to die calmly during the night. What would you have done if — your parents — the ones who raised you and loved you... Gone? The drug overdose doesn't help either...

At the Airport, it's one of the biggest buildings I have ever been in. There are snack bars surrounding the place. I'm not hungry at all, but it's just so tempting to get one. I don't get a snack because I feel that it's rude and I already had a big breakfast a few minutes ago. We arrive at the plane.

"Tickets, please?" the young attendant asked us as we were walking in the Airplane. We give our tickets and move into the Plane.

Not a single person from my family that adopted me two years ago would talk until after about an hour. I was sitting next to Anne and wanted to have a conversation. I bring up my burning house from two years ago.

"Hey Anne, why do you think the school e-mailed everyone in the school?" I ask, wondering.

"Well, remember our school is a private school. We only have about 40 people in each grade," she says. "That, and did I say that the whole school knows? I meant that our whole grade knows, so sorry about that."

I laugh. "It's fine. I knew there must have been a mistake somewhere, seeing that our school has the grades from Freshman to Senior." After that I don't know what to say. Luckily Anne brings up another conversation.

"Hey Thomas, before you came to our house..."

"Yeah?" I wondered.

"What did you do to know that someone broke in your house or danger was coming?" Asks Anne.

"Well, our family made a kind of object. With help from the Internet, of course." I respond. "It's kind of hard to explain... When we made the object, we decided that it would play peaceful music. When it stops, a danger has arrived."

"Maybe you should teach me how to make that object," says Anne.
"I don't have to," I said. "I still have the object and bringing it on the trip. It's in my bag right now."

"Oh, can you show me?" she asks excitedly.

My bag is right by us, so I grab it and open the bag. It's an altered Snow Globe, really. We made it able to play classical music — such as Moonlight Sonata, Fur Elise, and more. However, like I said before, the music turns off when a danger is coming. I hit the ON button and the altered Snow Globe plays beautiful music.

"Here it is," I answer, showing her. "Now how do you know when a danger is coming?" I ask her.

"A really, really loud siren comes on," She chuckles. I laugh with her. Our conversation ends.

After about another hour later, we start to fly over a lake. I hate flying over lakes. I always have. Sometimes I get this fear of the Plane breaking down and landing into a lake.

One of my worst fears comes to life when my Snow Globe stops playing music.

 

Thanks, everyone! This one contains serious deaths/depression, so yeah. (I guess there will be a lot of that lol.)

