What Lay in the Dark

7. Harsh Reality

Something inside me clicked. Suddenly I saw everything; the terror in Egan's eyes and the flames behind him, groping their way closer to us every second. I panicked. 

"C'mon," Egan grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door. We collapsed on the front lawn, coughing from the smoke. We gasped for air and watched as the red and yellow tendrils licked their way into every nook and cranny. We backed away, mesmerised. 

A fire truck rolled up soon after thanks to one of the neighbours. They tried to save as much as they could, but I didn't think they'd get far. The water from the hoses spewed and pummelled into the house. Glass shattered, hissing sounds could be heard down the block. The flames danced on. 

Egan put an arm around my shoulders. "Are you all right?" 

I nodded, "I think so. You?" 

"I'll be okay."  

Slowly the flames diminished, leaving only the burnt ruins of what was once a small house, my house. Egan called Kieran and told him what happened and that I wouldn't be going to work. He sat with me on the edge of the lawn.  

A fireman came over and told us they were still looking for a definitive cause, but it was looking like electrical. Egan thanked him, but there was a dark look in his eyes. 

"What's wrong?" I asked as soon as the man left. 

"Electrical. That's what goes in the papers when they can't work out what really happened." 

I looked down. "Was it..." I couldn't bring myself to finish the sentence. 

"I don't know," Egan confessed. "But I would think so."

Egan brought me back to his house and had Mikayla meet us there with a change of clothes for me. He sent me straight to the shower. I was never been gladder to get the smell of smoke off my skin. I found Egan having an in depth discussion with Mikayla and Samuel when I got back. Mikayla smiled when she saw me. 

"So, what happened?" 

"I have no idea," I confessed. "I just stopped. If Egan wasn't there..." 

"Doesn't matter," Mikayla said. Egan reached over and placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. 

"It scares me." 

"To be scared is to be human," Egan told me. 

"I don't know," I muttered. "You seemed pretty brave." 

"Doesn't mean I wasn't scared," he mumbled. 

The sound of the door opening startled me, but I was relieved when Andy and Brenden walked into the room. 

"Egan..." Andy stopped when he noticed the looks on our faces. "What happened?" Brenden crept up behind him.  

"You don't want to know," Egan said.  

"Egan, we know about the demons now." 

The four of us looked at each other.  

"Tell me," Andy insisted. 

"Ailia's house caught fire," Egan said softly. 

"What? Are you okay?" Brenden asked frantically. 

"I'm fine." 

"Wait, so a house catches fire and you put it down to demons?" Andy had a confused look on his face. "There's something more to this story, isn't there?" 

"You're not as dumb as you look," Egan smiled.  

"Hey!"  

Egan shrugged.