A/N: I was shit with the summary so the fact that you even clicked on this, I am grateful for(': This first chapter is a bit of a prologue…anyways, I'll let you get to reading.

Get Out of My Head
Chapter 1: The Girl Who Lived

Heat. Her tiny face feels it clinging to her and she can't seem to escape it. It's almost unbearable even while she buries her face into his shoulders. She lets out a small whimper that would otherwise be inaudible due to the fact that he's carrying her.

"Hush now Naomi. We're almost free."

Not knowing whether this will be the last she sees of it, she musters up her remaining courage and sneaks one last peek at her home. What's left of it anyways. The fire has gulped up everything and anything in its path. The house is now one giant torch igniting the night sky, demanding attention. The houses surrounding it have only recently been made aware of the event and there are neighbors on their front lawns, still in their sleepwear, gaping at the terrifying spectacle. Naomi is too far away to make out specifics but she's almost positive she sees JJ standing among them, rubbing his eyelids from sleep that he has not yet shaken off. But before she can conclude if it's him or not, he is whisked away by what she assumes is his mother, into the house to the right of hers. Confirming her speculations of it being JJ.

"Kieran?" Her voice is rough. The smoke still finds its way into her not-yet-fully-grown lungs, even at the distance they are from the house. A distance that grows with every stride of the man's legs.

"Yes little one?" Kieran puffs out as he tries to keep a fast past for the both of them. But he struggles, as they transfer from soft grass to the unleveled terrain of the woods. Random tree roots and bushes make the man's swift gait turn into an ungraceful, rugged, shuffle.

"Do you think they made it out?" She sounds sincere in her question but in the back of her mind, Naomi knows the answer. Asking Kieran she hopes will somehow magically change the reality. That he'll say "Of course!" and her loved ones will appear from the bushes and behind the trees and they'll laugh about this and make a good story of it to tell at the next family reunion. But of course, she can only wish.

"No love. They're gone now." He answers her gently, knowing it won't sink in now but it will hit the girl in the face like a wrecking ball in a couple of days. Grief works differently with children, he's noticed.

"So it's just you and me then?"

"Just you and me against the world kid." Naomi muses at the thought of her and Kieran literally against the world. We'd lose. She thinks. As she ponders to herself, Kieran wonders if she realizes how much her life is about to change. The crack of a twig makes him stop in his tracks. Naomi is oblivious to it. Her eyes still set on the inferno in the distance. He tightens his grip on her and looks around. Eyes scanning the area, ears searching for any sound that indicates they are not alone. They hadn't been followed had they? He had made sure they weren't being followed. But he cannot get comfortable now, he must be cautious. Adrenaline pulsing through his veins, he inches one step forward. Then another, and another.

"Kieran, why are you-" Naomi starts but is silenced by Kieran's palm, planting firmly on her mouth. A myriad of different scenarios play through his head. If they were to be attacked from the left, the right, behind, above, with a knife, gun, more than one person, even if the person was unarmed he would already know what to do. In each scenario, not even a finger would be laid on Naomi, that's for sure. He widens his stance, tenses his muscles and every limb in anticipation for the brawl that is sure to come. His breathing is steady but even Naomi can feel his heart pounding. Another twig breaks. It's coming from their right. Kieran turns in direction towards the sound and his eyes franticly search of the figure making its way towards them. The only thing eliminating the woods is the specs of moonlight that make their way through the trees and the eerie glow from the burning house that somehow still makes its way to them. It's just enough to see it. It's short. It's got brown hair and…a tail?

"Domino!" Naomi squeals in delight. She releases herself from an astonished Kieran and runs over to kneel by her loving animal. "See! Domino made it out! Maybe they did too! Well…maybe. Dominos a lot smarter than them. Aren't you boy?" She exclaims as the dog barks back in response and licks the side of her face various times, drenching it in slobber.
Kieran calms himself and his heart rate returns to normal.

"That mutt was seconds away from death. He's lucky my eyesight is impeccable or his neck would've been wringed before he could-"

"We're taking him with us." She interrupts him while standing up, Domino at her side. Kieran looks at her like she's grown a second head.

"I don't know about that…maybe-"

"It wasn't a question." She interrupts him for what feels like the hundredth time of the night. This time when he looks at her, her arms are crossed and she's glaring at him with those blue orbs that seem to shatter his tough exterior. Funny how just seconds ago she seemed so vulnerable in his arms, holding onto him for dear life. But now she's a different person. The frightened 10 year old Naomi is gone. Replacing her is a different Naomi, the one he usually sees. The stubborn one. The one who's determined to get her way. The one who picks at people for debate, just because she knows she'll always win. The one who although she'll never admit it, has the biggest heart he's ever known. Most people see her acts as a sign of hard headedness and rude. But Kieran's not stupid. He knows Naomi's actions are for a totally different reason. She cares about people. She hates injustice and she'll go to hell and back to make sure someone gets treated right; and here she is. Standing her ground for a Basset Hound that's as old as she is. He sighs.

"Alright. Make sure the thought of barking doesn't even cross his mind or its *KERK*." His hands make the motion of him wringing Dominos neck. Naomi seems unphased by the gesture and turns to Domino, kneeling to his level.

