Chapter 1:

Fire. Everywhere. Flames crawl across the dark hardwood floors and climb the walls adorned with family photos. They glide along the floor as if they own the place, ransacking everything in sight. They are an unwelcome guest, destroying books, furniture, and anything else they can lay their hands on. Smoke swirls and skips around the entire house as ashes fall from the ceiling, and creaks could be heard within the walls. Heat radiates off the quaint house, scalding anything daring enough to approach it. Piercing screams bounce off the surrounding trees, creating a terrifying echo. A blinding orange glow engulfs the entire house, not leaving anything untouched, the once green and neatly trimmed lawn now singed and ashy.
A figure rushes through the nearby forest, nearly tripping over everything in her struggle to get away. Her long black hair whips in her tear-stained face, sticking to it and obstructing the path ahead. She takes one last look at the burning house - her home - and then continues running deeper into the woods. A familiar voice chanting over the sound of the crackling fire startles her. Her own twin's voice, full of malevolence, calls out her name.
"Eden!"
A flock of crows fly out of the canopy, away from the shrill voice shouting into the night. A wicked laugh rises over the trees and chases after Eden, causing an eerie chill to run up her spine. Picking up speed, she leaves sixteen years of memories behind along with a trail of ash. The surrounding trees conveniently conceal almost everything on the forest floor and make for good cover. Yet because of this, light can hardly make its way through. Frantic and terrified, Eden blindly navigates a way to safety.
Unaware of the large root asserting its dominance, she trips and skids to a halt in the dirt. Eden lays still for a few seconds. Coughs and gasps then fill the air as she attempts to catch her breath. A squirrel observes from a neighboring tree, somehow mocking the girl face first in the dirt. Still wheezing, Eden rolls onto her back.
Through a small hole in the canopy, the stars are almost impossible to see. A blanket of dreary gray smoke blocks the once beautiful night sky from view. The cloud travels slowly above the forest, searching for its runaway victim. Eden loses track of time as she stays motionless on the ground, processing everything that had happened in such a short time. The incident occurred not too long ago, and yet it feels like ages has passed.
Not long before the fire took place, Eden and her parents were in the basement watching a movie on their old fashioned television. She loved her parents with all her heart, and would spend as much time with them as possible. Maya, her twin, was nowhere to be found. Her absences were becoming very frequent, making Eden more anxious as time passed. Maya was always around and spending time with her family, but about a year ago it just stopped all together. It became rare for Eden to even get a glimpse of her sister. But when she did, Maya would look frustrated and would be talking to herself. It scared Eden, but she was afraid to talk about it with her parents. She had no idea what caused the change in her twin.
Brushing off her nerves, Eden smiled to herself as she watched the rest of the movie, sneaking peeks at her parents here and there. They were sitting as close as possible, and her mom was resting her head on her husband's shoulder. They looked extremely tired. Her dad's head drifted to the side against his wife's as they both drifted off to sleep. Eden laughed softly to herself. The interactions between her parents always sent a warm feeling to her chest.
With her dad's soft snoring in the background, the credits started rolling as the movie ended. Careful not to wake her parents, Eden tiptoed across the floor to the remote next to her mom. She quickly turned off the television and softly made her way up the carpeted stairs. Although it was ten at night, she was still very much awake. Grabbing the book that she was reading from the kitchen counter and a flashlight, she made her way out of the house.
Eden slowly opened the wooden door, being extra careful that the squeaking didn't wake her parents. Once she was out of the doorway, a sweet smell filled the air around her, coming from the recently trimmed lawn. The sky was dotted with bursts of white that broke through the dark. The moon, being the only source of light, lit a path for her.
After a short walk through the backyard, Eden found herself at her favorite reading spot; right where the woods cut into their backyard. Not daunted by the scale of the large tree, she began climbing. She skillfully maneuvered up the side of the tree, jumping from branch to branch without any trouble. Landing on the same branch as always, she sat facing the all too familiar trees from her and her twin's adventures.
Getting comfortable, Eden found where she left off in her book with the flashlight and was immediately lost in it. She was in her own little world and found peace in moments like these. Maya used to spend time with her sister here too, but those days are long gone. Eden was still engrossed in her book about twenty minutes later. Not once did she turn back around to face the house. Even when the air became unusually warm. A soft crackling sound made her ears perk up as she finally turned around. Everything seemed fine. Until flames peeked out the living room windows.
