New York, September 21, 1776
Shouts rang out and the sky soon was ablaze. Houses burning, windows breaking, the street was filled with screaming people. The fire seemed to jump from house to house, one street fine for a second and the next it was engulfed in flames. I was abruptly awoken by the smell of smoke and screams worse than anything I had ever heard. I threw open my door in a swift motion only to see the stairwell engulfed in flames and it traveling down the hallway to greet me. I had to get out of the house now! This was no time to panic, but unfortunately my room was on the second floor. My room grew brighter as the fire spread further down the hall, racing towards my room. I ran over to the window and threw it open. Thank God for the pile of laundry under my window, but that still wasn't going to protect me from breaking something.
Stop thinking Lana, and just jump!
I hopped up onto the sill, and leapt out of the burning house. The ground approached fast and I braced myself for the impact. Thankfully, when I landed, the wind was only knocked out of me once I hit the pile of clothes. I took a deep breath and got to my feet. I began sprinting for the street, the cool grass under my bare feet. Shouts continued to ring throughout the air, and I felt as if they would permanently be present in my mind. I finally reached the street; the dirt was flying in all directions from people scrambling for safety. I was suddenly pushed out of the way by a small portion of Red Coats that came marching through. That caught the attention of some of the people and they soon came rushing towards the Red Coats and began shouting,
"Lobsters!" "Here is the cause of the fire!" "The Lobsters started this madness!"
Soon enough fighting broke out between the small group of Patriots and the Red Coats, this wasn't uncommon, but since New York was part of the Crown's territory, like a few other northern colonies, riots weren't seen on a daily basis. I picked myself up off the ground, dusted off my skirt, and began running in the opposite direction, towards safety.
Finally, when my legs would carry me no further and my lungs burned, I stopped to catch my breath. Although I was tired, I was safe; this part of town hadn't been touched by the fire. I began to breathe normally, but I was suddenly hit with a thought that made my breath catch in my throat. Where was my family?