Spoiler

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]Chapter 2[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I don't know what to do. Whenever the Snow Globe stops, something bad happens; either a Break-In, robbery, gun shot, and even more. And what's even worse is that we are right above a lake. I'll have to swim to survive, and I don't even know where we are.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Annie... you know what this means, right?" I ask, worried.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Yes, I do. I just don't know what to do," she responds.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Well, you said you were a good swimmer. Right?" I suggest.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Yes. Very. I used to beat a lot of people in races." Anne said.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Well then, all you have to do is swim back to the shore," I said.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"What about you, Thomas?" Anne seems worried now. But who wouldn't be worried? Even I, myself, am worried about what might happen.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Don't worry," I say. "I know how to swim. Of course I'm not the best, but I can still save myself." There are about thirty five people on the plane right now. I hope that most of them know how to swim. In less than a minute, a person gets out of their seat with a gun and moves around the plane. The driver notices and gets worried. Too worried that he crashed into the lake.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]The water is deeper than I expected. It also feels good. The plane is filling up with water, but we — as in Anne, me, and my new parents - have been lucky enough to preserve our electronic devices in plastic bags. No water will get in the bags.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]The plane gets filled with water quickly; too quickly perhaps. I could hear screams of people drowning. Me and Annie jump out of separate windows and make a silent agreement to meet by the shore again.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]It takes a while to let the water carry me back up from the lake. The lake is at a good temperature, though. It isn't cold and it isn't hot. The water feels great.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]After about forty five seconds I get above the water. The time was longer and the water was deeper than I expected. I get to catch a breath and see Anne, already on the shore waiting for me. I also see a lot of other people from the plane on the shore. I guess that landing in the middle of the lake, it is the deepest water and takes the longest to come up.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I remember how I learned how to swim. I think I was in 4th grade at the time, and I was 10 years old. We were at a hotel and they had a swimming pool, so my dad wanted to teach me how to swim. It didn't work out that great at first, but then he took me too the woods when I was in 5th grade. [/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I didn't have an official hunting license yet, but I didn't think it mattered because my dad knew everything and had a hunting license himself; we probably wouldn't have gotten caught anyway, though. We never did get caught by a Ranger when we went to the woods.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]First my dad taught me how to hunt with a Bow and Arrow. Since we had no idea where to get more Bow and Arrows, he decided that we should make our own. He taught me how to make my own bow, and I have to say: I'm quite proud of what I did.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]By the time I finish my handcrafted Bow and Arrow, my dad taught me how to shoot. "Good posture; have your eyes on your target," is what my dad used to say as advice. His advice actually worked, unless I am a natural or something of course.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]We start by shooting a bunch of birds. A flock of birds come by, and my dad shoots every single one of them. It's like he dances when he shoots them. All of the flock swoop down to their death.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]Now it's my turn to try. I have twelve hand made arrows. "Good posture; have your eyes on your target," I thought. The advice worked perfectly.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I shoot my first one as I kneel down and aim. I shoot a bird in the heart as another flock of birds fly by. It was actually kind of fun, hunting. The thrill of shooting a Bow and Arrow.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I try to recall every single move my dad made when he did the dance. I did the exact same thing he did. Next thing I know, all the birds fall down to their death. My dad actually smiles as he sees me hunting with the birds. Too bad I will never be able to see one of his smiles again. [/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]A few hours after we practice shooting, he shows me a lake. It wasn't really a lake, actually. More like a pond. A small pond, for people who are beginning to learn how to swim. Turns out I'm a natural with that as well; just not as good as Anne.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]First my dad teaches me how to float. "Lay on your back and let the water carry you," I remember my dad saying. It was really easy at first. Then when we got to the strokes it got harder.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]Next my dad teaches me the basic strokes. He makes me lay on my back and stroke backwards. Then he tells me to stroke on my stomach. It's actually a good feeling, as if the world has gone and you only have happy thoughts.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]Finally my dad teaches me how to stay above water. That was the easiest part. Just kicking underwater? That's one of the easiest things I have ever done in swimming. I come back to reality once I realize I am still in this lake.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I swim as fast as I could to reach Anne. It only takes about a minute. I'm happy that I knew how to swim; otherwise I probably would not have survived. I finally reach Anne and sit next to her. She is just staring into the lake and not doing anything.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I take a few minutes to take in what I see. There are about 25 of the 35 of us that survived. I look for Anne's parents — my parents, I guess — and I can't find them. Maybe they drowned in the lake. I hope they didn't...[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Anne?" I ask. She doesn't answer. Only looks off into the lake. "Anne?" I ask again, louder. She does nothing more. All she does is look in the lake. "Anne!" I yell, desperately this time. Still she didn't respond.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]A man has come up from the lake and carries Anne's parents. Mine too, I guess. But they don't look like they are breathing. In fact, they don't move at all.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Are they dead?" I ask, worried again.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Yes," the man says. "They drowned when they tried to jump out." I start to cry. Now not one, but two pairs of my parents have died. And now, Anne doesn't have her family either. No wonder why she is staring off into the lake.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I kneel in the lake — the shallow end, of course — and begin to mourn for Anne's parents.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Don't worry, there will be others willing to care for you both," the man tries to say.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"But I don't want to go to another family!" I yell. "I already have been in two families so far!"[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Well, according to the records, you are both 17. Maybe you two can take care of yourselves until you go to college..." says the man. I begin to mourn for Anne's parents even louder as the man puts them on the shore. Anne is still starring off into space.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I then recognize the man with Anne's parents — he was the pilot. I can't believe that him out of all people survived. Him out of all people! He was the one flying the plane and crashed! Maybe there was a window or something...[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I take a few moments to embrace what I see: Fire diminishing from the crash, the plane in the middle of the lake, the lifeless Anne, all of the people around me, the woods around the lake where we landed. It's sunny and hot out, just the way summer should be. I also count how many people are left. One, two three, all the way up to twenty five. Twenty five out of the thirty five of us are left, if I counted the right number of dead people on land. I hope one of us knows where we are.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]Luckily one person was able to get his phone before the plane crashed. The phone has no services, but at least we know what the time is. The person says that It is currently 4:45 PM. No one, however, knows where we are.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I ask if we could introduce ourselves. More like a yell, really. I wouldn't be able to just regularly talk to the people across the lake.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]Since the lake is shaped like an oval, we all circle around it. One by one, people introduce themselves. I don't listen to any of the names though; they will come to my mind when I talk to them. I do listen to one person, though. She said that she had two children to take care of at home and a husband who always worries about him.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]It's Anne's turn now. She doesn't say anything, so we skip her. I don't really want to talk either, so they skip me as well.

