Gone by Ghosts (Natasha Romanoff x OC)

~6~ Spark in the night

"Muss ich nicht. Du findest bestimmt was mir gefällt." ("Don't have to. You'll find something I like.") I don't care about any of it. I just want to spend time with him. Find someone to talk to, about how I feel. I walk away and wave over my head.

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I sold a few more packs till lunch break was over. The last two classes went by fairly quickly and before I knew it I was standing outside fighting the urge to walk to my old train station.

" Kommst du jetzt oder was?" ("Are you coming or what?"), a girl from the orphanage shouted at me. Her voice cut through my thoughts and I shake my head to get rid of the stupid idea to go back home.

"Ja, ja, ich komm ja schon." ("Yeah, yeah, right behind you.")

I fall into a jog and catch up with a few other students, who are from the same orphanage as I am. They continue to talk with each other and I just put on my headphones. Till we're there I listen to music and look down at my feet that carry me there.

We arrive and I withdraw to my room. I got lucky, I have a room to myself. It's really small and doesn't have any windows, but I'm all alone. I do my homework and clean my room a little. Marco calls and I tell him about the business. I check her watch: '18:26'. Time for dinner.

I sit down at one of the tables and check the room. Most girls are already here, except for those that are always late. A group of girls that think they're cool, 'cause they party and do all that dumb shit. Including drugs. They really are just a bunch of losers who will end up in those situations I've seen so many in. No money to pay and no drugs to function on. Those stories always end the same way. Death. They either die from drugs or through those to who they belonged to.

The food sucks but that's nothing new. Just like it's not new that most girls piss off after they're done, leaving a mess. I always stay behind and help clean it up. If they think that I am just a very nice and ambitious girl they will pretty much leave me alone. Plus, I kinda feel bad for them. They really hate their job.

I return to my room and sit down on my bed with my guitar on my lap. I tune it and start strumming. The sound of the chords, so clear and beautiful, pulls me in and it's not long before all time is irrelevant. I only hear the music, only feel the vibrating of the strings on my chest until a knock interrupts my flow and I open the door.

"Mach das Licht aus. Zeit fürs Bett." ("Turn off your light. It's time to go to bed.")

I check her watch again: '22:47'. I really did play for a long time.

"Mhm." I murmur, flick the switch and close the door.
I take my t-shirt from under the pillow and switch from my school clothes to that. I slip under my cover and close my eyes. The dark closes around me and I drift away in a deep, but nightmare-fueled dream.

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TRIGGER WARNING: This part contains fire and smoke as well as violence

The shrill sound of an alarm rips me out of my nightmares. I shoot up and the panic in me rises. It cuts the air in my throat from reaching my lungs and I gasp for air.
I know I have to relax to breathe, so I count to twelve and slowly my body gives in letting air enter my lungs. A few times I breathe in and out before I realize why I woke up in the first place. The alarm.

It's the fire alarm. Outside I can hear the voices of a few other girls and one of the caregivers. I put on her watch and step outside. The smoke is reaching the ceiling. It's dark but the flames at the other end of the hallway make enough light so I can see about one arm's length ahead of me.

"Hey, Leute wo müssen wir lang?" ("Guys, where do we get out?") I don't get an answer. I hold my breathe and listen for their voices but there's nothing
"Scheiße." ("Shit!") I exclaim. I was on my own.
Since one end is up in flames, I head for the other. Out the hopefully unlocked back door is better than not out at all.

I pull my t-shirt over my mouth and nose and hold out one hand in front of me. I slowly put one foot in front of the other and make my way through the smoke. If I can see the emergency exit sign I'm safe but it feels like it takes forever. The panic inside tries to take over but I know I can't let that happen if I want to make it out alive.
I can feel the heat slowly catching up with me, so I start moving faster. It can't be much longer to the exit but tears fill my eyes, my lungs burn from the smoke and my heart beats heavy in my chest. Without fresh oxygen, I can't do this much longer. If the fire doesn't burn me alive then the smoke will choke me to death.
Two shadows appear in the smoke. I'm probably just imagining things to keep me going but the fear in me makes me shout for them.
"Hilfe! Ich bin hier. Bitte helft mir!" ("Help! I'm here. Please, help me!")
The shadows come closer and a wave of relief washes over me. Finally, someone came to look for me. Some came to save me.
"Danke! Danke, dass Sie mich gefun..." ("Thank God, you fou...")
I don't finish my sentence when I see how the two shadows step out of the smoke. It's two men in military-grade gear towering over me. They grab me by my arms and I try to turn in their grip.

"Nein! Lasst mich los! Bitte. Ich hab nichts getan. Lasst mich los!" ("No! Let go of me! Please. What are you doing? Let me go!") I beg. But they don't even look down at me.

I pull and kick but my limbs have no strength left in them. They just lift me from the ground like I'm a little kid. I turn and bite for a hand that holds me tight. I press my teeth in the flesh and one of them shouts out in a language I don't understand. He lifts his fist and it comes right down at me again. I have no time or strength left to block his punch before I feel the impact of it on my eye and everything goes black.

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Yeah, so here we are. I hope it wasn't too bad.

I actually really enjoyed writing this one.

Let me know what you think.

Thank you for reading this story :)

~1813~