Blaze of Glory.
PikaDarkness
Chapter 1
The Fire.
Waking up, Emma Hardy who was seven years old, thought it was going to be a very good day. Throwing the Pikachu blankets off her, she ran to see if her parents were awake. It was early, around 6am. Her mother, Andrea, nor Jeff, her father, were awake.
Today was a very special day. Mothers day. Andrea had specifically told Emma not to use the toaster because last year she set fire to the curtains. She walked to her parents room, quietly she opened the door trying not to make any noise. Emma then bounded on the bed waking up her parents who were startled at the abrupt pull from their sleep.
Emma looked at Andrea. "Happy mothers day!" She cried Andrea hugged her.
"Thanks sweetie" Andrea thought she was the luckiest mother in the world.
Releasing her mother, Emma turned to Jeff. "Morning daddy" she said, leaping into Jeff's arms.
"Hey hey princess, what cha doing up this early?" Jeff inquired. Emma smiled.
"It's mothers day dad! You didn't forget did you?"
Jeff cringed. "N-no sweetie I didn't." He then spoke in an undertone to Andrea. "I have to call mum today oh goodie!"
Andrea laughed. "Its not going to kill you Jeff!" Emma was looking oddly at her parents. They noticed and laughed.
"What's the matter?" Jeff asked Emma shrugged.
"Come on lets get breakfast" Andrea said, Jeff picked Emma up and they walked out of the bedroom.
Jeff left for work two hours later. He had a weird feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong, but he pushed aside that thought. After all what bad things would happen?
Entering the toy company, Jeff was immediately called over by his boss, Michael a red-headed easily angered man. Jeff wished dearly that he could punch him out and still keep his job.
"Hardy!" Michael shouted. Jeff groaned and walked to Michaels office.
"Yes sir?" Jeff looked him dead in the eye, but his voice was a mutter. Michael didn't look happy with him.
"I have been getting calls of complaint!" Michael got up and poked Jeff hard in the chest. "All because of that Pikachu plushie you made!"
"I made? I wasn't in control of the machine that made them" Jeff had had enough. "That was Adrian's doing!"
Adrian was Michaels son, Michael wouldn't hear a word against anything bad said about him.
"You will shut your mouth before I have you fired!"
Jeff would have gladly quit on the spot, but his wife and child entered his mind and he refrained from doing so.
"Yes sir" Jeff said in angry tones.
"Out of my office Hardy! Now!"
Jeff turned and stormed out of the room. Adrian was getting a soda from the vending machine when Jeff pinned him against it.
"Why'd ya say it was me huh? I never made those Pikachu plushies! You were in control of the machine you sick lying bastard!"
Adrian grinned. "You have everything I want, a wife a child"
"So this was an act of jealousy?! Is that it? Your trying to get me fired over my family are you crazy?"
"Pretty much!"
"Why you…." Jeff went to hit Adrian when the boss's voice rang out.
"Let go of my son Hardy before I have you forcibly removed from the building!"
Jeff released Adrian hands raised above his shoulders, he walked to his office and slammed the door.
Sitting down at his desk, anger builded within him, so he slammed the desk with his fist. There came a smashing sound, getting up and walking around the desk, Jeff realised it was a picture of himself Andrea and Emma. Jeff pulled the picture out of it's broken frame and smiled at it.
Wonder what they'd say if they saw me like this, not standing up for myself and allowing the son's of bitches to push me around Jeff thought despondently. He sighed and placed the picture on the table and walked out of the room.
Jeff was packing up his things ready to go home when there was a pounding on his door.
"Come in!" Jeff lazily said.
His workmate Sam Kingston, blasted through the door with a sorrowful expression on his face.
"Jeff haven't you heard?" Sam asked with sadness etched in his words. Jeff shook his head.
"What are you talking about?" Jeff asked confused.
"Y-your house is on fire, Andrea and Emma are trapped inside it."
Jeff's heart plummeted. "No…. NO!" he shouted, falling to his knees.
"You have to get there…. Come on" Sam held out a sympathetic hand to pull Jeff back up, Jeff accepted his hand and was roughly pulled to his feet.
Jeff rushed to his desk and picked up the picture of his family, and rushed out the door.
"Where do you think your going Hardy?!" Michael shouted.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU SLIMY OLD BASTARD!" Jeff screamed, running out the front door, Michael went the colour of beetroot.
Jeff sped home going twenty over the limit, and he saw it. Swerving into park, he jumped out of the car.
"Sir may I ask why you are here?" A fire fighter asked.
"T-this is my house… where's my wife and child?" Jeff felt tears slid down his cheeks.
"Your wife is…. dead I am afraid" There was sorrow in his words. Jeff started to sob now.
