Surrender

Chapter Twenty One

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

I press my palm into the window and blink my eyes against the glowing light outside. “No…” I say in a breathy voice. I’m momentarily paralyzed by my own disbelief and then I take off running. I hear Louis call my name but I ignore him, I just keep running until my feet find the soft grass outside. The sound is deafening and I’m thrown back a little by the height of the flames. My heart is racing and my body is warm, sweat dripping down the back of my neck. There isn’t an inch of the house that isn’t being completely consumed in flame. My eyes scan for a way in and I start to panic. I’m just going to have to risk it, I have to get in there, Darcie and Aaron are in there.

Darcie and Aaron.

I start to run towards the house but hands wrap around my waist and pull me back, my feet lifting off of the ground. The roof starts to collapse, making loud moaning noises as the entire interior begins to crumble in on itself.

“NO!” I scream, lunging forward. The pair of hands tighten on my waist and I thrash around, clawing and tearing at them, screaming to let me go.

“DARCIE! AARON!” I scream at the house, my throat aching. Why won’t they let me go? I need to help them, they’re dying, they’re dying. I wriggle free and take a few steps before they wrap around me again.

“LET…ME…GO!” I yell, trying my best to get free. They let me go and I take off running, stopping in the middle of my driveway and the structure begins to come undone. Windows break and explode from the pressure, the porch is charred and black, and the roof is one big burning hole. I fall to my knees and watch as my home is slowly disappearing before my eyes. I scream into the night trying to convince myself that Darcie and Aaron aren’t inside that they got out in time. I keep screaming, unable to stop myself. I close my eyes and fall into the concrete, the flames burning into my eyelids. I hear the sound of sirens in the distance, but I don’t move. I keep screaming, willing all of this away. Someone picks me off of the ground and I shove against them, screaming and crying to let me go, to put me down, to leave me here. My feet hit the ground and I collapse into the grass, slamming my fist into the earth as I stare at my house that is still ablaze. There are men here now and long sprays of water try to put out the flames that touch the sky with their long, glowing fingers. I see Harry and Gemma talking to a couple policemen across the lawn, pointing to the house and talking animatedly with their hands. I stand slowly and see Harry look over at me, a mask of worry on his face. I feel a hand slip into mine and I know its Louis. I turn my face to look at him. He’s looking at me cautiously, his eyes wary and hesitant. I let go of his hand and move away from him, walking closer to the wreckage to watch everything slip away.

It takes them a couple hours to put out the fire completely and all that’s left is a mass of charred wood. A team went in the house to search for Darcie and Aaron but the structure was too damaged and engulfed in flames for them to find anything. Someone wraps a blanket around my shoulders and voices ask me questions or give me updates, but I never respond. I keep my eyes on the house and pray for a miracle I know isn’t coming. More people are digging through the rubble now, searching for two bodies that surely have perished in the destruction. The last thing I said to Aaron was that I never wanted to see him again, that I hated him, and Darcie…we were just finding our way back and now it’s all over. Someone calls to the rest of us that they found two bodies, and more people move to help move away the rubble and then they all just stand in a circle, their heads bent over what they found. Something blocks my view and I look up at Louis. He’s saying something to me, his mouth is moving but I can’t hear anything. I move around him, desperate to see their charred bodies for myself. The blanket around my shoulders falls to the ground and I walk closer, watching them lift long, dark body bags onto stretchers. That’s when something inside of me beaks and I start to scream again. More hands wrap around my shaking body and pull me away, my feet dragging against the ground as I try to stay rooted. I’m pulled into the house and up the stairs into Louis’ room. He pulls me to the bed and cups my face in his hands, turning my face to look at him. I try to focus on his words, to hear what he’s saying but then…someone appears behind him and I see that it’s…me.