Another Life

Chapter 2

I stood and stared at him. My world collapsed write in front of me. That's when I looked deep into his eyes. I saw pain, despair, loss.  The energy in me regained and I ran back in. I couldn't live without my parents. That was a definite. Might as well die trying to save them then watching them die in front of me.

The smoke made my legs wobble underneath me. I wanted to just give up and let the flames surround me and lick me up and down, but I couldn't give up. Who would take care of Chris? I shoved my parent's door open. There my dad was, under a piece of ceiling that had caved in. He was pale and motionless. I turned away. I couldn't get distracted now, and I would only be able to sob if I waeched him any further.

My mother had always been a weak person. Her immune system wasn't good, I guess. She sat there having fever sweats and breathing roughly. I ran to her and grabbed a piece of clothe to cover her mouth. I dragged her low on the floor all the way to the door and down the stairs. That was pretty tricky but she was gaining strength the lower we got. That was when I heard a loud crash.

The spot behind us had caved in. There would be no turning back now. I thought I heard sirens blaring but I was half hazy and everything was like an illusion. I just managed to pull my mother outside when my legs gave out and everything went black.

I woke up suddenly. I looked at Christopher again. The fire was gone. Again it was just a dream. "But it wasn't only a dream. It happened and there's no going back." I thought to myself. After the fire, we had been taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and my dad had been pronounced dead. On scene. Dead. Never to rise again.

Dealing with the funeral and hospital fees and insurance had been a pain. Since the fire, my mother had had hallucinations and would sometimes be silent for long periods of time. The doctors said it was just shock and pain. She didn't know what to do. One doctor suggested therapy but we couldn't afford it.  I basically had to do everything by myself.

After all the payments, we had about three hundred dollars left cash and four hundred on insurance. It was okay. I was old enough to understand how things worked and we owned a small apartment. However, that only lasted five months.