I'm uncreative with titles, I'll figure something out later--
alsooo I did this in like, a little more than an hour yesterday when I was a panicked mess, and I didn't bother checking over it, so don't expect it to be good--
um, trigger warnings: Fire (like a lot of it), main character deaths, injuries, ack, please tell me if I'm missing anything
also, the word counts 3k
Sophie stared at her hands. They were cold and clammy, shaking in the cold, brisk wind. She was shaking.
A flurry of thoughts ran through her mind, and she felt herself slowly weakening. Sinking to the ground, she focused on her fingers, studying them like if she stopped, it would be the end of her.
Which it just might be.
Huge fires were ravaging the Lost Cities, fires set by the Neverseen and fueled by the Council's incompetence. Countless people had died and the air was so toxic, even more had died from the poisonous chemicals in it. Everyone had had to flee, families scattered throughout the world.
Sophie hadn't seen Grady and Edaline in weeks. Sandor was dead, putting himself in the way of the barrage of arrows weeks ago, saving Sophie's life. Livvy was gone, taken by the Neverseen and killed at the very beginning. Dex had died just a week ago, the wound still fresh.
Countless other faces floated in Sophie's mind. Faces of people who were loved, who had their whole life ahead of them.
They were all gone.
And it had started with these fires.
She took in a shuddery breath, a small sob twisting through it. Tamping down her emotions, she repeated It'll be okay, over and over in her head. But as she shakily lifted her head to look at the smokey sky... she knew it wouldn't be.
▪▪▪
Music filled Sophie's ears, her hands subconsciously tapping as she listened to the melody. Her iPod's music wasn't too loud, but it was enough to drown out the humming noises around her.
Snippets of a conversation Amy had had earlier floated from the room next to her. Amy's thoughts were fast, furious, stabbing into Sophie's mind like daggers. Sophie squeezed her eyes shut, trying to not invade her sister's privacy. She may have this horrible curse, but she didn't want it. She wanted it gone, gone forever.
She wanted to be normal, be able to stand in a crowded place without getting a headache, and crying out in pain. She wanted to look at someone and smile and have no idea what they were thinking. She wanted to laugh with other kids instead of flinching each time they thought something particularly nasty, and getting cast out.
But she wasn't normal and she was stuck and music was her only escape right now.
Turning the volume up on her iPod, she settled back into the soft embrace of the pillows around her. Reaching for her math book, she flew through the problems with ease, not bothering to double-check them. She'd be right. She'd go to school the next day and turn in her work and the teacher would frown, muttering some comment about stuck-up nerds under their breath like they always had. She was used to it.
Of course, it still hurt each time.
Turning her head out the window, she clenched her fists. Smoke was billowing outside, ash filling the air. If she stepped outside, she'd immediately be overwhelmed by the horrible scorched smell of the fires ravaging San Diego right then.
