• [Rebecca]
    Looking around frantically, I let out a frightened whimper. "What the hell was I thinking... coming into here like this?" I asked myself, feeling the warmth of the fire around me. I had to come up with a quick plan. I needed to get to something to help me put it out. The more I looked around, the more I started to panic. I hadn't exactly entered the house in the smartest way. Hell, entering the burning house wasn't smart anyway, but it was Connor's stupidity that made me do it. I was thinking more of what would happen if we got caught drinking underage than my own safety at that point.

    Behind me, I could feel the fire starting to lick the wooden paneled walls. s**t... I'm not gonna get out of this mess alive... I thought, trailing deeper into the house to get away from the flames. Much to my surprise though, I was starting to run out of places to go. You could feel the dryness of the house, and you could hear it in the floorboards as I headed deeper. From outside I could hear Aiden yelling to me.

    "Rebecca! Where the hell are you?"

    Looking around again, I looked at one of the oak doors, and ran to it, shoving it open with my shoulder. I'd found the bathroom. A lot of good it did me though... because just as soon as I'd made it into the bathroom? One of the beams that supported the ceiling fell behind me, sealing off any chance I had at getting away. The first thing that escaped my lips was a scream.

    The heat from the flames was worse than getting stuck in a sauna. I could feel the sweat trickle down the back of my neck. "Help! Aiden! Nathan! I'm stuck!"

    Outside again, I could faintly hear Aiden yelling to Nathan. "She's inside, Nathan! We've got to do something!"

    The thick black smoke swirled around me, filling my lungs and choking me, almost in the same manor that the cold winter mornings did. Letting out a cough in an attempt to clear my lungs enough to breathe, I stepped back against the wall. I'm... I'm gonna die here. I won't make it out...

    -.-.-
    [Nathan]
    Looking at Connor, my eyes full of hate, I growled. "a*****e! This is all your fault!" Looking back at the house, I could feel an uneasiness in my chest. The first thing that came to my mind, was losing Rebecca. I wasn't going to let that happen. "Aiden, call 911. I don't care if we're about to face diversion for underage drinking, but do something! I'm going after her!" Yelling, I ran towards the burning building.

    "REBECCA? REBECCA WHERE ARE YOU?" I yelled, forcing myself through one of the windows away from the flames. If I was going to save her, I needed to act fast. The only problem was, I didn't know where to begin.

    The house had been a place where the group of us had spent a lot of time together in the winter months. It'd been abandoned for years. We'd only explored the bottom floor of it. I remembered there were eight different rooms on this floor: a kitchen, a bathroom, a pantry, two bedrooms, a dining room, a living room, and an office. She could have been in any of those rooms. I was hoping she would have headed for the one with the easiest exit.

    The smoke, like the hand of death, swirled around over my head. Dropping to the floor and covering my mouth with my shirt, I made my way along as fast as I could, yelling to her again. "REBECCA?" It was then I heard a scream I knew all too well. "s**t!"

    Move faster, Nathan! She's in trouble! It was the best motivation I could give myself. I could feel my heart beating in my chest- almost as though it was trying to escape. "Nathan!" I heard Rebecca scream, followed by a cough. Coming to the point where she was, my eyes widened. How the hell am I going to do this...?

    -.-.-
    [Rebecca]
    My chest felt like it was on fire. Looking at Nathan, and his ash-covered face, I froze. Even if I wanted to move to him, I couldn't. He'd come into the proverbial pit of hell. "I can't get out of here!"

    As Nathan stood, a second part of the beam fell, sending a shower of embers at him. "Nngh..." I heard him hiss, watching him shield his eyes. "I'm going to get you out of there... just trust me!" I closed my eyes for a moment, and coughed again, nodding weakly. "Please... don't hurt yourself trying..."

    I shouldn't have said it, but I did. In an instant, he'd jumped through the dancing red and orange ocean. "Becca, you need to trust me... I have to get you back through there... we have to get..." he began, interrupted by a cough he couldn't hold back. "We have to get out of here. Give me your hand, and hold your breath, alright?"

    Taking his hand in my own, I held on tightly. "Okay..."

    "Trust me..." he said, as he pulled me away from the wall and ran, me following closely behind. "JUMP!"

    And I did. But I can't remember what happened next.

    -.-.-
    [Aiden]
    I remember sitting in the hospital, listening to the doctors conversations, but not remembering a word. I remember watching the doctors rush both Rebecca and Nathan into ICU. And I remember hearing Nathan's mother cry.

    From what the paramedics had said, that I could understand, was this: Nathan had sheilded Rebecca from the fire, using his own body. He'd suffered burns over most of it. His lungs were full of smoke, so much that it could have passed for Cancer. Or something. Sitting in the chair next to Marie, holding her hand, I remember Nathan's mom coming out, and pulling us both into a tight hug.

    "He's... he's gone..." she sobbed. Instantly, I felt my heart shatter.

    There wouldn't be anymore late-nights on the beach, no more bike rides, nothing. The kid who we'd all grown up with had given his life to save the girl who he swore he'd always protect. I could feel the tears slowly falling down my cheeks. I'd never get to see my best friend again.

    -.-.-
    [Marie]
    I couldn't believe it.

    The boy who'd swept Rebecca off her feet, the only one that could make her smile when she was hurt... he was gone now. When we were able to see Rebecca, I remember watching her lip tremble, and those dark blue eyes fill with tears. Never in my life, or all the time I'd known her, had I seen her cry. My heart broke. "Becca... I'm so... sorry..." I whispered, my voice cracking with each syllable. "I wish I could... I want to..."

    But she shook her head. "N-no... i-it's not something you can f-fix. He al-always said, he'd protect me, even if it meant his l-life..." she said, her voice so full of emotion.

    The doctor had stepped into the room at that point, and asked for us to allow her to rest. But before I'd left the room, she stopped me.

    "Marie, you tell Connor, that I'll never forgive him."

    Nodding my head and biting my lip, I left the room. I wouldn't forgive him either.