Part 6- Trial by Fire

May 12, 2001

One year later, Katie invited Julia over for a sleepover.

"Julie, we've got some new movies if you wanna watch something!" Katie called from her new bedroom. Katie Fenwick had moved into a new apartment complex on the other side of town. She would still drive to Mt. Abraham High School, though. Julia was staying at Katie's because the next day would mark one whole year since Tim's untimely death. Katie was trying to take Julia's mind off of things and numb it with chocolate and movies. Try as she might, she couldn't shake it off Julia's one-track mind. She knew that Julia wanted to talk about it.

"Julie, I know you miss Timmy. You wanna talk about it?"

"Yes and no. It was a year ago. I still remember seeing him in pieces. His face... it-it was hardly a face. It wasn't real. It was like something in somebody's nightmare.

Listening to Julia describe the sight of Tim Carpenter's corpse made tears well up in her eyes. Watching Julia gently weep made Katie want to break down and cry. She never realized how bad Julia was taking this.

"Julie, it's okay."

"I know, and it's gonna be okay. I still think Death is after me."

"You're crazy."

"What? You don't believe it? You know what happened to Evan and Timmy. You know what happened to Terry. How can you sit there and say you don't believe me?"

"I don't think Death is after you personally."

"Why do you say that?"

"You weren't meant to die in the crash, Julia."

"How do you know that?"

"How do you know you were?" Katie asked, making a slight smile creep across her face and Julia's.

"Touche'," said Julia, recognizing defeat. They pigged out on M&Ms and watched television until they fell asleep watching "Can't Hardly Wait."

At 2:03 A.M, Julia sat up in bed. She smelled something strange. She tried to shake Katie awake, but she just flopped over and smacked Julia in the face.

"Katie, what's that smell?"

"Your a," Katie mumbled, half-asleep.

"Katie, I'm serious! Something is burning!" Julia shouted as she pulled on her clothes. Katie sniffed and sat up.

"Holy shucking fit!" she shrieked. She tossed on her clothes and they opened the bedroom door. Thick black smoke poured in and filled the room. Katie and Julia ran across the hall to Katie's mother Karen's room. They ran outside, but Julia tripped somewhere inside the apartment. She looked around, but the smoke obstructed her vision. Julia heard a noise come from the hall closet... the water heater was boiling. If the pressure became too much for the heater to bear, it would surely explode. Julia crawled through the apartment, searching for the door. Flames licked the walls like they were lollipops. The whistling noise from the heater became louder and higher pitched, until the tank burst. Boiling water splashed on Julia's body. She screamed in excruciating pain. Still, she crawled through the fire to the door. No sooner had she made it to the door that the gas stove burst into flames.

Julia was now out of the apartment, but now she had drag herself down the stairwell to the ground. Julia saw that the bottom level was burning as well. She tried holding onto the banister, but it was hot from the flames. Julia had no choice- she had to jump. She took aim on the grass and stood on the heated metal ledge. Abandoning all reason, Julia took a flying leap from the ledge. She landed on the ground with a loud thud. There was a sharp pain in her arm- maybe it was broken. She didn't know. The windows in the building shattered and glass rained on Julia.

She watched people die. Julia witnessed Death take so many people, but not her or Katie. But why was no one coming for her?

Five living bodies were taken into ambulances, including Katie's. Their lives would be spared. The blaze had taken four casualties. If the paramedics didn't find Julia soon, there was going to be a fifth fatality.

"Is there anyone left?" called out one EMT.

"...wait..."

"Take them to Belleview."

"...WAIT..." Julia croaked.

Julia crawled on her hands and knees to the ambulance. Her hands bled with shards of glass embedded in them. The three A.M. ground should hae been cold, but it was hot and seemed to stretch on forever. Her clothes were singed and barely clung to her wounded body. Ashes and debris flew through the smoky sky like bombs in a warzone. Her mouth constantly poured a river of scarlet blood from where she had jumped and hit her mouth. Julia spat the blood out and tried to make herself seen. All the while, Tim stayed on her mind.

"I'll be with you if they don't find me..." she whispered. Then two blinding lights shone in her eyes. An ambulance screeched to a halt two feet in front of her.

"We've got one more!" a paramedic called.

"Please...take..me..." Julia begged. Deep down, she didn't want to be taken to the hospital. She could die and then she'd be back with Tim. Part of her wanted that ambulance to turn around so bad, and just forget all about her, while her other part wanted to live the rest of her life. The paramedics cautiously lifted Julia from the ground to a gurney and sped off to Belleview Hospital. Julia closed her eyes and drifted off into darkness. A dim light played around, fading in and out of the depths of her mind. The light suddenly brightened and revealed Tim Carpenter, who came to Julia with his mother, Nora, her cousin Terry Chaney, Carter Horton, her sister's fiance, Evan Lewis, and Alex Browning. Tim touched Julia's face lightly and Julia burst into tears. She collapsed into the arms of the only one she had ever truly loved. She had wanted to be with him for so long, and this... this was the answer to her prayer. She kissed him and became part of the light for a moment. Julia wanted that light. She wanted to be part of that heavenly light. The light was so beautiful, so perfect. It was like Heaven. No, it wasn't like Heaven- this was Heaven. It had to be.

"I want to stay with you, Tim."

"You have to live, Julie."

"No, I want to be with you!"

"We'll be together soon."

"When?" Julia choked through the inundation of tears.

"Soon."

"Why can't I stay with you?"

"There are many reasons," Nora said. Julia turned around to face her.

"Like what?"

"You will know when they come to you. We cannot tell you much, but you will find out for yourself."

"You're just not ready to be here," Terry said. Julia turned back around to Tim.

"I miss you, Timmy."

"It's okay. I miss you too, Julia, but you've gotta be strong. I want you to live."

"I don't wanna be there without you."

Tim kissed Julia several more times and she woke up underneath operating lights. Her hands had been stitched up and she felt like one of the ambulances had hit her. Her mother, Diana, stood at her side. Julia blinked.

"I saw Timmy."

"Oh, honey, you were gone for a little while. We were so worried you wouldn't live through that."

"Gone? You mean unconscious?"

"You were dead for two minutes."

"He was so real. They all were."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not okay, mom. I don't wanna be here if he's not here."

"Gosh... I can't give you much advice, except that you're just gonna have to let him go."

"No. I promised I wouldn't."

"He's still alive in your heart. Remember that."

Julia was speechless. Her breathing was shaky and she began bawling. Diana left the room when Julia requested solitude. She was still overcome with grief and Tim had been gone for a year. She had simply lost the will to live. She looked up into the lights and closed her eyes. Sleep eluded her, so she got up out of the hospital cot. Her legs felt like they were weighted with cinder blocks. She wandered the hallways until she found her mother. She just wanted to go home, so that is what she did. Diana took Julia home and Julia sat on her bed, sifting through every photograph she had of Tim. Tears stained the blankets and pictures as they fell from Julia's hazel eyes. She fell asleep somewhere around five in the morning and did not get out of bed until two in the afternoon.

It did not occur to her until much, much later that Alex had not said any consoling words to her. He remained silent the whole time. She realized she had had a far easier time letting go of Alex because they had not been together. She thought to herself, "If I hadn't been with Tim, would any of this have happened?"

She eventually healed from the flesh wounds, but the real scars were on the inside. However, the healing process was coming along much quicker than anyone had expected, including Julia herself.

End of Part 6