Everyone Dies

On the ground laid a NERF N-Strike Modulus ECS-10 Blaster. Shoes were littered by the door. A guitar and violin leaned against the living room wall and a coat racket was just next to the guitar and violin. In the hallway wall where it connects to the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen and dining room a picture frame was nailed against the wall. In the picture frame there was a group of boys and a man. The television switched to another channel. “Breaking news. The neighboring countries have declared war on each other-”

“Tommy!Tommy,wakeup!”Roughshakingbroughthimtoconsciousness.

“Wha-what?” His eyes were closed, he couldn’t see the panic and fear in William’s eyes.

“The building is on fire! We need to leave now!”

His eyes shot open and he turned his body to face William.Anastysmellhithisnose.Williamgrabbedhisupperarmandpulledhimoutofbed.

“I got Tommy! Let’s go now!” His family members had their shoes on. “He needs shoes Willam!” David shouted in panic; his dark brown eyes reflected the red blazing flames.

“I’ll get them!” Phillip ran behind William to get Tommy´s shoes. Phillip came back and dropped on his knees to put Tommy’s shoes on. One by one the shoes went on. “Okay, let’s go now!”

They all ran through the hallway. Phillip was first, second was David, Tommy was third, andlastlywasWilliam.Tommyletoutagaspwhenhewassuddenlypulleddowntotheground. A scream left William’s mouth. They all looked back to see why William screamed. He was stuck under a burning pile of fallen ceiling. TheheatwassowarmthatitstartedtoburnTommy.

“William!” David rushed to get to William. William reached his free arm and David took hold of him. William was pulled out of burning debris. William’s left arm was burned so bad that you could see the flesh hidden underneath all of that skin. Phillip’s hand snatched Tommy’s hand.

Blue eyes came forward to look at the living room. Black smoke was all over the air, the glow of red, orange and yellow illuminated the room. But a dark sky hinted with orange caught Tommy’s attention. A window that is a good square to fit anyone through to leave through a fire escape. Tommy pulled himself free of the hold on him, he ran to the window with his arms outstretched. He gave a choked out sound when the back of his shirt was pulled. A blazing debris fell right before him, right in front of the window.

“Tommy!” David yelled at him. “We have to go through the front door!” The front door was just in the living room. Phillip tried to open the door, but he burned his hands on the metal doorknob.

“Urgh!” Phillip held his hand and backed up. David pushed past Phillip, he began to kick at the door but it wouldn’t budge.

“David stop!” David didn’t listen to William’s words. “David stop!” A serious tone made him come to a stop. His shoulders sagged down and shook.

Phillip came up to David and pulled him in his arms. David curled up in his embrace. Soft muffled cries left David. But that comforting embrace had to be interrupted when another part of the ceiling fell down. Phillip pushed his kids behind him until they were in the middle of the room. The fire was now at the front door where they tried to escape from.

Phillip was the closest one to the fire since he made his sons go behind him so they wouldn’t get burned. Phillip sat down on the right side with the fire, David was just on Phillip’s left, Tommy was in the middle, and William was on Tommy’s right. “It’s okay boys. The firemen will come and get us. Just hold on.” The air was much clearer when they were on the ground.

What if they don’t come in time is all Tommy can think. It was just in an hour did everyone notice that Phillip is slumped over. “Dad?” David nudged Phillip. He didn’t respond. David went into another crying fit and hugged Phillip’s dead body. David would sniffle and gasp in the smoke. It wasn’t until nine minutes later David joined the same fate Phillip did.

“They died of smoke inhalation Tommy.” William was sweating and in so much pain. The oxygen felt like it was leaving the room. Tommy looked up at him and watched as William was breathing differently as if he was trying to get oxygen. He suddenly laid on the ground in front of Tommy’s feet. His chest rose up and down shallowly before they stopped.

Tommy was next, he just knew he was next. He can’t be next; he won’t be next. Light blue eyes illuminated with fiery red, looked around the room. Black couches, carpeted floors, a blocked window, fire coming closer, and vision is now blurry. Tears trickled down his cheeks. His breath started to become small and quick. His hands clenched into fists only to come to his chest. He looked in front of him to see a black TV. His eyes slammed shut and curled his body in when he felt the heat come closer. He can’t deal with this. He can’t go. “No.”

