“Zelo, Zelo, Zelo, Zelo,” You chanted as you sprinted towards your home. Zelo. Zelo. Zelo. Zelo. You could hear sirens in the distance, trying to reach you as you were trying to reach your brother. Tears streamed down your face, but they quickly evaporated as you stumbled into the house.

               The acrid smell of smoke and a wave of heat and flames hit your face, but you didn’t care. You trudged through the flames calling for Zelo, not paying attention to the blisters that were forming on your skin, or the searing pain that constantly ran through your body, or even your dry mouth and burning throat. All you could think about was finding your brother.

              “Zelo! Are you there?” You croaked with all of your strength. I don’t even have enough energy to shout anymore. How am I going to find him? You contemplated as you slowly progressed in your search. Minutes felt like hours, time moved slowly, and you still couldn’t find him anywhere you looked.

             After crawling out of his room, you realized that the only one left that you hadn’t checked was yours. That must mean he’s in there! You frantically scrambled to your bedroom door and tried to open it. I don’t know…if I can still push it open…but I have to try. I have to try everything I can for Zelo. Nothing matters without him in my life.

           Using the last of your strength, you pushed open the door; catching a glimpse of a familiar tousle of curly, “ramen-style” bleached blond hair on the ground. Zelo was unconscious, hands clenched in fists. “Zelo,” you whispered.

           Your heart twisted and you couldn’t stop from crying your heart out. But, the heat evaporated the tears before they could even roll out. Every single part of your body was hurting like crazy. It was hard to breathe.

           Images of the good times in life flashed before your eyes. So this is what dying is like. You didn’t even care about the sounds of firemen making their way upstairs. They were shouting something at each other, but you couldn’t comprehend the words.

           God, please allow Zelo to live. You pleaded. Even if I die, even if you take everything away from me, just don’t hurt my brother. He’s everything to me, the reason I’m still alive right now. For some reason, you thought you heard your mama’s voice calling for you. I must be going insane from this heat. Like heat or something. You concluded.  You could feel her your hair and her kiss on your cheek.

           “You’ve been so brave, my precious daughter,” her voice comforted you. Why am I hallucinating about mama? You felt angry. Why has god taken everything that was important to me away? Mama…daddy…and now Zelo. Am I a bad person? What did I do to deserve this kind of suffering? Does that mean I’m going to hell soon when I die? The thought horrified you. Even though you were atheist, you still had these kinds of moments. Please, I don’t care if you take me to hell. If you do, then please grant me my dying wish. Let Zelo live. Let Zelo live. Let Zelo live. My only regret is that if I die and I don’t go to heaven, I won’t be able to watch over him anymore.

           You could feel the gentle letting go of life. Slowly, everything turned black.

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This chapter is kinda short....sorry :P  Please let me know how you feel about this story! Send me a message, or comment below. I would really appreciate it! :D Thanks >_____<