Evan "Buck" Buckley-Nash

1. Loneliness

Evan was sad, depressed, no sense of self preservation or worth. He didn't care about himself, why would he when nobody cared about him? He never learned the value of himself.

He sat on his front porch twirling a stick in his hands that had fallen from a tree during the previous nights windstorm. He hated his home. He hated his family, besides his older sister, who left a few months ago. He missed her terribly.

She was the only one who gave him hugs, and the only one to ever make Evan feel loved.

The boy touched the side of his head and winced at the contact. The previous day he fell during a game of rugby with his friends. His right elbow and side of his face were pretty torn up. His parents hardly even blinked, they just don't care anymore.

Evan was desperate for love. He craved the feeling of home, but it never arrived. He went inside before somebody caught him crying in the front yard, he'd never hear the end of that at school.

He went to his sisters bedroom. He normally hated and avoided the room, as it reminded him of her and what he lost. Despite that, he laid on her bed and hugged her pillow desperate to feel any type of comfort.

Buck glanced around the room his eyes landing on a bottle of hairspray. He remembered her doing her hair everyday till she thought it looked perfect. He picked it up and shook it curiously and sprayed a bit into his face. He rubbed his now burning irritated eyes with regret.

Evan had seen videos online before with hairspray he read the bottle once his eyes stopped hurting where it said it was highly flammable.

He was curious, and deep down he was interested in such a dangerous idea for attention, but he couldn't see that. His child mind just wanted fun and love. He went out to the garage taking one of his Dads lighters and started spraying the bottle and lighting the lighter causing a big flame whoosh in front of him.

He flinched dropping the bottle in fear but smiled not even a second later and picked it up happy to try it again.

He lit the hairspray on fire over and over slowly growing less afraid of the flames. Until he got too close to the siding of the house and it started burning up the wall, along with burning his hands as the flames came back hitting him.

"Ahhh! Shit!" He yelled loudly in pain and shock. His looked at his burnt hands and forearms feeling pain on his face. He didn't even register the house was on fire until he calmed slightly.

He ran back into house not knowing where his parents were. He got to the phone and dialed 911.

"911 what is your emergency?"

"I-my Dads gonna kill me!" He said in a panicked tone watching fire enter the room.

"Kill you? What's wrong?"

"Fire! It's coming inside!"

"There's a fire? What's your address kid?"

"Um it's 7788 Woodside. I can't find my Mom!" He said as he started running up the stairs.

"You need to stay on the phone and go outside. The fire department is on the way."

"Mom!" Evan yelled at the top of his lungs but coughed inhaling smoke. "Dad!"

Fire was building on the walls around him and in front of his parents door.

"Evan go outside!" He heard his Mother yell.

"Mom!" He couldn't breath any longer and collapsed to the ground. He tried to crawl to their bedroom door to open it, but the flames were now too high and he began to panic in the middle of the fire around him.

"Dad! I'm sorry!" He cried.

"Go outside Evan!"

The roof began to cave in. "Ahhh!" He yelled rolling out of the way as the ceiling began to fall in. He lost the phone. His ankle got caught under a piece of the roof.

He started uncontrollably crying until he felt dizzy and tired. He felt the room grow hotter and hotter. He was so afraid. As soon as he was about to give up he felt himself being lifted and ran out of the house.

"It's okay kid, breath." He was being rushed onto a stretcher and an oxygen mask was being put over his face as he coughed weakly. "You're going to be okay."  Evan tried to sit up but was gently pulled back down. "Calm down."

He finally subsided his coughing. "Where's my Mom and Dad?" He asked weakly groaning.

"Just lay down and take some deep breaths until we get to the hospital." Was all he was told.

Once he was wheeled into the hospital he was put in a room and doctors immediately started swarming.

~~~

The team watched as the boy was wheeled away Bobby silent about what had just happened.

"That boy had a lot of injuries that predated today." His paramedic Barnes said. "Like a lot."

Bobby had a look of sorrow. "What types?"

"Lots of bruises, some pretty hefty looking scrapes on his face and arms that had already been scabbed over. His knees even had some scrapes."

"Maybe he's just active." Bobby said trying to not imagine the worst.

Barnes shook his head. "At least have Athena check him out and ask him some questions."

"She will be. He looks like the only survivor. We pulled the Mom out but her burns are too severe. She'll die in the hospital." With that Bobby got back in the truck. He couldn't bare to think about a Mother, a wife, dying like that, just like his own wife did.