EXPLODE

fourteen

For a second, as I lay unconscious on the floor, I recall a memory.

I recall the time when my mother had reprimanded me for not telling her when I spent the night at a friend's house the night of one of the biggest Rebellion attacks made on Auradon.

She yelled at me for hours, saying how scared she was, and all the while I sobbed, she also comforted me. All she was was scared.

But what made me recall that specific memory at this moment was what she told me after I apologized for the fiftieth time.

She had said, "In the event of another attack; whoever you think of first when you hear of an attack, I want you to run to them because they are who you trust most- who you love most."

And in the moment where I started regaining consciousness, the first person I thought of was Liam.

I barely acknowledged the fire starting to lick my skin and the pain it caused. I feared for his life over mine because he deserved it so much more.

Struggling to get to my feet, I glance around the room, looking at the people by my feet. I couldn't leave them there.

Making my way over to Evan, I notice the shooting pain in my left leg, and cry out in pain. I begin to drag Evan out of the room, noticing the condition of his body. He had burns on his face and arms, and a nasty cut on his head that must've been the thing that knocked him unconscious.

I prop him up in a safe spot in the hallway, where fire had not or would not reach, then go back inside for his mother and father.

Wrapping my arms around his mother's torso, I almost throw up at the sight of her legs. They had been trapped under the table and bone was sticking out, mangled beyond recognition; she would be a cripple for the rest of her life.

When I finally come back for Evan's father, I do really throw up, as he had been impaled by flying glass. Glass punctured his face, leaving cuts all over, and probably left him blind. But that wasn't the most gruesome part.

Crimson blood dripped down his suit, coming from the spot where a large piece of glass almost beheaded him. I knew better than to check for a pulse, and instead made my way back into the hallway, coughing from the smoke.

I was becoming asphyxiated by the smoke, and I know I needed to get out of it as I had done for Evan and his mother.

But I couldn't without knowing Liam was okay first.

My senses had come back to me, and I could hear screams of fear and horror from the ballroom, yet they hadn't even got the worst of it.

Glass had scratched my arms and face, some deep enough to need stitches. I had burns all over my body that would leave nasty scars. Some of my dress had melted in with my skin, making me cry.

"Liam!" I cried out; part in pain, part in fear. I coughed again, smoke filling my lungs. "Liam! Liam please!"

Limping towards my room, hoping that's where he would be, I notice the smoke getting heavier. If I tried making it through I'd know I'd pass out.

But I'd have to try.

I make my way through the smoke, but when I reach the stairs I drop to my knees. I'd have to crawl the rest of the way up.

Getting on my hands and knees, I crawl up the stairs until I feel the soft carpet of my room.

"Liam," I cough, not able to speak anymore. Black was edging my vision, but when I see his body on the floor, I push past it, fighting the sleep that was urging me.