I stood silently watching my life come crashing down as everything that ever meant anything to me was destroyed in the blaze.

The flames seemed to dance in the breeze that was carrying the smoke up in a black billowing cloud, a direct reflection of my inner turmoil. I hadn't moved in so long. I couldn't move, not since the screams had stopped.

When they had told me I was the only one who had escaped I had ran at the burning house that had been my home for as long as I could remember. I had struggled and fought my way through the restraining arms of seven men trying to get back into the house, to save them.

When the screams had died so did my struggle. My body went limp and I'd slumped into the eighth pair of arms restraining me, sobbing and crying out for my family, begging for them to be alive.

I wanted my mother to come out, wrap her arms around me and tell me how it was going to be all ok. I wanted my little sisters to race over to me and see who could knock me over first. I wanted my family but I knew that wasn't going to happen, I didn't have a family anymore. I was alone.

After a while I had cried out all my tears and screamed all my screams. The emotion had drained out of me bit by bit with every tear, the feeling with every pleading scream. Now I was left standing here numb and completely silent, unable to move or do anything except watch as the fire fighters washed away the last of the flames.

I felt empty when the fire chief and police officers came to talk to me. The police confirmed that I was the only one that escaped and asked me who was in the house, when my only response was to stare blankly at them the fire chief told me it looked like it had been an electrical fault that had sparked the fire.

Somehow I had been moved from watching the destruction of my life over to a paramedic who looked me over and gave me the all clear. Everybody seemed amazed by the fact that I had gotten out unharmed when witnesses said that the entire house had gone up in just three seconds. A few people even commented on how lucky I was. I didn't feel lucky at all, I had just lost my entire family and I had nothing left.

One of my neighbours, Miss Dallatori, told the police I could stay with her, content that I had a place to stay the officers gave me their condolences and left. The paramedic told Miss Dallatori that he didn't think it was likely but there may be some delayed effects from smoke inhalation and to keep an eye on me, she agreed to take me to the doctors if I showed any signs of illness but he didn't seem satisfied. He came over to where I was sitting on the back of the ambulance with a blanket wrapped around me. He placed his hand on my shoulder and kneeling down in front of me, looked directly into my vacant electric blue eyes.

The look of concern in his emerald green eyes made something in me stir and I was able to move and notice more detail about him. I read on his uniform that his name was Blake. He was young, no more than three years older than I was, I'd guess about twenty years old. He had longish (for a guy) light brown hair, stylishly messy with blonde highlights that looked as though they may have been natural.

Blake smiled a small sad smile, full of an understanding that was far beyond his age. I tried to return it but the movement felt wrong. My lips only twitch a little before returning to a grim line that blended in with the blank expression over the rest of my face.

"If you need to talk to someone, I might be able to help. I'm no psychiatrist but I do know what it's like to lose someone in an accident." He said the word accident in a weird kind of way, it reminded me of something. When the fire chief said it had been an electrical fault I was too numb and frozen to notice the voice in the back of my head. It had been nothing but a small whisper then but now the voice was screaming to be heard.

It wasn't an electrical fault! They did it. Because you know they exist! The night world!

The night world isn't a place but at secrete society filled with supernatural creatures, the things we humans all thought were complete fiction, simple stories designed to frighten us. Vampires, Witches, Werewolves they were all very real. I had discovered their secrete, I knew they existed. They had killed my family trying to get me because of it and I was going to make them pay.

Only a few seconds had passed while this realisation had come to me, and my face had not changed from my blank. Blake was still looking at me with the sad smile on his ace and a look of concern in his eyes.

The realisation of what had really happened tonight had broken me out of my empty, numb prison state and ignited a raging determination for revenge inside of me. It allowed me to speak, move and think.

"Thank-you" my voice was quiet and a little shaky. "I appreciate it"

Blake's smile turned from sad to heart warming, his lips spread out to reveal perfect white teeth. I smiled slightly in return but the gesture still felt wrong and never reached my eyes.

The sadness of losing my family had returned when the numbness had disappeared. I did not break down into tears, cry or scream. I was able to keep myself composed with the knowledge that I will soon have my revenge.

"You're more than welcome"

He reached into his pocket with his free hand that had been resting on his bent leg and pulled out a small business card. He took his hand off my shoulder and stood up, reaching for a pen somewhere behind me.

He wrote something on the back of it then extended his arm out offering me the card. I took it and looked at it. It was a card for a martial arts dojo. This could really come in handy. I was going to have to learn to fight, it was only practical.

I flipped the card over and looked at the amazingly neat writing on the back.

Blake Daniels

0478350921

"If you need to talk to someone just give me a call. We can talk on the phone or I could meet you somewhere if you'd prefer talking face to face." Blake said as he sat down next to me.

Miss Dallatori came over and smiled warmly at us "Time to go Christen, It's getting late"

"Ok Miss Dallatori"

"Call me Willow"

"Thanks again Blake" as I got up Blake patted my shoulder. I put the card in my bra (I was wearing a singlet top and short shorts so I didn't have any pockets) and followed Willow to her house down the street.