I wake up with a powerful pain in…every part of my body. A sharp object is pushing up into my side. My left arm can't move. My head is being held down by something. Only my legs and my right arm can move freely. I pry open one of my eyes. Dust comes to sting it, and I close it immediately. I try again, determined to know what is going on. All I see is grey. Ash grey covers my entire field of vision. I crack open my second eye. Slowly, my vision adapts. Broken down walls appear slowly. Rubble upon rubble of concrete. Some of our belonging are spread out here and there.

I give a croaking sound…which was me trying to call someone. Nothing. I can't hear anything. Whether it's because of the accident or if there really is no sound to hear…I couldn't tell, for now. I attempt to call someone again. A louder croaking sound. Oh come one voice…don't give up on me now… I sounded like a strangled cat… "…..dy…" I somehow managed. "da…" and practically coughed myself to death. I cleared my throat a couple of times and tried again "daddy?" came my weak voice. "Mom? Bub? Sheepy?" No answer came. I resolved to try and move. As I slightly shifted, pain shot through my body. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore it. Moving again, I tried to wriggle my left arm free. It hardly budged. I did not want to stay here stuck like this. I redoubled my efforts and eventually, I slipped it out. Freeing the rest of my body was going to be a little tougher though… I tried squeezing my head out of its current position. My migraine screamed at me in response. I froze, waiting for the pain to subside. Very slowly it faded away, and pulsed back only occasionally. I tried again. The same thing happened as the arm. Soon, I was free…more or less. What was left of my house was nothing more than a pile of rubble. I couldn't stop a tear from streaking down my face. Panic and fear clawed at my insides as I realized I couldn't see my family. I forced my reluctant body to stand up and search around. I found a blood pond, but not the body to whom it belonged. Too much blood… I thought. No one could survive such a loss for so long. I reached for my pocket watch to see how long I had been out. One hour… Surprisingly the little thing had survived. I kept searching, moving rubble as I could. I found three of them…crushed under the weight of the house. Despair and agony clutched at my little heart. The blood pond had to be my father's then. Emotions, so powerful and overflowing they leave you numb. No more tears came down my cheeks. I felt hollow. Completely emptied of all that mattered. I sucked at school and everything else, and couldn't care about it, as long as I had my family at my side. My brother and sister especially.

But now, here I was. Alone, beaten up, tired, and empty. I sat there and did nothing. I stared blankly at the world around me. I believe it started to rain at one point. I'm not sure… I don't even know how long I stayed there. A couple of days, maybe more. Eventually I toppled to the ground and lost consciousness.

I was vaguely aware of someone casting a shadow over me. He bent down, and took me in his arms. Everything was hazy. But I do remember those burning embers staring down at me. His warmth engulfed me, and I was out again.