Girl on Fire

Clothes littered the ground, ripped off hangers or dropped in piles like mounds on a battleground. A shoe, worn out and foreign rested lonely near the doorway, left behind. Abandoned. Shards of glass decorated the floor, strangely beautiful and glimmering in the flickering lights, contrasting harshly with the surrounding messes. Glimmering in light that was all too fluorescent. Indecently so. Shining too brightly when a mask of darkness would have been a much kinder gift.

She forced her eyes open.

Her head throbbed harshly from the onslaught of light.

She shut them quickly, again, taking a deep breath.

Faint music drifted onto the scene. The shopping centre’s soundtrack still playing on, the only sound breaking through deafening silence.

Pushing through the pain in her skull, she tried her eyes once more. She attempted to lift herself off the floor but felt her leg wedged under something heavy. The aching spread from her skull to the rest of her body, as if it had only just realized the extent of her injuries. She gasped from the unwelcome assault on her senses, as everything grew blurry around her. No, she thought to herself. Breathe.

The air smelt dirty, like the suffocating stench of a nightclub on a Sunday morning. The smell of sweat. But the bitter, coppery smell of blood lifted from the fumes. Brand new clothes, tags attached, soiled now with drops of maroon forming new, sinister patterns on the fabric. And one thought rang through her head, before she lost her fight against consciousness and darkness overtook her.

Lilith had struck again.

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She woke from her dream, the memory of it still causing her body to shake uncontrollably. It had been three years since that night. Three years since those strange occurrences on the news had developed into attacks, slaughters, a new and terrifying world.

Three years since her own friends began looking at her with fear in their eyes.

Flaming hair that was once a source of fascination quickly became a token of fear, a bright sign of her demonic origins. Of her connection to Lilith.

The same force responsible for so much pain ran in her blood and for that, she became an outsider in her own inner circle. Just another monster.

A faint rustling outside the cave broke through her thoughts. He was awake. They hadn’t spoken since the near escape the night before. She didn’t need to admit it, it was clear she was annoyed at him.

All he had said when they returned to their hideout was ‘thank you’ before walking away. Thank you. No explanation. No ‘sorry you almost died for my stupid necklace.’ Just thank you.

He had taken the heart-shaped locket and disappeared on one of his walks, while she sat around the fire wondering why she had ever followed him out of her house that night. What on this demon-infested earth had possessed her to come on this stupid, deathly mission?

His eyes flashed across the screen of her mind. Filled with hope.

Hope.

It was why she had listened, it was why she had followed all those weeks ago. It was the first time she had seen it in someone’s eyes in a long time. It had reminded her it still existed. It had reminded her she had misplaced hers.

Another rustle. Her flaming hair flared at the noise and she stormed out of the cave to meet him.

His eyes widened at her sudden presence in front of him, mouth open ready to speak but she didn’t give him the chance, reaching for the chain around his neck –

“I risked my life to save this damn thing… So the least you could do is tell me what it is.”

But nothing could have prepared her for the two words that followed:

“It’s her.”

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It was as if a cold bucket of water had been thrown over her fire. Stunned, she took a seat on a nearby log, staring at him till he spoke again.

“She was a witch,” he murmured, then catching himself, “Is. Is a witch.”

“The day our town was overrun by Lilith, she was home. I guess she knew any chance of escape was futile, even with her powers… so she did a spell. We had spoken about it in passing. I’m not sure either of us ever thought it would actually be necessary. Or maybe she did… Maybe I just didn’t want to believe it.”

He paused. Prae still hadn’t spoken a word. She noticed the way his eyes had glazed over and she wasn’t sure he even remembered she was there. She wasn’t sure he even remembered HE was there. It was as if some part of him had disappeared back to that day, back somewhere else.

She got up and went to sit beside him. He looked at her, his consciousness returning to their conversation.

“She got into our bed that afternoon and completed the ritual, transferring her essence into that locket. By the time they reached our home… When they found her, she just looked… asleep.”

He sighed.

“So they took her body. But that’s all they took. It’s empty.”

“It’s empty,” she repeated.

“Yes.”

“And she’s here,” gesturing to the chain around his neck.

He nodded slowly, noticing the flames around her face beginning to flare.

“And you didn’t think it was important to tell me that the woman we have been looking for – the woman we have been trying to save – the woman I LEFT MY FAMILY TO HELP YOU TRACK DOWN – IS HERE WITH US?”

She could feel the fire in her blood, was faintly aware of it swarming around her head.

“I know. I’m sorry, I should have told you.”

All the anger she was feeling deflated at his dejected voice. There was so much sadness seeping through the undertones. So much grief emanating off him.

“Yes. You should have.”

She moved closer and put her hand on his. He stiffened but didn’t move.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.

“I’m not sure… That was the first time I said it aloud. I don’t think it’s really hit me yet.”

“That she’s in there?”

“That she’s gone.”

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She walked back into the cave, every inch of her shivering. She wasn’t cold, the fire streaming out of her ensured that. She was scared. Terrified, more accurately.

And for the first time, it had nothing to do with the demons they were chasing.

And everything to do with how she was feeling about that man sitting by the fire.

A man who was looking into those flames – and thinking of somebody else.