No Stranger at All

Rooney opened her eyes and found herself in the middle of no where. The streets were cast in shadow, some not lit at all, and there were no street signs. She was the only one out there but she felt as if hundreds of eyes were staring at her, waiting to come after her. She stood up to find Landon standing in front of her. He snickered and began running. "Come on Rooney!"

"Hey! Wait!" Rooney ran after him but couldn't catch up. She chased him down the cold streets, through alleyways, and abandon houses. It seemed like they were running in circles as everything began to pass by in a blur. Now she could see the eyes gawking at her, could feel their mockery."Landon!" She called after losing sight of him. "Where are you?" She felt sad and abandoned as the dark began to close in on her.

"I'm over here." She heard him call.

"Where?" Her eyes searched the dark frantically for any sign of him.

"Right here, Rooney." She could hear his laughter echoing around her.

"Where?"She felt like crying as the eyes drew closer to her.

"I'm at the end of the street."

Rooney ran blindly through the night, hands out in front of her, reaching for anything that might help her find him. Finally she felt something solid and he grabbed her hands, pulling her towards him. "You left me." A few stray tears fell.

"Don't cry Rooney."

"I'm not." She raised her head in defiance.

"Rooney… I need you to do something."

"What?"

"I need you to trust me."

"Okay… why?"

"I need you to… I need… I really need you to wake up."

"Wake up, c'mon Rooney… wake up!" Rooney felt someone slapping her cheeks and she groaned. Her body ached everywhere. She opened her eyes to a blinding sunset and a blurry figure above her. "Rooney?" The voice asked gently.

It can't be… it's the stranger from the airport. She allowed her vision to clear and she smirked. At least this one was funny.

"Rooney?"

"I'm dreaming. You aren't really here." She laughed sarcastically.

"Rooney c'mon, get up."

"You're not real. Why aren't you telling me to wake up?"

"It's really me, Rooney." He grimaced, losing patience.

In an instant, her façade changed. A chill ran through her body as she felt something warm and sticky trickle down her forehead. She lifted a heavy arm towards her face, shocked to find blood on her fingers. "I want to wake up… you're not real… this isn't real… I don't want to be here with you."

"Snap out of it Roon!"

"You can't be the stranger, Landon, you just can't. Please just tell me to wake up!"

"Will you just get up?"

"No, you have to tell me-"

"Jesus, she's delirious! Rooney!" He shook her harshly and she snapped to attention at once, her eyes focusing first on her bloody fingers and realizing she was no longer in the plane.

"No…" Rooney started to look around frantically, ignoring her spinning head. "Where are they?!"

"Who, Rooney?" Landon was frustrated with her hallucinations.

"My family…" Once more she sounded like a lost, little girl. She got to her feet and swayed. Landon threw out his arms but she ignored him completely. Rooney glanced down at her bloody, battered body but it wasn't enough to stop her. She rushed towards the wreckage, sliding in the sand as she went.

"Rooney, you're bleeding!" Landon ran after her.

"So? My family could be dying!"

"You won't be much good to them if you bleed to death!"

"Just shut up!" Rooney couldn't think. She could smelled the acrid smoke before she saw the black plumes but it still didn't prepare for what came next.

Rooney limped around the bend and froze in place, almost falling when Landon ran into her. Instinct had him grabbing her around the middle to steady her and was surprised at how unfamiliar she felt in his arms. Rooney blinked, praying it was a mirage, but the fire was real, the screams were real, and the carnage was everywhere. Debris littered the beach they had crashed on, bodies were strewn everywhere and the white sand was covered here and there with violent pools of oil, gas and blood. She ran forward towards the first familiar face she saw. "Sam!"

"Rooney!" He gave her a once over but looked no better than she did.

"Have you seen anybody?!"

"Only Ryder and Casey, I'm still trying to find Chase!" He yelled over the chaos.

Rooney didn't stay a second longer, nor did Sam. She ran towards the plane, yelling for Serenity and Justin. The tail had been struck by lightening and had caused the plane to break in two. The tail was charred and smoldering but not on fire. The rest of the plane was bent, broken and slowly being devoured by flames. The people around her were either screaming in a mass hysteria or lying dead at her feet.

"Serenity! Ryder!" Rooney yelled, wiping away the blood that was trickling down her face and tried not to panic. "Justin Mitchell!" Rooney couldn't even hear herself screaming in all the commotion. She hurried closer towards the wreckage and found Serenity cut up but alive, helping a crippled man. "Reni!" Rooney almost cried with relief. "Are you okay?"

"Where are the boys?!"

"Sam said he saw Ryder but I haven't found Justin!" The reality took away all of the relief that had just flooded through her.

"Keep looking! I'll get this guy away from here and meet up with you!