While Naomi has her exchange with the dog, Kieran takes a quick glance at the house. If it can even be called that now. The firefighters have already arrived and are struggling to tame the fire. An ambulance is just now pulling in and are checking for injured. Kieran furrows his brow together and purses his lips. He knows they won't find anyone they need to help…
He snaps himself out of it. They have to keep moving. He turns back to Naomi who is standing up and trying to ignore what lies behind her.

"Let's go then." She says. As Kieran nods and starts to turn away, he is stopped abruptly by a tugging on his shirt. "Kieran?" He turns back around to see Naomi looking up at him with her shoulders hunched, her eyes only meeting his for briefly and then shooting away.

"What is it, love?" He asks softly, recognizing her sudden change in demeanor. Her head doesn't move from its tilted down position but her eyes meet his. Slowly she extends her arms to him, wanting to be carried. A soft smile forms on Kieran's face as he graciously picks her up; ignoring the protest from his arms and legs.

"But you know," Kieran starts as they continue to walk, "I won't have to carry you for long."
Although Kieran can't see it, Naomi's face has shifted to a rather confused look. The corners of her mouth pulled severely down, nose wrinkling just a tad and if her eyebrows came any closer to each other they'd fuse into one.

"What? Why?" She asks, her confusion present even in her voice. Kieran smirks to himself and winks at Domino, who seems to know of his intention. Kieran whistles a quick 3 note whistle and Domino immediately starts running ahead of the two. "Domino! Come back!" Naomi cries as she sees her clumsy dog run and is about to jump out of Kieran's arms to chase after him but before she can, he stops her.

"Don't mind him love. He knows what he's doing. He's actually finding us our destination." Kieran keeps his eyes on Domino who is sniffing at the ground about a hundred meters ahead of them. He finds what he's looking for and starts barking at Kieran.

"Domino! Kieran said not to bark you-!"

"Naomi it's okay, I told him to go look for something. He's found it now which is why he's barking. I'm not going to wring his neck…yet."

"Is what he found the same reason why you won't have to carry me for long?" Naomi questions Kieran as he smirks at his joke and sets Naomi down, who immediately wraps her hand around Kieran's pointer finger on his right hand.

"Yes. You didn't think we'd just run into the woods with nowhere to go did you?"
Actually, that's exactly what Naomi was thinking. She had no idea Kieran had something planned…she didn't think anyone had anything planned for what happened…she blinks hard and shakes the thoughts from her head. Instead, she looks expectantly at Domino who is digging vigorously at the ground.

Naomi doesn't realize she never answered his question but Kieran catches her silence and can tell she's thinking. He leaves her too it.

As they stride closer to Domino, his digging stops abruptly, the dirt ending and metal taking its place. Domino looks up excitedly at the two, seemingly wanting a reward. "I don't have any treats on me right now Domino. I assure you, that you'll get your prize." The dog barks in response and moves back, to make way for Kieran.

Naomi watched the exchange take place and still came up with no answers. She would usually hate sounding naïve in front of anybody but given the circumstances at the moment, she didn't really care.

"What is it?" She asked gesturing to the metal doorway like thing, lying at their feet. It was buried in a sizable layer of dirt that had been quickly cleared away by Domino, and hidden under thick bushes. Almost as if, someone wouldn't want it to be found.

"Ah, you'll find out soon enough." Kieran grabbed the latch that was attached to it and lifted it up revealing a staircase that went downward about 10 steps. She could faintly see a light at the bottom of the stairs.

"Are we…?" Naomi asked, staring at the tunnel. Kieran nodded his head. Child Naomi returned. Her eyes soften and are unsure. Her hands come together and she picks at her nails while she remains hesitant to enter. Kieran catches sight of this hesitance and takes her hand in his.

"You've trusted me this far."

"Yeah but-" Kieran holds up his hand to stop her.

"I would never let anything happen to you Naomi Campbell. You should know that by now." He pauses as Naomi chews on her bottom lip. It's something he's seen her do countless times before, but every time she does it…the resemblance shows. He inhales deeply. "Everything's gunna be fine. Trust me; and if it's not, I'll let you wring my neck." The last part makes Naomi giggle. Her eyes are lit up again and there is no more hesitation.
"You promise I can wring your neck?" She asks, still smiling.
Kieran smirks "Cross my heart and hope-"

"For pie!" They finish the last part together. It is their saying after all. Naomi's walks over and starts taking the first few steps into the tunnel. She's followed by Domino but Kieran stays behind. "Kieran…" She asks suddenly horrified at the thought of him leaving.
"Calm yourself Naomi, I'm just making sure when I close the damn- uh darnthing, that it won't be visible. Don't want them finding us right?" Naomi violently shakes her head. Kieran returns and closes the door. They walk down the steps and as they reach the bottom Naomi takes in her surroundings. The tunnel is completely made of metal and goes on for what looks like miles. Right at the end of the staircase there is a key pad. Kieran strolled over to it and punched in a 6 digit code.

"Please enter todays date." Said a womanly computer voice.

Kieran turns to face Naomi. "What's todays date?"

Naomi checks her watch. "November 17th 2000."

A/N: Review? There's loads more to come and since this is the prologue, the next chapter will be sort of present day.