Smoke fills my nostrils. My eyes blink open. It's impossible to breath. More smoke than a 19th century chimney. The temperature is tantalising. The hairs on my arms and face singe and shrivel. Flames arise beneath me, scorching my face. I cry out in agony, except I don't make any noise. The fire is engulfing everything in the room. The air is becoming thick with smoke now. I slump to the ground, more oxygen here than in the rest of the room but its disappearing fast. My mind suddenly clicks into action. Mum. Dad. Anna. I have to warn them! I shield myself from most of the flames and dart out of my bedroom. I'm not quick enough. My leg gets caught. Im stuck. The flames draw closer to where I'm lying, as if being drawn to me by an unknown force. The flames are nearly on me. I look left. My sister is alight. Her whole body a human fireball. She is shrieking with pain. The shriek is piercing my heart, filling me with more sorrow than i ever thought possible.

My mother is on my right, her body now a black carcass. The little life left in her gives one final groan and she drops to the floor. Dead. My eyes fill up with tears, unable to comprehend the situation to its full extent. I am in shock. A shape grows nearer to me. It reaches me and i see its my father. He looks scared but determined, he grabs my caught leg and pulls. I'm free. I turn to hug him but he's gone. I look left and see he has reached my sister. In blind shock she has grabbed hold of him. He is now also on fire. His whole body turns into an orange flame and they scream in harmony. For those few seconds, the noise of the flames cease and all i can hear is the pain and anguish they feel. Then almost before it has begun, they stop. They are both no more. Their lifeless bodies slump to the floor. I am alone. And for one time in my life, there is no one to help me. Without control, my body stands up and runs to the window. Before i can stop myself, I'm through and hurtling towards the ground. I'm feet away from certain death. Images flash before my eyes. My mother. Father. Sister. The images stop. The ground reaches out for me...