Liam got back home late. He slowly opened the door, then closed it quietly to not wake anybody up. Then he sneaked up the stairs and went into his room. He pulled out his Nintendo Switch from his hoodie pocket and put it on his desk. He pulled off his hoodie, then changed out of his pants and put it on his chair. He is now wearing a tie-dye galaxy t-shirt and shorts. He sat down on his bed. He thought back to Zack’s picture that has scorched marks from a fire and wondered what happened in his past. Liam laid on his bed under his blanket and remembered that sad smile on Zack’s face when he looked at the picture and fell asleep wondering what happened to him.

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Zack got back to an empty home. When he went to the living room, he then remembered that his grandparents will be gone for a few weeks for a cruise ride that they got two free tickets for. He went to his bare room, since everything he owned burned in a house fire, about a year ago. Except for the picture he saved. There is a window on the ceiling over his bed that he likes because he can see the stars when he goes to sleep. He took off his bag from his shoulder and put it next to his bed. He sat down on his bed and pulled out the book from his bag. The book is frayed and old, its called ‘Clockwork Prince’. His mom started to read the series to him but never got the chance to finish it. Zack tried to finish the book a few months after the fire but couldn’t do it. He opened it to the chapter that has the picture. He picked up the picture and put the book on the table next to his bed, then laid down on his bed looking at it. Then he fell asleep.

The first thing he noticed was the smell of smoke and the burning heat on his skin. He woke up to the struggle to breathe, then he heard the screams of his family in the next room. He got up out of his bed then went to his door and opened it. The hallway is full of fire. He put up his hands to protect himself from the flames. He tried to leave his room but the heat was too intense. All he could see was the fire burning everything. He could hear the screams of his family, they were screaming of agony. Then one person stopped screaming and then the rest stopped. When the screams stopped, all he could hear was the building starting to collapse from the fire. He screamed their names hoping that there was an answer to them, but nothing. He took the blanket off his bed and wrapped it around him, hoping that the blanket would keep him safe. He ran out of his room into the hallway. He could barely see with all the smoke and the scorching bright light of the fire, but he managed to get to his sister’s room, which is right beside his room. His parents went to her room when they figured out that there was a fire, when they woke her up they were going to Zacks room but the fire grew bigger and started to go into the room. That is what he found out when he went into Isabelle's room. The blaze was so unbearable, but he was able to see his family in the corner of Isabelle’s room. The fire was on them, burning their flesh. He felt his knees hit the floor. The wave of emotion, grief, and the smell of burning flesh hit him so hard he couldn't move. He heard the sirens outside of the house and that brought him back to reality. He walked back to the hallway, with tears streaming down his face, the blanket somehow protecting him. He saw a picture burning on the floor, he patted the corner of the blanket of the picture, getting rid of the flames. He put the picture in his pocket. He looked around but there was stuff on fire blocking the exits. He managed to get back to his room since that was the only place that wasn’t blocked and on fire. Then everything started to go dizzy from all the smoke he inhaled. He felt his body go limp and hit the floor. He woke back up to the sounds of the firemen shouting. One of the firemen found his way into Zack’s room. He heard him shout to the other firefighters. The fireman went into his room and picked him up, covering Zack with his blanket more securely. The firefighter that is carrying him walked out of the room and he saw that his room immediately engulfed with fire, burning everything. He also saw another fireman go into Isabelle's room, but the person holding him carried him downstairs and out through the door. Then everything went dark again. The images from that night will haunt his life for a very long time.