Disclaimer: I don't own Monster Allergy

My hands clenched into fists, eyes fixed on the bloody mess before me. My eyes slowly drifted toward the raging fire, the heat burning my face. I shook from anger.

I faintly took notice of something wet running down my cheeks, but paid no attention to the little drops and the trails they left no heed, even as they fell and darkened the asphalt of the road.

'Damn! Damn, damn, damn! If only I hadn't left and we didn't have that damned fight!'

I dropped to my knees, holding something barely recognizable through the blood and matted hair. I could barely even see the bright ginger of her hair that I had always loved.

I hugged the bloody body to my chest, cradling her head in my hands, willing her to come back to me. She couldn't just leave me, could she?

As thought of our fight ran through my head, I grew angrier and angrier, the guilt expanding until I thought it would explode, destroying me from the inside out.

"Elena... Elena, no... You can't be dead..." The flow of tears quickened and the wet trails thickened. "I'm sorry, Elena... It was my fault... I should have been more careful so I wouldn't worry you..."

I gazed into the fire that had destroyed my home, my lover, and my life. I hated it with every fiber in my being.

I'm not sure how long I stayed like that, but after a while two men tried to take Elena away from me.

"No!" I exclaimed, tightening my grip on the body.

"Please sir, we're here to help." My grip slowly loosened and my hands fell back to my sides. I watched them take her away and put her in an ambulance. It drove away without a second of hesitation, sirens blaring.

Only then did I become aware of the other men around me, fighting to save my house.

My house. My wife. How dare they care about things that didn't belong to them! My house was already gone. Elena had stopped breathing at least ten minutes ago. There was no hope of saving anything.

I lay there on the street, my cheek pressing against the rough ground. My eyes fluttered shut.

Only after my chest stopped moving and my heart slowed to a halt did I realize what was happening.

I then knew I had inhaled too much of the black smoke that hung like a dark curtain around the burning house.

It would be the last time I ever closed my eyes.


Attempting a first-person story after a long break.