Damaged Goods.

Abstract, blinding flames enveloped the house, like a wild untamed dancein the wind. House by house, the raging inferno consumed the neighborhood until all that was left was the cries of a young girl.

Her frightened, wide eyes darted around the room, searching, seeking for an escape. The form of a young, terrified girl could barely be made out against the dark wood she was curled up by, occasional flashes of her pale, tear stricken face as a wild inferno enveloped her home, her life. 

She broke into a violent coughing fit, scrambling helplessly towards the door, It was unlocked, at least she thought it would. She hoped her attempts wouldn't be futile as her body, wracked with tremors ran towards the door, shielding her face in an attempt to lessen the burns as she ran through the wall of flames.

An agonizing scream was ripped from her throat as she barged into the outside world, not bothering to stop herself from falling to the lush grass that was her lawn. Was...Her lawn. A small crowd had gathered around the house, watching with mournful looks as it was swallowed whole by the swirling vortex of fire.

An ambulance arrived moments, followed by the reassuring sound of a fire truck, sirens blaring in the distance. It seemed the young girl was the only one who made it out, she lay abnormally still on the grass, one could easily assume she was dead if not for the uncontrollable shaking of her small body.

She was carried away into the ambulance, a small cry in protest as the door was shut, and her home vanished out of sight. Another coughing fit soon followed, a small whimper coming from the girl as her hands tentatively touched the large flesh wounds that scarred her body.

The pain was coming back, her chest rose and fell in quick movements as she easily panicked, voices that sounded distant and vague barely reaching her ears. Her vision which was already blurred by the tears that continued to pour down her face was soon covered in black dots, spreading out and seeming to almost numb the pain.

Now the pain was gone, nothing was there to occupy the empty void inside of her. To have everything ripped away from her so suddenly...so harshly it seemed almost unbelievable that a child of her age should witness such a horrific event, and to of been there must have been scarring.

Darkness took over, almost as if she faded away from everything; reality; pain..It was all gone. For a moment, she turned and expected her mother and father to come and sweep her up into gentle, caring hugs. 

But they weren't there- No one was. An endless darkness stretched out before her, and she couldn't help but shudder in fear. What would happen if she stepped forward and fell into a dark, monster-filled chasm? There was no floor... Was there an end, a beginning? 

Her intake of breath quickened as she heard voices once again, these ones seemed clearer, closer. Was someone here to save her? Was it her parents? Frantic thoughts raced through her mind, she couldn't keep the beaming smile off her face as she forgot her pointless fear, her small legs running full speed towards a small light that seemed to emit a glow as she got closer and closer.

Suddenly, there was a flash, she was instantly reminded of the fire as her eyes clenched shut. More voices...Was she safe yet? She was too scared to open her eyes, begging, wishing for this to be a horrible nightmare: That she'd wake up to find her father consoling her as she sobbed.

"Ana? Anastasia Grey?" A distinctly clear, feminine voice called? She shook her head rapidly, that wasn't her mom. Where was she?! She once again began to hyperventilate, her eyes flickering open and taking in the bright lights that made her flinch back into a soft ...Pillow? 

Confusion set in, her hazel eyes which had lost their innocence and was now replaced with a somewhat stoic, lost expression began to readjust. 

"She's responding." The voice confirmed, followed by a faint scribbling sound. She realized rather quickly this was a Hospital, she had been here before.

She craned her head around to look to her left, only to flinch back when she came face to face with a female nurse in her early twenties. She looked at the woman with wide, vulnerable eyes and clutched the white covers in a tight, vice grip as if they would help her. A soft hand hovered above her arm, hesitating as if by touching her the nurse would break her. She eventually lay her hand down on the smooth, undamaged skin.

"Sweety?" The small, innocent word cause tears to spring to her eyes. Her mom used to call her Sweety... The nurse panicked, looking over her worried as if she had done something wrong.

"Ana...Are you okay?!" Came the calm, but worried voice of the nurse. Ana made a sudden movement, as if to hug her only to scream when an excruciating pain tore through the left side of her body. She fell back against the bed limp, whimpering as a dull pain ran through the majority of her face, and half her left arm. 

"Honey..." She nurse began, having learned from her previous mistake. "You can't move...You suffered some really bad wounds during the fire." She continued in a soothing, motherly tone. Tears rolled down her face, ignoring the slight pain as the tears seemed to sting her face. The nurse's face was contorted into an expression of sadness and sympathy as she tried to think of a way to tell Ana she had suffered major third degree burns on her face and arms, scarred for life. 

Still, they had hope that she would be physically unaffected by the fire, despite her wounds and should be able to be up and running within a year. Emotionally? The nurse couldn't think of one person who would be fine after such an event.

"I'm Jenna, your nurse. Tell me, Ana have you forgotten anything?" Jenna began, sat attentively in a chair, similar to a psychiatric would when helping patients. Ana looked at her for a moment, as if wandering if she were trustworthy before shaking her head, still unwilling to speak.

"Do you feel any pain, anywhere." She continued, her eyes roaming over Ana as if looking for any injuries the team of doctors had missed, though it was unlikely.

She seemed to whimper at the question before nodding. What happened next was almost inaudible, but a small, raspy voice broke the silence.

"My arm and face.." Came from Ana, and she looked at the glass besides her longingly. Watching her actions Jenna realized quickly and grabbed the glass of water for her, helping Ana drink it down in greedy gulps. She hadn't realized she was so thirsty...And hungry come to think of it. Her stomach grumbled right on time, causing her to blush in embarressment, for a moment everything was as if nothing ever happened, but then reality came crashing back and her solem, stoic expression returned.

Her eye lids dropped, exhaustion setting in though it had only been twenty minutes, and Ana had moved barely an inch during that time. Jenna smiled and stood, caressing Ana's forehead for a moment before leaving the sleeping girl to her dreams.

Meanwhile, Ana found herself in the dark, chasm of silence, with nothing but the sound of her own weeping to fill the taunting silence...

Author's Note

Okay so keep in mind I'm a young writer, but don't hold back, if I've made any mistakes please tell me :)