Chapter Text
Static hair, crazed expression, and frantic gestures. Pacing led to mumbling led to exaggerated movements over the bunsen burner. It only took one wrong move for the flame to catch, licking polyester, engulfing cotton and hair and skin. Test Tubes of chemicals cracked, goggles melted, smoke choked screams fell silent.
It had been the smell of burning skin which had alerted the girl. The heat hadn’t bothered her, and her eyes had been glued to the pages of her book. The wall between the rooms was soundproof, but the vapour couldn’t be contained. The smell of her mother’s charred flesh assaulted her sinuses, burning her eyes, turning her stomach.
Bare feet struck laminate floor. Fists pounded stubborn doors, locks gave way from heat. There wasn’t a body left to save, nothing visible through the inferno anyway. The flames stroked the girl, greeting her as a friend, evaporating her confused tears before they could dampen her cheeks. The fire didn’t burn her, and she didn’t try to tame it.
If only she had been there, if only she had stayed with her mum, if only things had been different…
The girl collapsed onto her knees, dry sobs wracking her chest. She hadn’t been able to tell with her eyes shut tight, but when she looked down, she realised she was kneeling in a pile of ashes. When she screamed, the flames roared higher.