[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)](It doesn't look that great because this is copied and pasted from Word, so sorry about that. It's highlighted for some reason. >.>)[/background]

 

Lol, thank you, DarkNightLight. XD Anyway, update time. ~

Chapter 3:

Spoiler

Well, okay. Not introducing ourselves made us look bad after a while. But for some reason, the Pilot had name tags and told us to write our names in. They said, "Hello! My name is," and then you put your name in. Simple, really. It's like we never needed to introduce ourselves.

Since we all knew that we didn't have Cell Phone service and had no clue where we were, we all agree that we need to go find some shelter. And make a fire. And get some food.

We all know that we have to split up, and since I know how to hunt, I volunteer to get the food. I can easily catch fish with a net or shoot a bow and arrow at a bird or deer. After about a while, we all split up. Except for the depressed Anne. Someone volunteers to watch Anne and try to bring her back to life while I go hunting. He looks about 35 years old. I promise to not make the trip long. Luckily, the pilot has some duffle bags to put the game in.

My luck is pretty good this time. As soon as I get to about 50 yards in the woods, I see Rabbits, Squirrels, Berries, and even a few deer. I shot the Rabbits and Squirrels both in the eye. I end up hunting about 15 Rabbits and Squirrels. I even find two wild Turkey, so I hunt those, too.

I'm a bit worried about the berries, though. My dad used to say to never eat them unless you were sure they weren't poisonous. Instead, I just looked for some strawberries. After a while, I see a whole pack of strawberries hanging from plants nearby a tree.

My luck has been very good so far with hunting. The other parts of the trip, not so much. I know that I should make a net and go fishing right now, because I could do that when we get back to the lake. Why wouldn't I? It's a lake! It's probably full of fish.

I make a dash for the lake because I am worried about Anne. About what might happen to her if no one watches her. It takes me about five minutes to get to the lake, and I see Anne is perfectly fine — except for the depressed part.

The next thing I do is drop my game bag in the little area in front of the lake — I like to call it the Meadow. The Meadow has a lot of flowers, including Daisies, Dandelions, and more. The Meadow is the perfect name for it.

I tell the person guarding her that they can move on and help the others, but he insists that he must watch Anne. I don't know why though, because it's not like the person knows Anne. Maybe he had a depressed sister who was exactly like this or something.

The person guarding Anne told me that I should make a net to catch some fish. But then I say, "How will I make the net?" and that shuts him right up. I have a better idea, though. I decided to shoot the fish with my Bow and Arrows because I already have really good aim already, and fish would make for a great dinner.

I wait for fish to come by the shore. None come until after about an hour or two, but when they come, there were schools of fish. Then a bucket — must be from the plane — comes just in time. I could pick some fish up with my bare hands if I wanted to. So I do. I grab the fish and put it in the bucket that came from the lake and then stab them with an arrow for good measure.