The warmth of the sunlight radiated down on his pale skin. His light blue eyes shone in the sunlight. He looked around, an old school TV with antennas placed on a fireplace with nothing in there to start a fire. Two small clear windows on the sides of the fireplace are parallel to the ones in front of them, two square windows are across from each other, and a black couch Tommy is sitting on. He got up on his feet and walked to one of the square windows. Outside was all blue, there was no sun, and many clouds drifted around. A static sound got his attention, Tommy walked to the TV that had static on the screen only to turn off when he looked at it.

“Hello Tommy.” He jumped back when a woman dressed in a baggy white dress that covered almost all of her body except her neck, head and hands. Her hair is dark brown and so are her eyes. Her skin is beige and her lips were medium colored. White wings are behind her back.

“Who the heck are you?!” Tommy said with an attitude to the strange woman.

She only offered a smile to him. “I have many things to show you.”

The TV turned on. A picture of a family was hung on a wall. In that picture green, yellow, pink, and red sweaters so familiar to Tommy that he knew who it was. His dad, thirty-five, was in the middle, his long blonde hair was up in a ponytail and blue eyes gleamed in the light, William, sixteen, dressed in yellow, dark brown hair and eyes were noticeable in the light, was behind Phillip, David, sixteen, dressed in pink had his long dark brown hair in a braid and his dark brown eyes looked at the camera´s light, and there was Tommy, in his red sweater was on his father’s left side.

“Why are you showing me this?” Tommy nervously chuckled.

“Just continue to watch,” she told him.

Small flames were flickering at the bottom of the screen before they flared up and began to burn the picture. Fire and black smoke surrounded a family. A slumped over Phillip, leaned against the wall with his head down, is right next to the fire, David laid limp against Phillip’s left side, William was on his side on the carpeted ground. They all had black ashes on them but the only one with bad burns was William.

Then the screen zoomed in on a scared Tommy. His skin had black ashes too but he was the only one alive. His face had beads of sweat dripping and tears trailed down his face. His eyes looked around frantically to get out but there was nowhere to go. Tommy’s arms came up to his stomach. He hugged himself into a small ball to curl up in, eyelids squeezed shut, then the very same room he was in right now showed on the screen.

It was silent for a while before the angel spoke up. “You can’t run away from death you know?”

“I am not running away! I am just…” Tommy didn’t know what he was going to do now. He tried to escape his death but where else can he go now? Anger only filled the boy. “Why are you here?!”

She moved to a window. “Angels don’t exist on Earth, Tommy.”

The sunlight that was once there was now blocked by black clouds like the ones in the TV. A huge fire started in the fireplace. There was nothing to start it but somehow a fire started.

“Stop this!” Tommy hurriedly backed up until the back of his knees touched the couch.

“YouneedtoletgoTommy.Youwillbesafe.”

He can’t let go. He was scared of death. How could a twelve year old boy let go? The fire was rapid, black smoke invaded the rectangular room; it didn’t go out through the windows. Everything in front of him was burning up. However the flames never touched the angel. “Stop! Please! I’m scared!” Tears trickled down his cheeks. Fear took hold of his soul. The fire was now closer to him to the point he had to jump on the couch to stay alive. The angel held a sad frown now. “Dad! Willy! David!” he cried out for his dead family.

The fire was now licking the front of his Converses. His eyes slammed shut again. He needs to imagine being somewhere else. Somewhere better than here. A hand touched his cheeks and rubbed the tears away. The touch felt very comforting. It was familiar. Familiarity is safe.

He jumped onto the angel and hugged her very tightly as if he was a toddler.

“Let’s go home.”

There was nowhere to go besides home, so he nodded his head to agree with her. It was painful to go, it was so real it burns.

The smoke was dark as rubble and glass surrounded the air. In the background sounds of screaming, crying, bombs, and guns filled the town. Beneath the fallen fire building, is a boy. He lays there under the fire. His half closed eyes looked up in a glaze. A white light beam shone down on him. His breaths came in small and shallow. An Angel came from that very light. She reached down to pick the boy through the rubble. A woman held her child in her arms. “Let’s go home,  Toms.” That light soon became big as everything turned white.