The smoke was beginning to get to her, as she stood there coughing she remembered something she had read somewhere. It said that most people that died in fires, passed out first from suffocation due to the smoke before being burned  alive. That was not a good way to die.

She focused on her palm and she got the light headed feeling again. As the cells in her Palm mended theirselves she looked around. 

There were no windows in the library. She didn't see any other way out of the library except through the doors. The doors weren't particularly strong, they were probably made out of some fake oak, with huge ugly metal knobs. She was sure some jock or the other would be able to break it down, but she was no jock. Her mother had always told her to look at the silver lining, but there was no silver lining here. The situation looked unbearably bleak, and even if she made it out of here there was no guarantee that outside wasn't worse. And to top it off the building was most likely empty, if she survived this, no more reading alone in empty buildings.

"... anybody here!". She edged towards the door as far as she dared and listened again.

" Hello! is anybody there!". She totally wasn't hearing things. Someone was out there. 

"Help! I'm stuck here. Anyone, help!".  One of the ugly knobs Shaked violently. She should have probably said something about the hot knobs.

"It's locked. Step back I'm going to kick it open". She took a step back, and not too soon. The door burst open and there at the threshold was the oddest figure she had ever seen. A guy stood there bare chested with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders like some Hogwarts character. His bright red hair was scattered in a flaming halo around his head. Thats when she noticed That his blanket was on fire.

"Y-Y-Your cloak's on fire". He noticed it and ripped it off his shoulders and tried to beat it down. Jessica almost laughed with the absurdity of it all. Here this her Knight with no armor was trying to put out his flaming blanket, when the whole building was on fire. She couldn't hold herself anymore and she let it out. She laughed with relief, she laughed at the 'almost' hopeless situation, she laughed because she had healed herself twice already and she was light headed and she laughed because that's what she did when she was stressed. Her savior remembered her and walked towards her. If he was bothered by her laughing he didn't show it. His left hand went up his messed up hair and scratched.

"Well there's goes that". He said looking at the burnt up blanket. Now that he was closer, she recognized him. He was the one that Alex had shown her earlier. The last one. Speaking of Alex hadn't he said that he wanted to go to the dark room to develop his photos. 

She gripped his arm like a vice, it was hot like he was burning up from a fever.

"He's still here. He's stuck in the dark room".

" Who's stuck where?".

" Alex. He's my cousin. He was on his way to the dark room. It's a room were photos are... ".

" I know what a dark room is. Where is he? ".

" He's a probably in the dark room, that's in the east wing".

" Probably? ". She could hear the doubt in his voice and she wasn't surprised. He had probably risked his life just to come here and here she was ungratefully asking him to go on a wild goose Chase.

" Look I know that...".

"Save the speech, this place is coming apart, Lead the way". 

The corridor outside was an inferno, she could hardly see anything through the smoke except for that. She silently wondered how he had found her. If she was in his shoes she would have just turned  and walked away. The smoke stung her eyes. Something burnt her arm and she gasped, She Immediately regretted it. The smoke choked her and her eyes watered. She coughed again and again, each one feeling like she a stab in her lungs. Something pushed her to the floor. Here the Air was a bit cleaner, not by much but it was better than what she was breathing earlier.

"The air closer to the ground is a bit better since all the smoke floats upward. But the longer we stay here the lower our chances ". She could hear a siren in the distance, A bit too late for that now. The school was almost all burnt up to embers. It was a miracle the building hadn't collapsed yet, collapsed on them and on Alex. She steeled herself and breathed in deeply a few times. 

"Okay let's go".

The door of the dark room had completely burnt down, if there was any body stuck here the person had left long time ago. She looked at the Red head beside her, she could guess what he would say He's not here. Let's get out while we can how could she explain to him that she wouldn't be able to leave without going into the room and checking if he was really there or not.

"So the door's burnt down, if he was alive he would have left". 

She didn't know how to reply him so she just simply said.

"Yes it has".

"But if he is unconscious then he's probably still inside". Jess only nodded. She didn't know her   long her lungs could hold out, the smoke was getting worse and there was no getting used to it. Though it didn't seem to disturb the Red head.

"We better go check" . He said and walked towards the door, he kept on suprising her.

They found Alex stuck under a burning beam, the smell of charred flesh mixed with the smoke. The smell brought the taste of bile to her mouth. The smell of Alex who had been too scared to learn how to ride a bicycle, Alex with his big books and his bigger words, Alex who had been the one to tell her that caterpillars were actually baby butterflies. That something as ugly and gross as caterpillars could turn into a beautiful Butterfly.

The Red head walked towards the beam and squatted.

"What are you doing?".

"Getting this off him". He held the beam and with a lot of grunting lifted it up and threw it in a corner. 

When Jess saw Alex it took all her will power not to puke. The beam had probably still been burning when it fell on Alex. It had burnt most of his abdomen And both his arms. if he survived he would probably suffer permanent damage, very serious permanent damage. What what was she thinking, if he survived? Of course he would survive. She could feel the redhead coming to move her away. She remembered her father. His white cotton shirt soaked through with blood, his neck bent at an awkward angle, his eyes drained of Life. She gritted her teeth and moved towards his body.

Her father had told her that everything had a purpose, God had given her this power for a reason and the reason was lying down in front of her. She wasn't going to lose another person.

"I think we need to leave and now".

"Wait". She couldn't talk her voice was cracking, she could feel the tears flowing down her cheeks."there's something I have to do". That's all that she could say now. Anymore and she could burst into sobs.

She touched Alex's arm and focused. The helium feeling returned stronger than it had ever. She could hear Jason gasping and saying something but it sounded like it was coming from a distance, the bile taste returned. She bent down and vomited. The world dimmed down and she fainted. 

Author's note: I'm very sorry for any typos, I'm an amateur after all. 

A comic artist is desperately needed.

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