Once I get about 15 or so fish, people are coming back with supplies like wood from a tree to make shelter with, sticks and stones to help make a fire with, - even though we probably won't be able to start a fire with it — a few tree branches to use as blankets for warmth, and more.

The others help each other make some shelter, and they tell me to cook some of the fish. We'll have to make a fire to cook the game, so hopefully our luck with the sticks and stones will be good.

Then I realize we need to find water. There is a lake full of water, but we all know it isn't clean. I ask someone how we will find water, and thankfully they know how to purify the water, so I leave it up to them.

The pilot — who came back with the others — said that he also has water bottles. Thirty of them, at least. But he says that we should save them.

"How do you have all of this stuff?" I ask the pilot.

"In case of an emergency, I always pack a few bags. And this is an emergency, is it not?" answers the pilot.

"Yeah, I guess so..." I say.

Since a lot of people are making the shelter, they tell me to cook the food. They hand me wood to make the fire on. I remember that there is mostly grass by the lake. I move to a spot that has a bit of mulch and sticks, but it's on the edge of the woods.

It takes about thirty minutes of rubbing the Sticks and Stones together to make a fire. I was really bored, but I had to make the fire if I wanted to survive...

Once the fire starts, I clean the game. It's always important to clean the meat before you eat it in case if they have a disease or something.

I cook the Turkeys first. Then the Fish. Then the Rabbits and Squirrels. I don't really like the taste of Rabbits and Squirrels though. At least we have Fish and Turkey.

After everything is done cooking, the others have almost finished making the house. Well, not really a house. It's a really big house; kind of like a gymnasium. The people are almost finished building the walls, but then they stop for some reason. Then I know why they stopped.

Who wouldn't have heard of the scream that shocked Anne back to life?

 

Sorry that I didn't post yesterday; I was busy. >.<

Anyway... (Ugh the text is highlighted again.)

Chapter 4:

