The Human, Angel, and Wolf

Home Destroyed

-Daniel's Point of View-

"You sure you don't want to join us?" My mom asked my sister as she, dad, and I were getting ready to leave and run some errands.

"No thanks, mom." Helen glanced away from her book to look at mom .She was laying on the couch with a blanket because her leg pain was high today. 

"Honey, you hardly go out anymore. Maybe later this afternoon we can go for a walk." We are all still learning how to help Helen through her illness, but I think mom has taken it the hardest. She tried to keep Helen active, but most of the time the repercussions mean more pain.

Helen made a face at the idea of going for a walk, but tried to smile anyway. "Maybe, mom. If the pain lessens, maybe we can try."

"Do you have everything you need before we leave, Sweaty?" Dad has gotten much more protective of her since Helen's health started declining. Of course, we all have. It's hard to see her like this. She is one of those people who have a heart to be doing things for others, she doesn't enjoy not being able to work or even finish college.

"Um, maybe some water?" She always looks guilty when she asks for anything. I followed dad to the kitchen and grabbed her a few snacks she likes in case she decides she can eat something. 

"Bye, sis. See you in a couple hours." She lifts her chin up in acknowledgement and winks at me. 

"Love you guys. Don't forget to lock the door." Helen says as she cozies up further into the couch and we all walk out. 

"Mom, she's going to be fine. She's been home alone before." I grinned, trying to put my mom at ease. She gets nervous leaving Helen for to long. Since she got sick, Helen sometimes can be a bit clumsy. For instance she walks into furniture and sometimes hits her head on the door frames. 

She takes a deep breath, "You're right. Let's get going, I don't want to be out all day." 

We get in the car and head off to the first store. I needed new cleats for soccer practice. Afterwards mom and dad each had stores they needed to visit. We were only gone about two hours by the time we were done and headed home. When we got to our street we heard this really loud boom and it only took us a moment to realize which house the noise came from. I had ice running through my veins, mom screamed, and dad grabbed his phone to call 911. 

Neighbors had come out of their homes and rushed over to us. I started running towards the house yelling my sister's name, but dad caught me. "Daniel, see if she's in the back." 

I took off and looked everywhere. She wasn't there. Where's my sister? This could not be happening. I ran back to the front and as I told dad she wasn't there, the fire department drove up. 

One of them ran over to us and asked if anyone was inside. "We think our daughter was in there! We left her on the couch two hours ago when we left to run some errands! Please, you have to find her!" Dad was sobbing now and he and my mom just clung together. The man, who must be their unit leader, looked away. He nodded and then started yelling instructions to his team. I lowered myself to the ground and just watched our house burn, what was left of it anyway. No way my sister survived that. 

I feel arms wrap around me from behind and turn to see my best friend Kate. She has tears running down her face, but she doesn't say anything. Just holds me until the man from earlier comes back over to us. It takes him a minute to make eye contact with us and start talking. "I'm sorry Mr. and Mrs. Holt. It appears the explosion is a result of a gas line bursting. The fire was so hot that there is no body to recover." He stops talking and goes to speak with some officers who also responded. 

My parents are sobbing and walk over to the car. I feel paralyzed, I can't process the fact that my sister is gone. Kate holds me tighter and I realize that I also started crying. After a while, Kate's parents come and take me and my parents to their home, which is across from ours. They invite us to stay with them until other arrangements can be made. We all mostly just sit there for a while, but I need to get out of here. I feel like I can't breathe with everyone here. When I get outside, I see that Kate followed me. She just smiled sadly and grabbed my hand, letting me lead the way and set the pace. We take a moment to look at the only house I've ever known, it's still smoldering. One guy in the midst of people watching caught my attention. He wore jeans and a yellow button down shirt, but what really stood out was his eyes. Even from this distance, they seemed dark and hollow. The guy gave me the creeps so I turned and walked away. 

When we come back, dad is on the phone with our insurance company and mom is laying down in their spare guestroom. Kate's parents offered us some food, but no one really ate anything. When dad got done on the phone he told us that an inspector would be out tomorrow to check the house and a plan would be put in place to rebuild. The next several days were the worst days I have ever had to live through. Phone calls to family and friends, the inspector and cleanup of our home. We of course made the news and couldn't go anywhere without someone condoling us for our loss. 

The day finally came for the funeral, since we didn't have anything to bury we decided to hold it at a local church. I was pretty much still numb and Kate was helping me a lot by making sure I was there on time. Mom and dad had been pretty distant and Kate feels like my only constant right now. 

To my surprise, Kate stood up from her seat beside me and was the first speaker. Helen wrote a letter to us in case anything ever happened to her and had it given to Kate. Sis, I miss you.