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Chapter 14- "FIRE, FIRE!"

Casey suddenly knew that Stella's eyes reminded her of Kai and the photo of baby Stella. Around her eyes were dark, her skin peeling from sunburn, she had bruises and scratches all over her body. Stella told her story, while everyone listened intently.
She woke as a sapion grabbed her and flew out the window. Someone threw a knife that hit it. The sapiens claws retracted and she dropped 2 metres. She survived but had broken her arm. With a woman's help she was all bandaged up and fixed in 2 months time. The woman spent a whole 6 months teaching her all the survival tricks out there. A sapion almost found her so the woman sacrificed herself for Stella. The sacrifice had only happened 3 months ago and Stella teared up when she said the last bit. They got closer to the exit of the bunker. Stella looked nervous but excited. Then they walked out. Kai had been looking down at the water where they had jumped almost a year ago.
"Kai!" Stella screams. She was fast for such a little person. Almost like she teleported. She crashes into Kai crying. They both fell. Casey could hear Stella sobbing as she burrowed into Kai's jaket. She was sure Kai was crying too but she couldn't see his face. Anna and Casey gave them some privacy and went to find the herb.

A few days later Casey awoke to smoke filling the air. She knew immediately that there was a fire. She coughed, gasping for air. "Fire!" She yelled hoping that somebody would hear her.
"Casey shut up!" Kai calls angrily, he was obviously still half asleep. Casey knew that she couldn't risk it so she felt around and packed all her clothes, all the important things, all while coughing and yelling to everyone. Finally Stella woke up, she was coughing like crazy and started yelling.
"FIRE, FIRE. SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP"
"What!" Anna screams as she gets to her feet. Then she starts coughing. Kai reacts just as fast. Anna starts grabbing her stuff.
"NO!" Kai says coughing. "No time, leave now" he grabs Stella and starts pulling her towards the tent flap. Casey grabs a sleeping bag knowing they would need it later. Anna grabs some food and her sleeping bag. They meet Kai and Stella out the front. Stepping out the tent blasted Casey with a wave of heat. The forest was alive with sounds of creatures calling and running. The trees with alight Casey stood for a second watching it. She had always been fascinated by fire. Mum and dad had blocked the fireplace off because as a baby she would try to crawl into the fire inside. The fire was so beautiful and yet so scary.
"Casey, we have to go, now!" Kai yells while coughing. "Stay down and move fast. Bushfires spread really"- he was cut off from a wild coughing fit but Casey got the memo. Go now, or die. Kai seemed to find it hard to move fast. So Stella was dragging him along.
"Keep moving please." She begs. "GO FASTER, please, please" she sobbed. Casey could see that Kai was trying. All those months of getting stabbed. almost drowning, losing two sisters and getting one back plus the smoke probably was getting to him.
"Kai" Stella screamed. Pulling on his jacket. So Casey half ran and grabbing his other arm half drags him towards safety. Then he stopped and panicky ripped at his jacket before turning in a circle. "No" he kept muttering "no, no,no"
"Kai, let's go," Casey says, beginning to get impatient.
"I lost it, it's not here." Kai screams.
"What, what?" Casey asks
"My picture of my family"
Casey looks back at the fire then to Kai's shaken, panicked face as he coughs really hard and deep, his eyes pleading.
"I'll go get it" Casey's whispers as she turns and runs back towards the heat of the fire. Towards death. The smoke got so thick that she covered her mouth with her shirt. It took her a while to find the tent. Half of it was on fire so she knew she had to move fast. The tent flap was open so she ducked in. It was so hot and stuffy. There was Kai's bag. She grabbed it and almost ripped it in half. Casey searches for the picture. She sees from the corner of her eye Stephanie's smiling face from under Kai's pillow. Casey grabs it, chucks it in Kai's bag and runs. She was coughing and spluttering, gasping for breath as she sprinted away. In the direction she thought everyone else was going. In a stretch of meadow she saw light blond hair shining out like a spotlight in the dark. So she ran in that direction.
"Casey" Anna screams as she runs forward to meet her. Casey and Anna meet before falling to the ground hugging and crying. They had survived a bushfire. Anna and Casey were still coughing as they made their way towards Stella and Kai. Stella was wrapped in a sleeping bag and was fast asleep. Kai is sitting next to her, he looks up.
"Casey, you shouldn't have gone back for the photo it was stupid and dangerous and"- the rest was cut off by a coughing fit.
"Here" she just whispers, handing him the photo.
"Thank you" he whispers. 
"Ahh!" Stella screams waking up from a nightmare, Kai went to calm her.
"Stella" he says softly "Remember mum and dad"
Stella shakes her head "not really, all I remember is mum laughing and that's all"
"Here" he hands her the photo frame. Stella's eyes go wide.
"Mum's so pretty" she whispers as her hand waves over the frame.
"Yeah she was," Kai agrees.
"Who are the dogs"
"Bluey is the blue heeler and princess sparkle is the border collie"
"There so cute"
"Yeah, I loved them"
Stella smiles. "Kai tell me about mum and dad and Stephanie"
Kai looks away before nodding "ok"
Casey sits down and wraps a blanket around herself as Anna who had come out best from the fire sets up a camp. Kai tells Stella and Casey all about the farm.
"Droughts were the worst. Sometimes during a drought we would have to shower in the watering hole just so we would have enough water to keep everything alive. Steve's beautiful flower gardens turned to dry dusty dirt. Oh but when it rained, when it rained it felt magical. Everything would come alive for a few weeks and then all was right in the world."