One after Another

Chapter 7 : I am useless

They had not recovered from what they saw. The black hood must be none other than the Grim Reaper. A bit of the dark cloth was still sticking out in Natalie's and Kenneth's sight from the concave corner of the window, fluttering in the fire. Natalie had already notified the police and the firefighters, all she could do was wait impatiently.

"It can't be real. It can't be," Natalie thought, biting her nails nervously, stamping her foot continuously.

She was deep in thought when the wooden planks in the shed crashed onto the floor, breaking Natalie's thoughts, making the fire burn even more. The crash of the wooden boards caught both of their attention. The two heard the sound of glass shattering and the black hood disappeared from their view. The red and yellow ribbons of scalding heat intertwined while the sparks jumped and danced. The sky is ablaze with colour. Kenneth was running back and forth from the nearby well, carrying the only bucket of water, but the five-hundred-millilitre bucket was no match for the sputtering fire. Soon, the fire engulfed the whole shed, helped by the swift wind. Clouds of black fumes billowed into the sky as a jet of fire spurted out from the window.

Hearing all the commotion, Patrick's stepfather hurried to the shed. He had a cloth wrapped around his lower body with his 'muscular abs'. His lips trembled. And he glared at them.

"WHAT THE FUCK! YOU BURNT DOWN MY SHED! I WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOU TWO ARE ARRESTED! HOW DARE YOU!"

Ali arrived at the exact moment; the first thing she saw was raging fire. Sparks reflected off her eyes. She saw the sorrowful expressions on her companions' faces, before realising Patrick had passed away in the fire. She bowed her head as the tears formed slowly, trickling down her face.

The sound of sirens echoing slowly became more audible by the second, as it went nearer to the disaster that had happened. After a long moment of mourning and sobbing from the three friends that were left, the firefighters and the police arrived. Firefighters worked quickly to extinguish the blaze using hose reels. Natalie gazed at the firefighters, who were spraying from left to right at the ablaze fire. An inspector led the three to the hospital for a checkup, despite the stepfather's indignation.

On the way, the inspector complained about the incident to the three, "Gosh! What did you all do? Why were you three caught up in two death cases in one night? Now I am forced to stay up all night!"

No words had come out of their mouths, they had only bowed down their heads, each one disturbed by their thoughts. They did not suffer any injuries but their temperature was a little high. The inspector took them back to their separate homes.

Natalie was sitting on her bed, processing the events. Her clock read 11: 38 p.m., but she was not tired of any sort. She would have that repeating nightmare anyways.

"Twenty-two minutes later, it will be a new day," she sighed, pulling up the blanket to her waist, "If we never went into the hallway, they wouldn't have died." She continued thinking of her companions, going into deep thought of the time they spent together.

"Those days were fearful. But the gang cared for each other. At least they cared for me and the others. Does it make them my friends?" she whispered, looking down to her hands. The word "Friends" rolled off her tongue. She scratched her forehead and shook her head helplessly.

"I can't. I can't have friends." She muttered nervously, "I will end up hurting them like Roxanne."

She stood up slowly and gazed out the window. Some old broken street lights were flickering on and off on her street. A batch of street lights caught her eyes. She scanned the scene, there were five bright street lights. The lights radiated everywhere, but much farther away, there was a dull and black street light. It lost all its light and was now completely useless.

"That's me. I am the useless one," she sighed. She laid down on her bed and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

Little did she know, Kenneth said the same thing.

"Why can't I do anything? I gave no useful suggestions! I am useless," he kicked his cabinet in frustration.

The nightmare had deprived Natalie's sleep, and she woke up early in the morning. Her class teacher, Miss Johnson, permitted a day's leave for the three of them. So, she did not go to school today, not that she wanted to.

"Why did the fire ignite after Kenneth and I got there? And why did the Grim Reaper fly across the shed after the shed? Why did it fly to the window?" With these unanswered questions, Natalie decided to catch a taxi and go to Patrick's shed once again.

She saw Kenneth and Ali both were already there. The police were interrogating them, making notes on their notebooks non-stop. As she approached them, someone grasped her shoulder firmly behind her back. Natalie's eyes widened as the unknown figure behind her turned her hastily. She saw Patrick's stepfather, who was beyond furious, glaring at her. He clenched his fist, nails dug deep into Natalie's shoulder and shook her with all his might.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SHED? YOU FREAKING BURNT MY SHED!" He boomed, his eyebrow twitching in fury and his eyes shaking.

Natalie tried to wiggle out of his grip and push his hand away. But all to no avail, his firm grip caused Natalie to wince in pain. Patrick's stepfather glared at her with his teeth bared like a wild dog. He raised his hand a couple of inches away from Natalie's cheek, he was about to slap it hard when someone kicked his abdomen. And so he fell to the ground, clutching his stomach.

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Author's note: Who saved her? Though it was pretty obvious. Thank you so much for reading this chapter and see you next time! Don't forget to Vote and Comment!