Housefire

Chapter One

The little girl huddled in the corner, surrounded by fire. Her parents were nowhere to be found; the last she had seen of them was in the library upstairs. She feared the worst but held on to the tiny little light of hope.

"Help!" she tried to scream, but her voice was too hoarse. A loud creaking came from upstairs, and a wooden board came loose. It fell on her head and the world went black.

1 MONTH LATER

Ellie. Ellie. "Ellie? Honey, it's Nana." The frightened girl, about the age of ten, sat up. She found herself in a hospital bed.

"Wh-where a-are my m-mom and d-dad?" she managed to stutter out. A tear slipped down Nana's face.

"They passed away in the fire. Your dad died inside the house, but your mother was alive; in critical condition of course, but alive. So they brought mommy to the hospital to help her, but...it wasn't enough. She passed away about two weeks ago."

Ellie broke down into sobs. Tears streamed down her face--so many that there was a small puddle on her hospital gown. Both of her parents were...gone. The ones she'd known and loved her entire childhood. She would never see them again, not in this life. And worse, there had been someone that was responsible. But Ellie didn't know about that yet. What she did want  to know is why her mother died two weeks ago and she wasn't awake to say goodbye.

"Wait...how long have I been asleep?" the girl asked. Her name was indeed Ellie, as you heard her grandmother calling her.

"About a month (in a coma)," Nana replied.

"A MONTH?" she wheezed. Pain shot throughout her chest and into her shoulder like a bullet. Her lungs were severely damaged in the fire, the doctors said.

"You took in a lot of smoke, my dear. It's a miracle that you're alive right now. So don't try and push any words out. Can I ask you a very small favor?" the nurse inquired. Ellie nodded.

"I need you to write down everything you can remember about the night of the fire. Where you were, where your parents were last seen, who set the fire, etc. Can you do that for me, sweetie?" she asked. Once again, Ellie nodded.

My account of the fire won't be much for you. I remember being in the library with both my parents that night. We were reading a book called  Escape the Estate. My mouth went really dry all of a sudden, so I ran downstairs to get some water. That's when I saw the fire. Before I knew it, the fire was on the stairs. I couldn't get to my parents, and my head was spinning. I thought I saw a shadow outside, but at the time I didn't think it could be a person. So I sat there, hiding away in the corner, knowing I would probably never see my parents again. And then I heard a wooden board break. My head went black, and I don't remember anything else.

Signed, Ellie Keyes.

Ellie was about to get up and leave when the nurse came back in.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Ellie, but you're not going anywhere on my watch. We need to keep you here in the hospital until you are all better," the nurse explained.

Ellie sighed. "How long will that be? A week or two? A month?"

"About a year or so."

Ellie's eyes widened greatly. What was she going to do that entire time? And better yet--what had happened to her that was causing them to keep her on bed rest for a whole year?

At that moment, a couple of doctors came in and handed Ellie's x-rays to the nurse. Then one whispered something in her ear. She nodded and walked back over to her patient's bed. The x-rays were then handed to Nana, who looked over them with quite shock. Ellie peeked over the edge to take a look at the damage.

But it was more than she expected. Her lungs were completely blackened. There was no sign of health or life anywhere in her lungs. Which then made her realize that she shouldn't be able to breathe on her own (she was quite smart for her age). She'd need oxygen. And yet, here she was, breathing just fine.

Nana was discussing the pictures with the nurse, who was wondering the same thing as Ellie.

"It's a miracle child," the nurse was saying.

"That's not possible," Nana countered. They went back and forth until they decided to leave the matter alone. The fact is, neither of them were right. Ellie wasn't a miracle child. But she wasn't an ordinary child either. She was something tougher than those labels. Ellie was a lacean.

Now, I'm sure you're all wondering what in the world a lacean is. Laceans are gentle creatures. They are indeed human on the outside. But on the inside, they have several abilities that humans do not. For instance, they can survive in extreme temperatures (cold or hot), which is why Ellie survived the fire. Other abilities include high intelligence, lighting-fast reflexes, and the ability to vanish when needed.

Not that Ellie knew about any of this yet. Not even her parents knew. That's why the nurse and Nana are still standing there arguing about what Ellie is.

"Please stop. This isn't worth a fight. I don't need to lose my Nana, too." The nurse turned to look at Ellie. Then at Nana. Then back to Ellie. She nodded and walked away with a scowl on her face.

"Ah, hospital nurses. Never too nice, eh?" Nana nudged. Ellie pulled away. She happened to think otherwise. All of her experiences in the hospital or at the doctors had been very welcoming and caring.

"Nana, before I passed out, I saw a shadow. What do you think it was?" Ellie asked in her slight accent.

"I don't know sweetie, but I think that's for you to find out. Now get some rest. Maybe it'll come to you in your dreams." With that, Nana left the room.

Ellie slowly shut her eyes and nodded off to sleep.

Hello readers! I know there's not many of you, but thank you to those who are reading my story. It is much appreciated! A lot of hard work went into this, and I hope that you keep reading. What (or who) do you think Ellie saw before she passed out? Was it the culprit? Or was it just a harmless animal? Find out in the next chapter of Housefire.

Thanks again for reading <3

Chapter word count: 1108 words