Spoiler

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I see why Anne screamed now — it's because of her supposedly called "bodyguard." I watch the bodyguard try to choke her. I shouldn't be calling him a bodyguard anymore.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I run as fast as I can to defend Anne. Anne is trying to defend herself as well by trying to escape, but I can't stand to look. I have to help. It takes about fifteen seconds to get to the bodyguard.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Fuck you!" I say to the bodyguard. I punch him across the face, which makes his nose bleed. He lets go of Anne, who then runs to the shelter, screaming.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]The bodyguard runs after me now. I raise my right leg to kick him, and hope that it does some damage. I end up kicking him in the stomach, which ends up doing some damage, and it sends him back a bit. That's when I notice the red eyes. The color is red, like a blood red. But I can't think about it right now...all I know is that the bodyguard attacked Anne.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]Once the bodyguard comes back on his feet, I push him back to the ground and kneel on top of him. He makes a sort of growling sound. Its loud too.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I punch him in his face as much as I could until I see no life left in him. There is a lot of blood from him now, and I push him in the lake. He floats around in the lake for a while, and by morning I'm sure he will sink.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I'm panting now, of course. Who wouldn't be after a fight who was trying to choke one of your loved ones — your only loved one? I'm glad that the bodyguard is dead now. He was trying to choke Anne, so we were only defending ourselves. That's not against the law.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I run back to Anne, who is now full of life. Not a great one, however. She is panting too, mainly because of fear. I hug her and keep whispering, "Its okay...he is dead now," over and over again. I think it might be comforting to her, because she seems to be calming down. After a while she starts to come back to life even more, and even starts to talk.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Anne..." I say, worried. "Please don't go in that mode again...where you don't do anything."[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Don't worry, I won't," she says. "I just couldn't handle it all, with my parents being dead, my whole family being dead, and the plane crash."[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"You'll get used to it," I shrug. "Just promise."[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"I promise that I won't be that depressed again," Anne responds with confidence.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Keep your word," I say. I go back to making dinner.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]Once I clean and cook everything, the shelter is done. I call everyone else to come over to where I cooked the food so we can all eat by the fire. It's dark right now.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"The food is done!" I yell.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"We'll be there in a minute!" someone says back. And sure enough, they do.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]Dinner is delicious. Its one of the best meals I had so far in my entire life. Home made turkey, strawberries, fish, the food just tastes great. I love it. My teeth sink in to the turkey and fish.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"How is everyone liking dinner?" I ask, proudly.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"This is actually pretty good," a man, probably about twenty seven years old, responds.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Thank you," I say. No one talks after that, probably because everyone is in awe of what the "bodyguard" did to Anne. Anne just looks at her food for a while, so I whisper to her.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Hey...eat your food before it gets cold. Since we are out in the woods, we won't have that much food like we do at home." I say.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"I don't feel like eating," Anne says.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"But then you will starve! We can't have that much food at this time, you know." I tell her.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"I'm sorry. I just don't want to," she says again. But then, something funny happens. Her stomach growls. "Okay, so maybe I do." Anne adds. She digs in her food and I laugh.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Don't laugh at me!" she says.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"It's funny though!" I burst out. I think this is the first time I laughed since — I don't even know when. Maybe a few years.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]When dinner is over, I check the lake to see if the dead man is still floating. He must have sunk already. I ask Anne if she wants to help bury the dead bodies that I realized are still on the shore, but then we remember we wouldn't be able to bury them because we have no shovels, no graves, and this is the woods.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]We ask the other people if they would like it if we put the dead bodies if we put them in the shelter instead of burying them, because, of course, we want to keep the bodies. They are our parents. Who would want to throw their parent's dead bodies in the lake?[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]Since the shelter is big, everyone agrees on having the bodies stay in the shelter until we find a way to get out of the woods.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I realize that if the plane doesn't get to whatever place we are supposed to be, the pilots and workers at the airport will become suspicious. Then they will start looking. I don't know if they would look in the right place, though.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]But for now, people finding us is actually my least of my worries. I already went through enough; got the depressed Anne back to life, made dinner, killed a person, and even more. Today was a big day. People finding us out here in the middle of the woods is also the least of my worries because it would be highly unlikely for people to actually find us; we would have to find a way to get out of the woods by ourselves. Yes, this would be hard. But I have a feeling we could do it. Unless if we all find a way to live in the woods...[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]Anne and I carry the dead bodies of our parents in the shelter and put it at the back of the big room. I must say that the people who worked on the shelter did a really good job. They finished the shelter in one day. That is something that we must make sure they are accredited for.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]For sleep, it turns out that we do have blankets — provided by the pilot, of course. I know that the pilot already explained why we have sources of survival, but it is odd. What is the luck that you even have blankets for warmth, water bottles, someone that could purify water, and even more? I just find this unbelievable in this situation.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]After putting the bodies at the back of the room, Anne and I find a place to sleep together. Sleeping together. It won't be that big of a deal, its just that we are sleeping with each other because we are boyfriend/girlfriend. There is a lot of space in the shelter, but we still need to make sure that everyone is getting their blankets.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]Once Anne and I find a place to sleep, we ask the pilot for a blanket. He gives one to us, and we go right to sleep.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I can't think straight once I go to bed. All that has happened today...the attack on Anne, me killing the so called "bodyguard," moving Anne's/my parent's dead bodies, cooking the food, hunting, Anne coming back to life, Anne's scream, the shelter...every bit of those thoughts haunt me. Maybe I will be able to sleep tonight. Maybe I will not. I lay down and bring the blanket above me and Anne. [/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]It turns out that I do get some sleep; quite a bit actually. The sleep felt good. I probably got about eight hours, which is the amount of sleep you are supposed to be getting. Anne wakes up a little bit before me.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Thomas, you looked like you slept well. Certainly better than I did, at least." Anne said.[/background]
[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"I had a dream..." I started. "I was with my family, you, and your parents. It felt like love. The feeling was the best feeling I ever had, and I wanted to keep it forever."[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"I bet it did," Anne said. "But I don't really want to talk about my parents right now."[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"But I must tell you! It was the greatest feeling ever —" she cut me off.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"I just don't want to hear about my parents right now! They are dead! I don't want to even think about them!" Anne said. More like yelling now. To calm her down, I kiss her on the lips. Its that feeling I had in my dream again. Its the feeling of love. The kiss lasts for about ten seconds, and then we just...stare at each other for a few minutes.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Okay, so maybe I do want to talk about them." Anne admitted.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Well, are parents met each other, and then they started to go on about how they loved that we were a couple. They thought we influenced each other," I started to explain. "Then my parents offered us a condo to stay at and a full ride to College. It was a wonderful feeling, and your parents started to object because they were the ones who wanted to pay for it. Then my parents finally convinced them."[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"The feeling was called love," I add. "And love is what we share with each other and what we share with your/my parents. The feeling is fantastic — it is better than a gift anybody can give."[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"I know what the feeling of love is," she said. "I had a dream very similar to that a while ago. And I wanted to cling on to the feeling forever. It was with us, Thomas."[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Anne, if the feeling you had was with another guy, you don't want to know what would happen." I chuckle.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Of course it isn't," laughs Anne. "You are the only person who I want to be with."[/background]