Rooney was off once more calling for Justin. "Jay Jay!" She yelled as loud as she could. She took a deep breath and heard his faint voice.

"Rooney!"

"Justin?!" She looked in the direction of his voice and looked straight at the plane. She found her way past the flames and tried to run across the roof of the plane which was now the floor. "Justin!"

"Rooney!" She heard his tear filled voice. She looked up to find a blood smeared Justin still trapped in his seat as smoke began to fill the air. Then she noticed the others. Some hung lifeless and she couldn't tell if they were dead or unconscious while others tried fruitlessly to escape. She took a last look at Justin before rushing back outside.

"Hey! There are still people trapped in the plane!"

No one even acknowledged her. "There are still people in the damn plane!" She called only to receive a few glances. Rooney didn't know what else to do so she tried to get attention the best way she knew how. "Damn it assholes! There are still people fucking trapped in the mother fucking plane!"

A few people stopped to look and she glared at them. "Get your asses in there and help!"

Two men hurried forward, followed quickly by a petite woman. The flames were spreading, four people wouldn't cut it. Panic began to rush through her and she felt a round of nausea sweep through her. Then, through the screams and smoke, Serenity and Sam emerged in front of her.

"Where's Justin?!"

"A few rows up, hurry!"

"Where are you going?!"

"To get help!"

She ran away from the plane and up to random people but most just brushed her off or pushed past her. Three other women and one large man were persuaded to go and she knew it would have to do; ten people had to be enough. Rooney scrambled back into the plane, where largest of the four men was directing people out, dead or alive. They were set yards away in the sand while their rescuers ran back and forth from the burning wreckage. Two of the women were told to get whatever they could use. Serenity was told to look for any first aid kits and she unwillingly left Justin, calling for Sam to help pry open the cockpit door. Rooney hurried to Justin and tried to rip the seatbelt away from him but it wouldn't come loose.

"It's hurting me, Rooney!" Justin cried.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Rooney herself was trying not to cry.

"People we have to get out of here, the fire is spreading too quickly!"

"No! Someone help me!" Rooney shouted. "I won't leave him!"

"You'll burn!" A woman yelled before running out.

"Somebody help!"

"Don't leave me Rooney!" Justin was crying hysterically.

"I won't, somebody help!" She yelled and began to feel the heat from the fire. A shadow fell over her and she looked up into Sam's ash covered face. "Where's Serenity?!"

"I told her to get out, that I would help you!" He said while pulling on Justin's belt.

"It hurts!" Justin cried.

"I know, buddy, hang on! Rooney I need a knife!"

Rooney took a panicked look at the creeping flames before taking a deep breath and rushing through them to get back outside. She searched frantically for something, anything sharp. All she found was sand as tears sprang to her eyes. She couldn't let Justin die! She scrambled among the ruble and found a large shard of glass. She rushed back to Sam, coughing in the thickening smoke.

Sam scratched and slashed at the belt but it wouldn't even fray; the fire was now only a few feet away from them. Sam had a look of exasperation on his face when he turned to her. "Rooney, we have to-"

"No!" She wept openly.

"We have to or we'll all die!"

"I won't leave him!" She cried angrily.

"You have to!" He grabbed Rooney's arm to pull her out.

"No!"

"Rooney!" Justin screamed in horror. Rooney fought with all her strength but Sam wouldn't let her go.

"Let me go!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

"I won't leave you!"

"I won't leave Justin!" Rooney managed to break away and ran back to Justin, tearing at his belt as hard as she could. Sam gave up and pulled with her. They heard the fabric rip but it wasn't enough. "No!" Rooney couldn't breathe and was growing weaker by the second. Her legs had begun to turn to jelly.

"Rooney!" She heard Sam yell then felt hands on her shoulders. She looked up into Landon's sooty face. "Come on!" He reached for Justin's belt.

They all pulled at once while Justin screamed in pain. One more hard tug sent Justin falling into Sam's arms. Rooney cried in happiness, reaching for her brother. She didn't even get to look at him before she was being propelled out of the plane.

"What are you doing?!"

"We have to get out of here!

"What about Justin?!"

"Your friend's got-" But he was interrupted as the chair above them caught fire. Rooney let out a shout as he pushed her forward into a cloud of smoke. Everything burned. The plane, her eyes, her skin, her lungs. She couldn't breathe, only cough and choke on the air around her. Blinded, she felt around for the people behind her. Her hand touched the side of the plane and she pulled away screaming. She felt her skin bubble as a new wave of panic swept through her. She was going to burn to death. She turned around, looking for an escape and lost her balance. She fell forward but landed gently in Sam's arms. He pulled her across the sand just as the plane was completely engulfed in flames.

"Rooney, c'mon!" Sam tried to get her to stand. "Rooney?!"