Backfire

The Backwards Fire

    The girl ran.

        It was dark, and she fumbled, her blonde hair flying wildly. She shivered with cold and fear, but kept running. Behind her, a shape lumbered into view. A creature chased after her, hissing and swiping at her back. Her shirt was torn and thin trails of blood leaked out. She winced with pain, but her pace didn't slow.

        She ducked into an alley, panting and crying. Her back stung, and she sat down against the grimy wall. The girl layer her head in her hands, shaking miserably. A grunt echoed from behind the wall, and bricks exploded everywhere.   

        Her head was hit, she went flying forward. Black dots spotted her vision, she shrieked, and nothing made sense anymore. Claws dug into her arms, she looked around frantically but her sight was blurred. She opened her mouth to scream for help, but nothing came out but a groan. She slumped forward as it leaned in to bite her throat.

        Sharp teeth lined its mouth, a forked tongue flicking around in anticipation. Two red, beady eyes stared at her, burning with rage. Its nose was two deep gouges right above its blue lips. She flinched away, tears brimming in her eyes. The last thing she saw was an explosion of light, and then it all disappeared into darkness.

        "Avalon!'

Avalon opened her glazed eyes. Her mouth erupted in a yawn, and her eyes closed again. A hand grasped her shoulder and shook her awake. Marybelle, her foster mother, gave her an impatient glare.

        "Get up!" she snapped, giving her another tug. Reluctantly, she stood up, early enough to see Marybelle leaving. She shrugged on a blue t-shirt and jeans, and trudged out of her room. She was right out the door when the memory of her nightmare came flooding back, and she shuddered.

    "Why did I have to get up?" Avalon whined to Marybelle when she reached the kitchen. She watched her swallow a spoonful of cereal and gave her an annoyed glare. "You have to watch Alexa," she said, and walked away. Avalon felt a round of protests bubbling in her throat, but stayed silent instead.

        As if on cue, her foster sister, Alexa, came prancing in. She gave her a sneer, and grabbed a piece of bread. She slathered it with Nuttella, and walked back to her room, giving Avalon one last bratty smirk before turning around.

        Everybody assumed that Avalon had been adopted because Marybelle cared for her. Yeah right. Avalon knew the truth; she needed money. She wasn't married, had never been, but still had two kids. The older one, Dina, was 28, and still in college, after delaying it 7 years, and then finally giving in to Marybelle's constant persistence and applying to the nearest community college. The younger one, Alexa, who was 10 years old, was usually trying to ruin Avalon's life, and constantly succeeded.

        Her Sunday was spent miserably. Alexa made her walk three miles just to the nearest pizza shop, and refused to eat it when she came back. She wouldn't have thought her day would get worse, but of course, it did.

        When Marybelle came home, the first thing she did was lock Avalon in her room. "You didn't do your jobs!" she hissed angrily.

"I had to look after Alexa!" Avalon yelled back.

"Still!"

        And that was it, she was shut in her room till tomorrow, without any dinner. Avalon closed her eyes and lay in her bed, but sleep wouldn't come. Bored, she braided her messy blonde hair and tossed it over her shoulder. She stood up and went over to her flute. Picking it up gently, she placed it on her lips and blew, soft and sweet.

        The sound carried across the room, making her forget her problems. Avalon smiled, relaxed and happy. It was like a voice, telling her to calm, and it became louder and louder. The song surrounded her, creating her own world, where she was alone.

        Avalon finally stopped when she started to become lightheaded. She put her flute away and sat back down. Hunger bit at her stomach, and her blue eyes flashed. She walked over to the door, fumbling with the weak knob. After a while, it popped off, and she pried open the door. She walked over to the kitchen and picked out a piece of chicken, her first meal all day.

        She walked back to her room, quietly incase she got caught. She was halfway there when she tripped. Avalon stood up, her legs aching, and stared at the package she had stepped on. It was long and narrow, and to her surprise, adressed to her. There was a small note attached, sparking interest in her. It read:

Dear ms. Evans,

By request of Mr. and Mrs. Young, please

give this to Avalon Young on her fourteenth

birthday.

Thank you,

Mrs. Navick, owner of the ASPCA, NYC adoption center.

        Avalon stood there, burning with rage. Her birthday had been two months ago! She opened the package slowly, feeling shocked at the sudden gift from her parents. A wave of regret rode through her when she thought of her parents. She missed them.

        Inside was a wooden stick, smooth and dark. A seperate piece of wood wound around the original stick. At the top, both pieces erupted into four thin, tall sticks. In the center, was a shining white diamond, shaped like a raindrop, held by the four pieces. It was strange and beautiful at the same time.

        Avalon reached out a hand, captured by the object. Light pierced the house, shining from the bright diamond. Marybelle, Alexa, and Dina came rushing out, hands covering their eyes. She wanted to do the same, but couldn't pull her hand off.

        Her hand burned, pain spiraling across her arm. She was blinded, and dropped to the floor, twitching. Her back arched, her eyes replaced by balls of light. Everywhere was white, there was no relief. And then it was over. Her foster family was missing. Avalon hoped they had run away, but had a suspicion they hadn't had the chance.

        Numb, she stared at what was left of the house. The door was falling, most of the house burned away. Her room was ashes, the kitchen destroyed, and living room wrecked. In shock, she grabbed her stick and walked away.

{Sorry its so long. Opinions?}