FIRE & FEAR

Rise of the guardians

Scarlet Flame

I was panting as I awoke. I was alone in the darkness of the night. My head burned like fire, I couldn't remember a thing, or even who I was. Along with the pounding head was a blinding fog that burned my blue eyes. It was really hot, and I didn't like it. She laid there for a while and finally the fog cleared. When it did, my blue eyes saw the moon. It was huge and bright, it brought a feeling of warmth inside my heart, that was the first happy memory I had. The green eyes wore a small smile, but when I sat up, the small smile disappeared.

There was ash everywhere, just black ash and burnt trees. I slowly got up, looked around and for as far as I could see, everything was burnt. I didn't know what happened, but she was scared. l started walking, and walking, and walking, miles of nothing but burnt trees. But something seemed to summon me, to keep going. And soon my eyes spotted a tree that had a carving in it. It was a heart with a name in it. I could only make out the first four letters. "Scar", I had whispered to myself, it was a heart with a Scar.

I kept walking and started finding pieces of burnt wood, not from the burnt trees but wood made from houses. Then a spark came down from a tree and hit my shoulder, it seemed to connect with me, it was startling. I felt it but it didn't burn or hurt me. But then my green eyes looked up and spotted a tree house, high up in the tree. So it wasn't a house, but a tree house. It was burnt, but something about it made it beautiful. I kept walking in the moon light, the light seemed to follow me, still pitch black surroundings were around me as well. Then I spotted a flickering light up ahead.

The light drew me near. Maybe someone was there, maybe they could help me, and maybe they could tell me what happened. The only problem was the light looked like it was on a hill a couple miles away. I looked around me and didn't see anything closer, so I headed up to the house. I walked for a while. After about what seemed like five hours I was there, my eyes somehow manage to catch the glint of light from the long distance, but after the long walk I let out a sigh of relief. It was a nice wooden cabin and some lights where on. I went up and knocked on the door.

No one answered. I was thinking, "if no one's here I'm going to lose it because I just walked like five miles!" I walked around the house and looked inside. In one room there was some children sleeping and in the other some adults sleeping. I knocked on all of their windows. None of them got up. I shouted for them. Nothing! It was pretty rude, I knew that but, my temper was rising.

I was getting really mad and felt really hot like my cheeks probably looked as red as fire, I hit the side of the cabin and out from my hand sparks flew. I jumped back and looked at my hands, amazed. I was kind of freaked out. I hit the ground and more sparks flew. I didn't know how but, I was amazed and wowed, so I kept at it and hitting the ground. I didn't realize that some of the smallest sparks had grown into a small flame in a dried bush, right next to the house.

Before I knew it, I was jumping and running and making sparks fly. I created a small fire where I was playing like a child and quickly put it out. I didn't want a fire, I was just amazed by what was happening. Then I smelt something burning. I listened and heard crackling of wood, I looked over and saw that part of the house had caught on fire!

All of the sudden part of the roof came crashing down. I found myself running over to help. The children where outside in the front yard. An older brother, holding his crying little sister. "It'll be ok," he said as his eyes searched desperately for his parents. A man comes out with a lady both wounded and coughing. I ran quickly towards them. "Oh my, I'm so sorry. Here let me help you." I said. I ran towards the lady and tried to help her walk. But, she walked right threw me.

I didn't know what to do! I was shocked, terrified, a astonished! I looked at the people and talked to them. Forgetting that there house was on fire. "Hello, hi, can you hear me?" I had said. Then I stuck out my hands to the little girl, my hand went through her. They didn't know I was there. The walked through me! My heart was racing as fast as a race car, I could barely stand up.

Then I turned around and looked at their ounce lovely house in flames. I looked down at my hands and back at the house. I turned around and looked at the family that I had disregarded. The wife was crying on her husband's shoulders. Then the little girl being held by her brother said, "Mommy, I'm cold, what happened to our house?" Then the mother replied, "Honey, all of our savings where in there! Are moneys gone!" she had protested. I looked down at my hands again and back at them.