Eden's heart dropped as she struggled down the side of the tree and sprinted back toward her house. Her heart rushed to her head and was pounding on her ears. Her legs burned from how much strain was being put on them. She made it to the back door panting and crying, only to find that the doorknob was scorching hot.
"Mom! Dad!" Eden desperately banged on the door yelling for her parents. It was then that she realized they were stuck in the basement. She frantically brought her foot to the door as hard as she could, but to no avail. No matter how hard she tried to kick down the door, it just wouldn't budge.
She took a step back to think, but moments later the entire house was completely engulfed in flames. Her parents' agonizing screams resonated in the air; actual or imagined, she'll never know. Eden tightly covered her ears, her heartbeat echoing throughout her body.
Scrambling for something to throw, Eden found a large rock near a flowerbed. Picking it up quickly and aiming at the large window next to the door, she launched it with all of her strength. The glass erupted into splinters, shooting off of the window frame. A cloud of smoke rocketed out from the broken window, the force of which sent her stumbling backwards onto the ground. Small pieces of glass found her hands, but she completely ignored it.
Eden had no choice but to escape to the middle of the lawn, away from the house. Still panting, she soon heard a mumbling from behind her favorite tree. Eden froze in her steps.
"You were supposed to be in the house with them," Maya said, a box of matches in one hand. "You're supposed to be dead." She tilted her head and smiled at Eden.
The words sent chills down her spine. In a split second, Eden was off in the other direction, dashing past the destroyed house towards the other side of the forest, footsteps chasing after her.
Even now, gazing up at the smoky sky, she can still hear the echo of her sister's feet. Lying still on the cold hard ground, the reality of the situation hits. Tears stream down the sides of her face as her whole body begins to shake. She covers her eyes with trembling hands, but it does nothing to stop the tears. Her own parents are gone and Maya may as well be a stranger now. She cries until it becomes hard to breath, and even then she can't seem to stop. She cries for her mom, her dad, and her sister. She cries for herself; a lost child left with nothing in a matter of minutes.
As the sobs recede to slight hiccups, Eden slowly regains her strength and stands up again. She cautiously pokes her head into the clearing ahead to make sure no one else is around. Once she knows it's safe, the lonely child steps out of the forest. Eden thought she had explored everywhere around her house, but this area is completely new. The clearing is surrounded by tall trees with a large lake in the middle, and the wild grass, dotted with vibrant colors, reaches just a few inches below the knee caps. She cautiously makes her way to the dark blue water. The surface reflects the night sky as it peeks behind a trail of smoke. Eden spots a relatively flat rock at its edge and kneels down, reluctantly peering into the water.
One look at her reflection and Eden almost breaks down again. Most of her face is covered in ash; the only visible skin is due to the marks left over from her tears. But what really catches her attention is her clothes. Her favorite shirt, memorabilia from when her parents brought her to see her favorite play on her birthday, is burned at the edges and stained with the smell of smoke. That day was the best day of her life, and the one thing to remind her of it is now ruined.
"What are you doing?" Eden patronizes herself, followed by a loud slap as her hands connect to her cheeks. The skin burns, but it's what she needed to break herself out of her trance. She splashes water onto her face and shoots upright on the rock. Moving on to the wild grass, Eden creates a trail from her pacing.
"What's wrong with you?" She yells, making exasperated hand gestures. "You just watched your own parents die and you're just going to sit here and cry? No way! We're going to march right on down to the police station and we're going to tell them exactly what happened. We have to stay strong for our parents." She pauses. Her voice fades into a whisper as she finishes. "We just have to..."
Composing herself once again, she stands up straight, takes a deep breath, and starts walking.

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Hey guys! I'm super excited for this story! It originally started out as a short story, but I loved it so much I just had to turn it into a book.

So what did you think? I hope you like the first chapter.

If there are any mistakes anywhere - grammar or plot - please feel free to call me out. Any kind of feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much for reading!

_Carry_On