Action

-*+ 28 +*-

{ - Oh-ho-ho guys, you're in for a shocking chapter! >:D - }

-= Bella =-

I buckled my seatbelt as Rosalie pulled out of the gravel driveway. The heat was on full blast and I felt the numbness fading from my nose, fingers, lips, and toes.

"Did you have fun?" Rosalie asked me, her eyes still focused on the road. She flicked on her high beams as the sun had fully set by now, the moon glistening in the dark sky.

"Yeah, I had a good time. The food was amazing," I replied, smiling at her. Her eyes flickered to me and she flashed me a bright smile before turning back to the road.

"I knew you'd like it. Edward and you seem to be getting closer. Any secrets?"

"Secrets? As in a relationship you don't know about?"

"More or less,"

"No... he doesn't like me like that. And besides, even if we were secretly dating, you know that you'd know."

"I'm honoured," she smirked at me.

I rolled my eyes as I turned the music from the radio up. It was playing Nothing On You on station 102.5, and I knew Rose liked this song.

She began to sing along as I gazed out the window, watching the blur of hundreds of trees lining the road flash by.

--=+=+=--

I'm not sure when I dozed off, but it didn't really matter because Rose basically dragged me into the house and dropped me on my bed, so I basically just fell back asleep anyway.

I was vaguely aware of Rose taking my shoes off and taking the pins out of my hair, but other than that, I was out like a light.

--=+=+=--

I shot up like a rocket as the fire alarms screeched loudly. Rose jumped out of bed from the other side of the room as we gazed at each other frantically.

"What's going on?!" She screamed over the alarm's loud squeals.

"I don't know!" I yelled back. I began to smell smoke and my eyes went wide.

"There's a fire!" I said, rushing to the bathroom attached to the room and grabbing two shower towels.

I threw one at Rose and I held mine over my mouth and nose as I felt the bedroom door.

It wasn't hot so I opened it and peered out into the hallway. Nothing but dark grey smoke floating in the air.

I walked out and looked down the stairs where red and orange light danced, reflecting off the walls.

"There's a big fire, Rose!" I announced, but it was muffled by the towel. She came to my side and her eyes grew as big as saucers.

She ran down the stairs.

"Rose! Get back here!" I screamed. She ignored me as she disappeared around the corner.

I glanced around anxiously before running down the stairs after her.

I nearly dropped my towel. All I saw was blazing flames. They swept along the floor, burned the walls. The wallpaper was peeling and curling into charred strips and fluttering to the floor where they continued to be set aflame.

"Rose?!" I screamed, but choked before I could finish. I gazed around, but I couldn't find her anywhere.

I stumbled through the burning house, sweat pouring down my body as the heat of the embers licked my flesh. I ignored the stinging of the many burns occurring on my skin as I continued to frantically look for Rosalie.

Suddenly my towel lit aflame before I could notice I had accidentally dipped it in a flame, and I had to drop it. My lungs were burning for clean air and my eyes stung, but I fought on. There was no way in hell I was going down without knowing if my best friend was okay.

I caught sight of her then - she was at the kitchen sink with our trashcan. She had taken the bag out and was filling the bin with tap water.

I tried to fumble over to her, but a large, ear-splitting crack echoed throughout the house as one of its supporting beams collapsed right in front of me.

Splinters scratched me as I called out to Rose. Her head whisked around towards me, her eyes filling with terror.

"Get out of here!" I screamed at her.

"No! No way, Bella!" she yelled, taking the bin and trying to run over to me.

"I'll be fine!" I screeched. I was being surrounded, but she didn't need to know that. She needed to be safe. "Get out!"

She hesitated before slashing everything near her with the water and then running out of the house.

I knew I should've called the fire department, but Rose and I kind of left our cells upstairs. Mental facepalm.

I choked on the smoke as the small amount of oxygen left available was being smothered and overtaken. I knew this was the end... I'm not magic, I can't teleport my way out of this one. I wish I could say goodbye to Edward, though.

The last words he spoke to me echoed in my mind. Be safe. Oh, Edward. I wish you knew that I can't be safe. Every person that hangs around me was a secondary danger magnet. I was just glad that I got Rose to save herself.

Spots filled my line of vision as my lungs begged for clean air, but there was none to have. I sat down in surrender as the flames danced evilly around me.

There was too much adrenaline for me to feel anything - I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. I supposed it could be good, I could kind of die peacefully. The last good feeling I had was with Edward before I left, and I could focus on that.

But feeling numb is a weird thing. You want to scream, or cry, or just feel something. But you can't. And it freaks me out.

So as the flames engulfed me, I couldn't even hear my own screams of agony, or feel the shredding pain albeit the fact that I was being burned alive.