Lintley Roarke{District 10}WIP

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I watch from my mother's bedroom window as our barn burns down. The orange and yellow flames illuminate the sky. The thick black smoke blocks out the sun, giving the sky the appearance of night. You can't see anything for miles, not the fields, not even the well. All there is to see is the ignited barn, glowing like a candle in a dark room. The pungent smell of the smoke reaches me from even here, almost a mile and a half away. I crinkle my nose trying to keep the smell from entering my nostrils. Yet the smell is on the bottom on my list of problems right now. Why I am worrying about such petty things when my sister and parents are no where to be seen?

* * *

"Stay here!" my father yelled at me when the lightning first struck the barn. I got up off the couch and peered out the window to look at the subtle flame that was beginning to engulf the barn. I watched as the dance of flames gradually became larger, it was mesmerizing. I heard my sister's feet running down the hall. "What's going on?" but no sound came from her mouth. The crack of thunder covered her voice entirely. We all knew what she was asking though.

Not one of us spoke. We all looked out the window and that was response enough. She gave a slight gasp and her mouth was hanging open. My mom was already handing her a hat before she could even say a word. "You're coming with us Valera," she said while she slipped on her boots. "What?!" I protested, "How come Val gets to go?" I crossed my arms in defiance. This wasn't fair. But then again, when was it?

"We've been over this so many times Lintley. She's older than you," I watched as my father glanced out the window. He became more and more anxious as the fire grew. "She's not even that much older than me," I protested "Just a little over a year!" My mother's eyes narrowed
and her voice became impatient. "That's another year of expierence, now we have to go." I watched as her and my father ran out of the house and towards the barn, but my sister remained. She looked at me, so much concern and love in her eyes. There was something else too, fear. My sister was scared. Never in my seventeen years have I ever seen my sister afraid of something. "C'mon Lint, do it for me." Her voice was so soft I could barely hear her, but her message was loud and clear. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them she was gone.

* * *

I unwillingly glance at the clock. Almost an hour has passed since that untimely strike of lightning that put the whole ranch in an up roar. Almost an hour and my family is still nowhere to be seen. The worries that I managed to subdue race through my mind with even greater horrors than before. So many new possibilities come to my brain, for all I know they can all be dead. The images flash through my mind, putting me in a trance like state. I step closer and closer to the window, as if moving closer to the barn will make the images disappear. Only it doesn't. And as if a warning to stay away, a flash of lightning hits not even 3 feet in front of me.

I jump back at least three feet and feel my head crack against something hard. It must not have appreciated my head hitting it because it retaliates and knocks me flat on my butt. A small "Ow," escapes my lips as I rub my hand against the back of my head, checking for any signs of a bump. I frowned a little and stand up to face my attacker. A smile spreads across my face as I realize the only thing that attacked me was my own clumsiness. I turn and fix my mom's revolving mirror so it's facing the correct way again.

With such heavy smoke you think it would be almost impossible to see anything, but the fire from the barn burns so brightly that I can see my reflection perfectly. Except it doesn't look like me, it looks like some creature from another planet. I push my short, blondish hair out of my face and take a closer look. The blaze of the fire makes my feminine features appear better than ever. I touch the ends of my hair, remembering when it was long, but now it doesn't even reach my shoulders(sometimes it even looks shorter, depending on how its styled). I always thought when I cut my hair off it was a sign or rebellion and that was it, but now I see that my face looks so much better like this. I've always been thankful to have more of my mother's looks. Unlike my sister, who clearly resembles our father. It's actually hard to believe that we're related at all, the only part of us that looks slightly similar is our hair, even then hers is slightly darker than mine.

My light skin appears to be glowing with that tan color I'm always jealous of under the light of the flames and my hair has that perfect shine I always try to get. If you look close enough into my blue eyes you can see the flames from the barn flickering in them. For once in my life, my eyes appear to be alive with something other than fury. Too bad they're alive with the thing that's destroying my family's fortune. I close them, hoping that when I re-open them the evil will be gone. But of course it's not.

I continue to examine my face picking out the flaws that aren't noticeable in normal light, like the scar above my right eyebrow. The puckered skin is clearly visible now, giving me a perfect flashback of the accident that caused it. The shadow on my face makes my nose appear even larger than it already is and making the dent in it more visible than ever. I run my finger over it remembering when Valera pushed me off the horse and how hard my face hit the ground. I begin to laugh at our childishness and how it took me months for me to even go near a horse again. Over my laughter is when I hear it, the sound that I've been dreading all along.

The sickening splintering of wood fills my ears. I don't turn around and look to see what's going because I know if I do I'll have a breakdown right here. Instead I just close my eyes and listen. But really, what other choice do I have? I hear each peace break. It's as if it drags on to torture me, like a really boring book without an end. I listen. I wait. And after what seems to be a lifetime I finally hear the barn collapse. I finally open my eyes and give a slight shudder. There's a final crack of thunder before it begins to pour. It sounds like one of those unforgiving, ice cold rains. It should be able to put the barn out in minutes.

I have no other option but to wait. Just wait and see who comes back. Maybe it will be all of them. But that dark thought crosses my mind the maybe, just maybe it will be none. I shake my head, as if trying to shake the thought out of my mind. They're all going to come back. From what I heard there was plenty of time to get out of the barn before it fell, wasn't there? My head turns as I hear the creaking of our front door open. I'm waiting for three pairs of boots to come crashing through the halls, three different voices calling for me, telling me they were alright. But I don't hear three people running down the hall towards me. And it's not three voices calling my name, just one. "Lintley," I hear it say "Lint-ball where are you?"