Magnolia

Chapter Three

"I tried to help you!" She screamed, grabbing a knife from the kitchen. "You've been trouble since you arrived!"

I kicked her legs from under her and scrambled to grab the matches from the drawer in the kitchen.

"Get everyone out." I yelled to Gloria. The girls rushed to get out of the house, looking back to make sure that all the little ones were out.

"Drop it." George held a gun towards me. Sharon stood beside him with a sneer on her face.

Simultaneously, George shot his gun and I threw the match to the ground. A deafening scream ran through my ears. Gloria had jumped between us. I grabbed her body, seeing the bullet in her forehead. Her eyes were still open, staring back at me. Everything inside of me felt drained as I held her into my arms. Sharon was screaming at George and I felt my body radiate with anger. I started throwing papers, food, everything I could into the fire. It flowed through the house and I ran towards the door. George grabbed me and I tried to use my body weight to push him back.

"You die with us."

I threw my body towards Sharon who had been desperately trying to put out the fire. She dropped the knife once George fell onto of her. I reached for it as they screamed in pain. Sharon grabbed my arm. The sides of her face were burned, and George couldn't be seen within the flames.

"No." She grabbed hold of my leg and I couldn't move. I could see a younger version of myself, grabbing onto my arms and pulling me. The desperation on her face brought me back to the fire with my family. Everyone's face, especially Sidney's. I didn't want to die. I looked back towards Sharon's burned face and used my other leg to kick her back into the fire.

Her scream was the last thing I heard as I ran from the house. Once I was outside, the crisp air filled my lungs and I had a coughing fit. I turned back towards the scorching house before running. The sirens could be heard as they approached but I couldn't be put in another foster home. I didn't know where I was running to but I had to get away from here. I kept going into the night. It had started pouring down rain. 

My hair was sticking to my face. My clothes clung around my body. I could barely see, except for a few streetlights here and there. I had stopped under a few closed buildings to try and catch my breath before I started running again. My feet hurt. My back ached but I couldn't stop. Gloria's pale face flashed in front of me. I hadn't meant for her to die. I wanted her to come with me, to be running beside me. Now there was nothing left of her.

I reached the end of town just before sunrise. There was a large gate before me with houses on the other side. I looked around me. I was in the middle of nowhere. I started to climb the fence. I tried to ignore the pain as I pulled myself up. My shirt tore once I pulled myself over the gate and I fell to the ground. My body tumbled down the hill and I fell near a stream of water. I laid there, trying to gather up my strength so that I could manage to wash some of the dirt off my body. I drank from the stream before stumbling across towards the houses.

Sunlight was peeking over the horizon before I reached a small neighborhood. All the houses were small and quaint. I smelled freshly cut grass and flowers. There wasn't any sign of life yet. The houses were of different colors: red, blue, green. I had never seen anything like it. As I continued walking, I heard a small cry. I stopped in the middle of the road, looking around until I spotted an old woman coming towards me. She was just a bit taller than me with a round figure. Her gray hair was shining where the sun hit and worry was in her eyes.

"Where are you going child? What happened to you?" She questioned, looking me over.

I stared back at her and she wrapped her arm around me. I winced in pain and she loosened her grip.