Chapter Three

The streets were cold as she slipped from shadow to shadow. Her time was running out, and she knew it. The sun was starting to peak its head over the horizon and threaten to reveal her concealment. Everybody had learnt that unless you're wearing a uniform, the darkness is your friend.

The quaint houses all looked the same from a newcomer's point of view, but it was the little gold plaques next to the door with the name of the house that differentiated them. She stopped when she found "Birchwood Cottage". Vanessa looked around, it was an almost disappointing end to the night. After all the events that had just occurred, returning back to the cottage as if nothing had happened almost seemed unreal.

Vanessa walked around to the back of the house and used her key to enter through the locked door. The red little flag that was poked up on the mail box was a symbol to all hiders that the house was occupied so Vanessa had no fear that she'd find others living in their house. However, she still walked quietly seeing as military men may be checking out the area. Vanessa went up the stairs and found the large queen sized bed occupied. She smiled to herself and entered the master bedroom. Vanessa sat on the edge of the bed and unzipped her bag. She unloaded the bludging bag onto the floor and then found the medication. She crawled onto the bed and placed her hand on his muscular shoulder.

"Dad" she whispered whilst gently shaking his arm. There was no movement. He was probably in a deep sleep. Vanessa didn't want to wake him up, so she placed the medication on the bedside table and crawled into bed next to him.

Vanessa woke up a couple of hours later. There was no movement in the room and the house looked just as she left it. There was a stillness in the air that made her whole body tense. Something didn't feel right and the more she thought about it, the more she hated the feeling. Vanessa tried to get out of bed but her body ached in places that she didn't even think was possible. She tried to lift her head off the pillow, but it swirled crazily and she was forced to return it back onto the pillow. Despite the hammering in her skull she fell asleep instantly.

It was midday by the time she woke up. She tried to ignore the pain that wracked her whole body, but she couldn't quite focus. That was when she remembered the panadol she had stolen earlier. Vanessa swallowed two tablets in one big gulp. She grabbed the special meds for her father and turned around to face him. He was lying in the exact same position from last night. Vanessa gently shook him. He did not stir. She placed both hands on his chest and shook him hard. Nothing. That was when she realised the skin she had placed her hands on was cold. "Dad?" she questioned, not wanting to believe it. Maybe it was the fever? She shook him violently, but he was heavy and she tired easily. She grabbed his face and tried to open his eyes. "Dad, seriously! Wake up! I've got the meds you needed" she almost yelled, her voice breaking in the middle of it.

The young girl couldn't believe it, she refused to believe it. She touched his cold body again but her hand retracted instantly. She knew that he had been sick for a while but she didn't think that this would happen now. She needed him because she had nobody else.

It took half an hour for her to stop shaking him.

Each tear that rolled down her face brought back a memory of him. When her mother abandoned her, he welcomed her with open arms, and this was how she treated him.

Vanessa's usual leafy green eyes that sparkled when she smiled were now replaced with swollen red ones that sagged with each tear. The thought of stopping was not an option. She dropped another used tissue into the sea of snotty paper that surrounded her and continued to cry. It seemed like such a sin to forget so easily.

Vanessa stayed with him as long as she could before she had to do something with him. No matter how stupid the idea was, she still wanted a funeral for him. Maybe she could bury him in the backyard? She wondered. Vanessa tried to lift him with all her strength, but his dead weight wouldn't move. She collapsed back to the ground and tried to force herself to cry, but eyes had run dry. It was like the world was collapsing on top of her.

Vanessa sat upright. She wanted this funeral badly. She couldn't just leave him there, as if it wasn't anything at all. That's when she had an idea. Vanessa gathered her father's old black hiking bag and filled it with clothes. She looked inside the bag unsatisfied with her selection. She dumped all of the multicoloured clothing on the floor and looked at it in disgust. This was a war. Vanessa went into her father's cupboard and packed his flannel shirts and his khaki jacket. Pyjama's were useless and flammable so she packed sweats. She wore thick socks and hiker's boots paired with ripped shorts and a tied up green flannel shirt. She put a series of hair bands on her arm and packed all the necessities, including food.

Vanessa looked at everything complete and ready to go, but when she glanced out the window, the sun had already slipped out of the sky and dusk was settling around the house. She went back into her father's room afraid of what she might see, but all she saw was him laying peacefully on the bed. "I'll miss you dad" she whispered close to his large ear. That's when she noticed the necklace around his neck. It hadn't had much significance in the past, but it was the fact that her father wore it every day that really got to her. She unclipped the black string from his neck and looked at the sharks tooth that dangled in the middle before slipping it around her thin neck. "but I'll never forget" she continued. She placed each of his hands across his chest and kissed him softly on the cheek before slipping out of the door. It took all of her will to keep herself together, but slowly she slipped her fully packed backpack on.

Vanessa found the lighter in her pocked and lit it. She made her way to the curtain and held it over the top of the flame. It took a couple attempts to light, but once it was alight, it was beautiful. She ventured into the next room and set the couch on fire. This wasn't going to be a halfway job. She wasn't going to go outside and wait in anticipation only to find that the fire put itself out. The bathroom would be harder to burn, the mat and curtain should be more than enough to get it going. She kept on lighting until she forgot how much she had done.

The black smoke swirled around her and choked her lungs. She would have panted out the word 'shit' out but she couldn't find the oxygen to do it. She crouched down as low as she could whilst running to the staircase. She was taken aback to find that the left side of her house was now engulfed in flames. The fire started attacking the stairs which made made the fear rise in her chest. What had she done?

It was now or never, Vanessa bolted straight down the stairs as fast as she could. At least she could breathe down on the bottom floor. She ran to the door and pushed down the handle. It was locked.

She swung her bag from her shoulders and scrambled to find the keys from her pack. She could feel the heat chasing after her and she was determined to not let it touch her. She had a mini heart attack when she couldn't find the keys. Vanessa turned around franticly and spotted the spare key in the fruit bowl on the kitchen bench. Vanessa ran like she had never run before. She bolted to the kitchen with the fire on her tail. She made a grab for the keys and sprinted back to the door with the hot metal in her hands. Vanessa fumbled as she slid the key in the lock and opened the door. She swung her bag onto her back and just managed to fall through the door way as the flames consumed the hallway. "Dear lord" she breathed as she strode away from the flaming house. Her house was too far out of town for the invaders to have come yet, but she knew they would be here soon. "thanks for letting these fuckers invade Australia," she looked straight ahead of her as she spoke "but you need not worry, I will fight until death for this country I live in. I will fight for you, but most importantly, my father. Watch over him while he rests and don't let them win."

Vanessa thought for a second before finishing off her wish "Amen."

The flames completely swallowed the house. It pulled down the roof and had jumped to the neighbouring house. The deep red flames flickered beautifully as if it were an ornament of destruction and her father was the main feature. Buried deep inside the mouth of the flames, he got his funeral.

Vanessa did not look back.