***​

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]It is mid afternoon now. Since we all want to know what is in the woods, we separate into groups do explore. Me an Anne are in a group alone, and I like it better that way. The groups go in all different directions.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]After about fifty yards, Anne and I start talking to each other.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Anne, since I told you my dream...what was yours'?" I ask.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"Well, I only slept for about three hours or so," answers Anne. "So I can't really remember. I was sleeping with my eyes open when I was 'lifeless,' if you couldn't tell, so that must be part of the reason why I couldn't fall asleep last night."[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"How do you sleep with your eyes open?" I ask, wondering.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"It's hard to explain...not a lot of people can do it, you know," answers Anne.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]"I didn't know that," I shot. "But I would like to know how." Our conversation ends there when we hear a scream. Its a women's scream, perhaps in her mid 30s.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I have to save her, and Anne knows that. We both run in the direction we hear the scream. About another one hundred yards forward, we find her. We find her holding her neck with her bloody hands over her neck, which is also bloody, and coughing. More like death coughing.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I lean forward to look at her, but that's when I hear the thud. It is her husband coming. There is nothing we can do to save her, and, soon enough, her husband is here. Then he becomes suspicious of me.[/background]

[background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]I would have thought I tried to kill her too if I just came back from the woods and heard the scream.[/background][background=rgb(29, 29, 29)]

[/background]

 

Chapter 5: (Warning: Has deaths and language.)

Spoiler

"Did you kill her?!?" yells the dark-skinned man, angered. He looks fit, strong, and big. The man has short, black hair.

"No! No!" I stutter, worried about what might happen to me.

"I saw you!" yelled the man. "I saw you over her dead body! If you have evidence that you didn't kill her, you have to show it now. Otherwise you will pay for what you did!"

"I didn't kill her! I... I swear! I wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone!" I reply.

"Pfft. Of course you wouldn't. THEN WHY DO I SEE THIS?" he demanded.

"You came to the wrong place at the wrong time! Please believe me! I swear, I didn't do it!" I say.

"He is right! We heard a scream and ran here as fast as we could!" says Anne.

"Anne, of course you would say that. You are his girlfriend for crying out loud!" yelled the man.

"Why would I want to be with...a murderer?" questions Anne. I could see why she is backing me up. If the tables were turned, I would be backing her up too.

"I don't know..." the man admitted. "All I know is that it would be very hard to believe he has a defense for himself when he was almost on top of her!"

"You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time!" I try to defend. But it is useless.

"I'll kill you. I'll kill you until I know you're dead. For payback. I will not even try to find a way out of these woods until I kill you. I will make it a promise to myself to at least try to kill you, Thomas," the man promised. "I will run off. And then when you least expect it, I will kill you. Go."

The man runs away from us. Disappeared.

"Anne..." I say. She looks up at me and knows what I'm about to say; it's like she read my mind. "We can't go back to the lake anymore. That man will find us there if we go back."

"I know," replies Anne. "But where would we go? And where would we get supplies?" she asks.

