Prologue
"Fire! Fire!" my dreams, plagued by fears, seemed to scream. Scream to the heavens above. Yell to the horizon. Call to the world.
"Hah…!" I awoke with a gasp, coughing at the smell of smoke polluting the air.
"Fire!" the voice yelled once again. That voice…
"Dad!" I cried, running out the door towards my burning barn. He was drawing water from the well, only several feet away in a bucket, attempting to put out the rapidly growing fire. Changing course, I ran to the well and grabbed a second pail, filling it with water as well. We scurried back and forth, the fire decreasing in size but growing still.
Minutes later, some of our neighbors had gathered to help, awoken by the roaring flames. Forming a large chain from the well and back, as practiced many times before in other such situations, we sent buckets of water spraying over the fire. Finally, the last lick of flames had been stifled, abandoning the barn, now only smoldering ashes. Slowly, the neighbors trickled out, leaving with their mumbled apologies about our barn. We were left alone.
I broke the silence. "I need to check on Rishid and Isis. I need to know-" my voice cracked. "To know what happened." The baked soil crunched audibly beneath my feet as I rushed towards the barn. Stepping inside, I heard a loud crack. As if something were breaking…
"Get out of the way!" my father called, sounding worried as he leapt forwards and pushed me back out the charred opening, once the door. I stumbled and fell to the ground, looking up in time to see my father's body crushed by the roof, rotted out by time and fire.
Letting out a silent scream, my hands flew to my mouth. I ran to the broken barn, peeling the logs away from the figure that was my father.
"Dad?" I asked, even though I knew there would be no answer.
He was already gone.
CZR: "What is this? Have I returned with another story?"
Bakura: "Blasphemy!"
CZR: "Hush, you!"
Yuugi: "Clairissa doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh…"
CZR: "But if I did-"
Bakura: "It would make you very happy, we know!"
CZR: "I do own the plot, though… That's good, right…?"
Ryou: *Pats CZR* "Yups, that's a good thing. You don't have a co-writer this time!"
CZR: "Shuddup."
Yuugi: "R&R please!"