I finally realized that I had done this. I destroyed their house and all their money. The ounce amazing thing now turned into my nightmare. I walked up to them, "I'm so sorry!" I tried to get them to see me, even to hear me! But, they didn't. I walked for a while to the side of the hill. My heart was saddened as I looked out into the valley below. There was burnt everything. Everything was black, fire had destroyed this ounce beautiful landscape, "Did I do this?" I whispered to myself. I looked at my hands no longer thinking that what I could do was amazing. I began to cry, "I'm a monster!"

I ran off down the path I had come from. I was running like something was chasing me. When really nothing was there. I kept running and didn't stop until I was again in the dark burnt valley. I had found myself able to run a long distance. When I finally stopped, I looked back and could see no longer a small cabin, just one in flames. As the smoke arose into the air.

I found myself still running. I was scared. I was alone. I was running like I was about to die. Like running from a forest fire. As I ran, questions ran through my mind. Where will I go? Where was I going? Where was I? As I thought about these questions. My feet where burning the ground. I felt it like fire, I looked down and the earth beneath my feet was a glowing red. I didn't know what it was but it startled me enough to make me stop, when I did I found myself where I had started. The tree with the scar in the heart and then the burnt tree house.

I thought that maybe I should stay here. I caused fire to burn that family's house down. Maybe I should stay in this burnt waste land. No one would find me here, no one could find me at all. Most of all I wouldn't hurt anyone. I already knew I hated to be alone, but I hated even more to hurt people. I decided to go up into the tree house and see if it was stable, I would stay there if it was.

As I started to climb, I noticed I was really good at climbing trees. But, as I grasped onto the branches they became hot. I grunted and kept going until I got to the top by the tree house. I looked inside and there was a couple of metal chairs that where rusted, a cracked mirror, and some little burnt up toys. I spotted a journal or book of some sort on the floor. Most of the flooring was still there, except some pieces toward the middle where it looked like something had fallen through.

As I walked the cold wood floor soon turned hot. I tried to calm down, and when I did my feet didn't burn the floor. I walked on toward the chairs. Carefully I sat down in one, rusted and burnt but, it still held me. I got up slowly and walked toward some of the burnt up toys. I picked up a small doll. I didn't really like dolls but, I set it down softly onto the floor, a thing about a small person that wasn't real just was weird. I could see just a few other pieces of toys that weren't totally burnt.

I walked around close to the hole in the floor. That's where I picked up the book or journal. It turns out it was a journal. It wasn't burnt though, just some ash on it. I blew off the ash and dust. Inside was a list of inspirational thoughts and words. I read the words out loud and seemed to connect to every one of them. They meant something to me "change the world, have a happy heart, treat others as you would treat yourself." I had read out loud. All this and more. I flipped through every page; each page had a special meaning. I smiled when I got to the last page "Spread love like a fire, and warm the hearts of others." I said.

After reading these, my feet didn't burn the ground anymore. I felt a whole lot better. I realized, I was standing right near the hole in the floor. I looked down and could see a big ash pile below on the ground, I noticed I was about twenty or thirty feet off the ground. Whoever lived here would have had to have a latter of some sort. I was just amazed at how high I climbed. Also that this burnt tree hadn't collapsed yet. I set the journal onto the chair. I walked back over to where the hole was, that was a mistake. A piece of wood broke and sent me falling down.

I quickly tried to grab the bottom of the floor but, I missed my chance and I was still falling. I saw a burnt broken branch that I tried to grab hold of. I tried to swing my body towards to branch and it worked! What an adrenalin rush that was. I has only been falling for a second but it seemed like a life time. I held on and looked around; there where luckily a few branches I could jump onto, as long as they were stable. First I swung up to the top of the branch that I had been hanging on. Then I jumped along from branch to branch like a rabbit. I climbed back up to the tree house now knowing not to go near the middle.