"Well, all the supplies are down by the lake. During the day, we are probably okay because everyone is out and I'm sure that the man would have some sense to not attack us during the day," I answer. "Plus, he said that he will try to kill us when we least expect it."

"So you're suggesting that we steal the supplies by the lake?" questions Anne, uncertain.

"We probably don't even have to steal the supplies," I answer. "We probably can just explain what happened and they would give us the supplies."

"Well then, I guess we better run to the lake and fine somewhere to stay for the night," says Anne. "Of course, it feels like it is 5:00 PM. It should be getting dark in a few hours."

"Then let's go," I say. We dash into a run at the same pace as each other, and see the rest of the people back at the lake...or at least the people that are still left.

We find a couple that is lying dead with blood on their chests. It takes a bit to process this all. First the thirty-five year old woman, and now a couple. They could have had a son...or parents that thought they were alive. I can't stand to look at dead people right now.

I see the pilot and ask him if we can have some supplies, and explain everything. He gives us the supplies with no question. He probably understands. I mean, there is a married couple lying on the ground, dead.

The pilot gives us tons of goodies — peanuts, four water bottles, my bow and arrows that I left at the lake overnight, blankets, and a duffle bag to carry the items in. It will be hard to run with the duffle bag, but I have a feeling we will do just fine. It will only slow me down a little bit. I did usually get first place in races, which would no doubt be a help right now. I'm a fast runner, and I'm glad I am.

Once the pilot hands us the supplies, Anne and I leave the lake with no further question. We bolt into a run because it's getting dark out. Sunset.

After about three to four miles or so, I figure that this would be a great place to rest. It's far away from the lake, after all. We aren't in plain sight anymore.

Anne and I know that one of us has to guard each other through the night. I promise her that whoever guards will get to sleep the next day.

"No," argues Anne.

"What?" I ask.

"How about the person who guards the first night gets to sleep the next night?" Anne suggests. "That way we can find our way out of the woods a lot faster."

"If there is a way out of these woods," I correct her. I have to admit that I do like her idea much better than I like mine. And much easier, for that matter. We would be able to find out more about the woods.

"So... who do you think should guard tonight?" asks Anne.

"Why don't you?" I shot. She raises her eyebrows. "Just kidding. I'll watch tonight, and you watch tomorrow night."

It's dusk now. Dark. I tell Anne to go to sleep and give her a blanket. She doesn't object.

A few hours later, probably midnight, I can see why the man told us that he would kill us when he would least expect it. He meant during our sleep, just like we predicted. The man runs up to me, jumps on top of me, and starts to punch and hit me.

"Anne! Run!" I yell to her. She does just the opposite and tries to hit the man.

"You're a douche!" Anne says to the man, angrily.

"Thomas killed my wife!" yelled the man.

"No he didn't!" screams Anne. "Anybody, help!" she yells. The man looks up to see if anybody comes, which nobody does. I see this as a moment to get up and win this fight, so I roll over the grass and get up.

We're both standing now, so it will probably be an even match. However, I have Anne on my side as well. I run up to him and he obviously isn't prepared, and kick him in his stomach. It sends him flying to a nearby tree, so I have some more time to get a few more punches or kicks in.

I run up to the man again, who is now breathing heavily on the tree. I punch him in his stomach a few more times, and then kick him again a few more times. Soon after that, I hit and punch his head, hoping that it would kill him. It doesn't, but leaves him with a lot of blood, which I'm sure he will bleed to death from.

For a while, he just stands there. I think he might be paralyzed or something, but that isn't the case in the next few seconds. He falls to the ground and tries to attack me still. But then we hear another scream, and then another. The first scream was a female's, probably around the age of thirty. The second scream was another male's, who was also probably around the age of thirty. I'm assuming that they are dead now.

Well, we know one thing for sure. Something is out there trying to kill us all. Hopefully the man will realize that it wasn't me trying to kill his wife now that he heard another couple scream.

After a few more hours, the man doesn't breathe anymore. The man is dead.