"And my daughter, where's my daughter?" Jeff was pleading with the fire fighter to tell him.
"In that ambulance right over there, she has a few minor burns but she's very much alive."
Jeff was shocked, but he tore to the ambulance the fire fighter indicated. Emma was indeed there, crying for her father, she knew her mother was gone.
Jeff rushed up to her and Emma immediately hugged him.
"Thank god… thank god." Jeff whispered, silently crying. He had never been so scared or sad in his life.
Emma felt her father's body tremble, she detached herself from him, and gasped at his tear-strewn face.
"Daddy don't cry…" she whispered. That didn't help, it only made things worse, he cried more audibly and heavily now.
"Sir…" Jeff looked up, a paramedic was looking at him with a melancholy expression. "We don't really need to take your daughter to hospital, but it is a good idea to get her away from here."
Jeff nodded and picked up Emma.
"Come on we've got to go." he said, Emma was becoming drowsy, and she fell asleep in Jeff's arms as he carried her to the car.
Jeff didn't know where to go, he had no home, no clothes except for the ones he had on his back, neither did Emma, no food. Everything was destroyed.
That word sent chills down his spine. Jeff looked at his daughter, and smiled when he saw her sleeping peacefully.
Don't worry Emma I'll get us through this, I'll supply you with everything you need, I'll be both father and mother to ya…. We'll pull through, you'll see.
Jeff decided that his parents house would be the best option. Jeff pulled the car over and pulled out his phone.
Ringing his parents at 10.00pm when they normally went to bed two hours before, Jeff knew they were going to be mad.
"Hello?" answered Jeff's mother Danielle, she sounded disgruntled.
"Mum?"
"Jeffrey do you have any idea what time it is?!" Danielle practically shouted at him.
"Mum…" Jeff started but Danielle interjected.
"Of all the times to call you choose now!"
"Mum!" Jeff shouted, cringing when Emma jerked in her sleep.
"What?"
"T-the house burned down…. Andrea's dead…. Emma's alright…." Danielle gasped.
"Well you two get over hear right now! You hear me young man? Now!" Danielle ordered, she always got protective when something bad happened.
In the background he heard his father, Jerry, called. "Who is it?"
"It's Jeff dear!" Danielle called back. They then broke out in a squabble, having a few words. And they were swear words at that.
"Jeff I'll set up the guest room, ready for you two when you get here. Bye!"
"Bye mum…"
"Take care of yourself."
"I will"
And with that they hung up. Jeff had to force tears back, he was still distressed over the whole ordeal.
Snapping out of it he restarted the car and drove to Viridian City. When he arrived at his parents house the lights were on and Danielle and Jerry were out the front looking worried.
Jeff got out of the car went around to the passenger side and picked Emma up. He carried her so far as the gate when she woke up. Jeff placed her on her feet.
Danielle was careening towards them, she flung her arms around her son and kissed his cheek.
"Are you hurt? Are you ok?" Danielle asked frantically.
"I'm fine, I wasn't in the fire, I got word of the fire from a friend, Emma and …." He couldn't say Andrea's name. "They were in the fire."
Danielle bent down and scooped Emma up. "Poor child, she's been through enough today… and on mother's day. Poor thing…. Come in come in, your welcome to stay as long as you need to."
Danielle led Jeff across the garden to the familiar patio. Jerry shook Jeff's hand once he reached him, then pulled Jeff into a hug Jeff buried his head into his father's shoulder. Jerry knew his son was crying because he felt his body shake.
"Shh shh" Jerry soothed, rubbing Jeff's back reassuringly. They remained like this for a full minute before Jeff pulled out of the hug, his face wet from tears.
"I-I don't know what I'm going to do.." Jeff said in a choked up voice. "I have to look after a child and somehow work for to earn a living… I'm a single parent now… what the hell am I going to do dad?" Jeff asked.
"Well, son, you have me and your mother. We're going to be here to help you get back on your feet.. don't forget that."
"I wont."
Suddenly Emma started to cry from inside. And Danielle's voice rang out.
"Jeff I think your daughter's scared of the house, or maybe me"
Jeff chuckled. "Are you sitting in the dark?" Jeff asked.
"It's not that dark! The hall lights on!" Danielle called back.
"She's afraid of the dark, no matter if there's a light on nearby she's still frightened." And with that Jeff and Jerry walked inside and closed the door, and trying to settle down Emma, who had a MASSIVE fear of darkness.
TO BE CONTINUED….
Ok this was a bit of a challenge to write, because I grew up with no parents and I'm not sure of how Emma should act around hers. Next chapter will be Ash and Delia.
Keep reading! (:
PikaDarkness.