This time though I had to climb up from the back of the tree house where there was no door. Instead I just hopped along branch to branch. Until I got back to the branches that I had gotten up first. As I kept climbing I noticed a beautiful view. It was the burnt forest below me and there was a big exceptional mountain view; the mountains all had snow on them. I heard my stomach growl, and thought about hunting in this forbidden waste land for food. Even though there probably wasn't much here since it was a burnt forest.

I was going to make a bow, but then realized I didn't have the right materials. I went down to the ground and started to make a spear sort of thing. I found some old wire tied in a tree. I cut it with my teeth and tied it around the stick. I grabbed some rocks and looked for a sharp one. Once I found it, I smoothed the edges of the stick. Then I tied the end with the wire on it to the rock, I also figured I could use some stones to hit the animal in case it didn't die. I didn't like the thought of killing something but I didn't really have a choice.

After I was done, the sun had started to set. A whole day gone by since I awoke. When I did awake it was still dark. I wasn't sure when the moon light had awaken me. All I knew was that it was dark and a little while later the sun had arisen and a new day had begun. This day was not a good day though. I figured that I might as well wait till morning. I grabbed my things and with the excess wire, I strapped them to my back.

I started climbing back up. When I got back to the top; I through my things into the tree house. I looked outside and saw a perfect sunset. I could feel the light on my face. As the last glimpse of the sun set behind the hill. The clouds where even more beautiful. It looked like someone had painted the sky with a wonderful variety of colors. The moon was there in the mist of the clouds. It was so big.

I went inside through the whole in the wall. I thought about a good place to sleep. I moved the chairs over towards the whole in the floor so I wouldn't fall through, again. I laid down at the side by the entrance. I just had moved my head out little bit so I could still watch the beautiful sunset. As I laid down I felt calm, and relaxed and I smiled.

I liked the sunset, it made me think. I thought about everything that happened today. The fog, fire, tree house. I was thinking about the fire when, I became that monster. I was unsettled and got up. I walked over to a corner and sat down. Still watching that last bit of light being consumed by darkness. I sat there for a while. Then the light was gone.

Now there was just the moon and the stars and darkness that surrounded me and covered the forest. The moon seemed to chase the darkness away. I watched it and in a weird way, it was watching me. I wanted to run to it. Run away, but where? Nowhere, that's where. I just watched the moon, and watched, and watched, and watched. All the light except from the moon, was now gone. I went back to where I was going to sleep. I could not take my eyes off that moon though! I laid there for about an hour. Mesmerized by the moon. Then something caught my eye.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of a small spark. I didn't realize this before but, there was a cracked mirror. The spark was in the mirror reflecting. I crawled into the dark corner. Looking at that tiny spark. The spark was coming from my eyes. Then from my blue eyes with the small spark, I looked at myself. A young teenage girl, maybe fourteen or older, that's at least what I looked like. I had a few freckles on my pale white skin, and beautiful red hair, fiery red hair. My eyes where full of light with that spark. I kept looking at me and that spark. Then the question hit me, "WHO AM I?" I jumped back at the thought. I was shocked that I hadn't thought of it before. I started repeating the question to myself, "Who am I?" I stared into my eyes like I was having a staring contest.

The question ran through my mind in the darkness. "Who am I?" I started shaking. Then I heard a voice. I looked back quickly. "Who's there?" I looked back at the mirror again and this time the voice was clear. "Scarlet" it had said. I looked in the mirror and heard it again. "Scarlet,"

I looked back around me but, no one was there. I called out again, "Whose there?" nothing.

I looked in the mirror again, this time I saw the moon behind me. It wasn't there before. The moon made a shadow on the ground below from the trees. It was a name. Scarlet Flame it spelled. I looked up at the moon from the edge of the tree house. When I looked at it, I heard "Your name is SCARLET FLAME." I was shocked, I looked down for the last time and saw the name Scarlet Fame in the shadows. Then it was gone.

Everything from today flashed back in my mind, the spark, the fire, everything. I looked back in the mirror. The sparks in my eyes grew brighter. I had said, "IM SCARLET FLAME."