by Jamie Ott
Chapter 5
It was a quieter dinner that evening. For once, everyone had hardly anything to say. Then, out of the blue, and breaking the silence, Mot asked, “What will happen, if they cannot kill all the vampires?”
Starr stopped with her fork midair. Mica, Marla and Shane looked at each other, and then they all looked at Starr. The others stared at her, too.
“Why’s everyone looking at me? How should I know?”
“Well, you’re working with them, aren’t you?” asked Mot.
“No, I’m not, despite the impression you’ve gotten.”
They all continued looking at her, as she took her bite and chewed.
Finally, she said with irritation, “It’s not going to happen. Everything is going to be fine. These vampires are as dumb as dogs. It’ll be like killing rodents, easy and quick.”
“Yeah, but even rodents escape. There’s always one that gets away and starts and infestation elsewhere,” Becky replied.
They turned back to their plates, in brooding silence.
“Come on, guys,” said Misaki. “Cheer up!”
“The world is on the brink of being over, so I’m sorry if I don’t feel like making jokes,” said Lucas.
“Ja!” said Mot, in Danish. “When I came to this country, I thought I was safe, but now…” he trailed off.
After dinner, Starr couldn’t wait to return to the quiet of her room. Everyone’s mood was affecting her, making her feel even worse. What did they expect of her? She wasn’t God. They were safe, warm, fed. Couldn’t they stop complaining?
Despite everything, that night she had no trouble slipping off into a deep sleep. She dreamt of running down a hallway so fast that she’d crossed half the world in less than an hour. She was strong and invincible, once more. The dream made her happy.
She wasn’t down long before a funny smell tickled her nose. Sleepily, she raised her hand and mushed it, trying to relieve it. Starr rolled over onto her side and took a deep breath. Then she hacked loudly.
A taste of something foul masked her tongue and throat. Both which burned and scratched when she took another breath. She opened her eyes and immediately closed them again. The air burned and stung them, too.
She reached over and turned on the lamp.
Through squints, she saw the grey cloud hanging on the ceiling.
Quickly, she got out of bed and put her shoes on.
“Starr,” Marla called to her through the door.
“I know,” she said and opened up to find her in the hallway. “I can smell it.”
She and Marla went to each of the kids’ rooms, woke them and told them to put on their shoes and jackets on.
Starr waited in the hallway to make sure that no one was left behind.
Misty, Kay, Becky, Danny ran through the hall and downstairs, followed by Lucas, Mot and Misaki.
Starr ran down after them.
At the bottom of the stairs, all the kids were crowded about, talking in a panic.
Immediately, Starr noticed the temperature increase coming from both the kitchen and the living room. Through all the windows, Starr saw orange flames highlight their frames.
“We can’t get out!” yelled Misty. “The door is too hot, and the back is on fire too.”
“Can’t we bust through the wall?” asked Danny.
“How the hell are we gonna do that?” replied Misaki.
“Where’s Marla, Mica and Shane?” asked Starr.
“We’re here!” said Shane. They ran down the stairs. “The entire house is encircled in flames.”
“We didn’t want to panic everyone, so we went to look for other possible escape points,” added Mica.
“And?”
They didn’t respond.
“We have to jump through a window,” said Mot. “It’s only one story.”
“So we escape fire for broken limbs?” asked Becky.
“At least we’ll be alive,” shouted Lucas, who darted up the stairs, followed by the rest of them.
Quickly, Starr looked around, trying to get any ideas on how to make their falls easier.
Then, eyeing the couch, she wondered if she had enough strength to lift it. She ran over and picked it up and carried it up the stairs.
“Get out of the way!” shouted Starr.
Quickly, they cleared the landing so she could drag the couch into the closest room. Then she slammed it into the window, taking out half the wall and leaving an enormous gaping hole. Then she carefully dropped the couch down onto the lawn.
She slid the bed over to the hole, and then motion for Marla, Mica and Shane to come closer.
“Okay, you guys jump first; then reposition the couch. I’ll help throw the kids onto the couch. You guys position yourselves around the couch, so that you can catch them if they miss.”
Even as they leapt out of the hole, the flames licked higher and higher, she could feel the heat on her skin.
She watched as they moved the couch just so. Marla stood in front of the couch, Mica stood behind it, and Shane signaled that they were ready.
Starr turned and motioned the kids to come quickly. First up was Misty, whom Starr picked up and gently tossed her 60 pound frame right onto the couch. Misty bounced off and painfully onto the ground, but she got up and was totally fine.
Next was Lucas, Kay, and Becky; all who Starr gently guided out of the hole, so that they’d fall perfectly.
Lastly, Danny, Mot, and Misaki made perfect leaps on their own.
Then, just as Starr was about to jump, herself, someone said her name.
Thinking she’d forgotten someone, she turned around.
“Starr,” said the voice again.
She walked out into the hall.
Bielz was standing there with a large blow torch in her hand. Immediately, she sent a jet of flame right at her.
Starr’s reflexes were still quick, for she hit the floor instantly, and then rolled over just as Bielz lowered the torch.
Briefly, she considered leaping out of the window and leaving her behind to die, but her conscience kept her planted where she was.
Bielz sent another jet of flame, and Starr bounced to the left side of the hall and said, “Listen, Bielz, we have to go; otherwise, we’ll both die.”
Suddenly, the whole hallway was brighter and hotter. Bits of the ceiling fell down as the stucco melted off.
“Bielz,” she tried once more, but she just sent another jet of flames.
“You’re evil! You all should die!” she screamed.
Starr ran at her, in an attempt to disarm her.
The next thing she knew, she lay face down, covered in hot rubble. The landing had collapsed.
She tried to rise but couldn’t
The heat was killing her; her skin felt like it was melting.
Get UP! She shouted at herself, but she couldn’t.
Her head hurt so badly and she was numb from the neck down. The fall must have reinjured her, for her limbs would not obey her commands.
She was going to die, she realized. There was no way that anyone could save her, now. But at least the others were alright, and that was all she cared about.
The pain in her head started to dull.
She felt sleepy, and she was glad. Maybe it was better to fall asleep than to feel the pain of being burnt alive. So she closed her eyes and allowed the heat to take her away into unconsciousness.
Into the Darkness