Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my OCs and the plot.

It all happened so fast.

The fire, the deaths, the shrieks of terror; its all a jumble of hazy flashes of memories that I can barely grasp. Actually, I doubt anyone who witnessed that night can fully recall it or even forget what they remember.

All of my memories of that night are clouded with smoke; the very smoke that took my mother from me. I remember that night. Pieces of it, but I still remember. I remember…

…The scent of smoke pouring under my doorway…

…The bright, almost blinding, light that caused me to cover my face with my forearms…

…The burning wall of hot air and flames that greeted me…

…My shriek of pure terror and surprise…

…Dodging the angry, spitting flames as they tried to consume me…

…My strangled pleas for help as the smoke choked me…

…Men in bulky yellow suits coming towards me as my vision faded…

…Three words, "You'll be alright"…

From what I heard on the news that was playing on the TV in my hospital bed when I woke, everyone within a 5-mile radius had come to help stop the fire.

Fire.

That single word once upon a time meant nothing to me. Now, it is the very word that symbolizes the night my world came to a screeching halt. And God, how I hate that word with every fiber of my being.

The fire was purposely set, the intent was to kill or at the very least cause serious property damage. Both were accomplished. That night, my mother, my home, and whatever hope I possessed had perished in eternal flames.

Now, all that remains of that tragic night are the burn marks that adorn my arms and legs. One in particular, located in the middle of back, seems to have taken the shape of a beautiful bird. A nurse told it me, "Why, it must be the Phoenix!"

She told me that at the end of its life span, the phoenix burns itself at the stake, and a new phoenix is born from the ashes. The new phoenix is said to live as long as the old one and phoenixes are said to be able to regenerate when hurt or wounded by a foe. Thus, these birds are virtually immortal and invincible.

What else is left for me? I have never known a life outside of Ellsworth, Nevada. But now, now I'm being sent to a foster home. After all, I am an orphan. My father died before I was born, and my mother had newly perished.

I am like the phoenix; I have been wounded by an unseen foe. Now, I must set myself to the task of healing myself.