day 2
fire
"You will remember my name."
"Becca! For the last time, shut up!"
Becca McLain was sitting on her bed, her back against the gray walls and her legs stretched out over her black blankets. An old guitar, weathered and rundown from age, sat in her lap. Her fingertips were red from hours of practicing.
"I'm just trying to get the chorus, Mom!"
"Yeah? Well I'm trying to sleep!" Something crashed against Becca's door and she jumped, wide eyes glued to the poster of Stevie Nicks that hung lopsidedly beside her doorframe.
She never should've pressed her mother, especially when she was like this. But she really, really wanted to finish this song. Stupid alcohol. Stupid mom. How was she supposed to write a hit song when she couldn't even play?
Becca huffed, a piece of brown hair falling into her eyes and tickling her nose. She reached over, grabbed a black hair band off her nightstand (which was crowded with empty energy drinks), and pulled her hair up into a high ponytail. She had to get this chorus before she went to bed. She'd just have to be a little quieter.
Becca slouched against her wall, a poster crumpling a bit against her back. How the hell was she supposed to write a chorus when she couldn't even figure out her stage name? It couldn't be Rebecca McLain; who would listen to a rock legend whose name was Rebecca? It had to reflect her past. Somehow. And she had to do something about her God awful hair, too.
"It was, it was September."
Ember fell asleep with her guitar resting in her lap.
And she woke up to the smell of something burning.
Becca opened her eyes. Sometime during the night, her lights had flickered out. She couldn't see a single thing. A power outage, maybe?
God, what was that smell? She coughed twice. It was so bad; it was practically burning her nose.
Becca stood, feeling her way slowly around the various objects littering the floor, and tried her lights. Her room remained darker than dark.
Another cough escaped from her lips. That smell was making her nauseous. Becca's curiosity got the best of her, and she felt blindly for the cool metal of her door handle but was instead met with something burning hot.
"Ow! Jesus." Becca shook her head, hissing viciously. "What the hell?" Her still-groggy mind just couldn't wrap itself around what was going on.
She reached down, grabbed a shirt off the floor, and wrenched open the door as quickly as possible.
All that greeted her on the other side was smoke, thick and black, burning her open eyes and forcing itself down her throat. Becca gagged on it. Her chest felt like it was on fire, and she fell to her knees in a desperate attempt to rid herself of the pain.
Fire.
There was a fire!
Becca tried to look around through slit eyelids. Orange flames, huge and enveloping, were climbing quickly up the stairs. Black smoke clung to the ceiling and swooped down towards her face. Any skin that made contact with the carpet burned fiercely.
"Mom!"
She and her mom had to get out. They had to. She clambered clumsily to her mom's door, burnt her already-stinging hand on the handle, and blindly pressed on.
"Mom!"
She wasn't answering. She'd probably knocked herself out by drinking so much, damn her. They didn't have time for this!
Becca's hands met her mom's warm, sticky skin, and she shook her crazily. She was screaming, her voice already hoarse from the smoke, but she wasn't waking up. Her mom wasn't waking up.
Becca was ridiculously lightheaded now. Firelight had ripped through the door and began playing shadows along her mother's resting face. Tears fell onto her cheeks and evaporated immediately afterwards.
"Mom." Becca's voice wasn't working anymore. Black spots danced in her vision. Why wasn't her mom waking up? She had to wake up.
Distantly, barely heard over the crackling of the fire, alarms screeched. Becca's hair felt like it was melting. She couldn't open her eyes anymore.
Your heart, your heart has rendered
Your loss, now bear the shame
Becca lost her grip on her mom and sank to the floor.
Like dead trees in cold December
Nothing but ashes remain.
so, um, not my best work, but hey; its dannymay. none of dannymay will be my best work, seeing as i only have a day to write it. nonetheless, i hope you enjoyed! ember's backstory just fascinates me. how did the fire start? what was her name? what was her family like?
yeah. unfortunately, i couldn't answer all these questions in detail. but, anyway, don't forget to review and tell me what you think! yes, i'm aware it's a day late; fight me. I'm off to honors tea.
xx