Five years earlier
Following a hair styling tutorial, twelve-year-old Anna felt a tug on her hair, making her yell out in annoyance. Getting up in a quick motion, nine-year-old Jamie laughed as he rushed off, his feet pattering on the floor. As Anna turned to chase her brother.
"Damn it, Jamie." (Anna)
Hearing Anna, her parents looked at her with a soft but stern expression as her mom spoke. They didn't bother getting up, though still smiling as they played a card game against each other.
"Language, young lady." (Mom)
When their mother spoke, Anna and Jamie still did a version of cat and mouse dodging and chasing each other.
"Slowpoke." (Jamie)
Sticking out his tongue, their parents shook their heads slightly, returning to their card game as their father spoke with a soft laugh.
"Just try not to go too far, you two." (Dad)
Her snarky brother smiled brightly as he snickered, constantly toying with his sister to make her angry. As she chased him around the living room.
"Stay still, you brat." (Anna)
Although sounding annoyed and upset, Anna had a wide grin on her face
"Oh, Yeah? Make me." (Jamie)
"Oh, I will." (Anna)
With that challenge to her, she kept chasing her brother. Jamie ran around the couch, putting it between them both, moving back and forth as if to act like they would move across before Anna grinned and jumped over the sofa, wrapping her arms around her brother's waist as he started to laugh as she tickled his sides. A laughing scream rose from him as he struggled to hold back his laughter.
"Stop, stop, I give up, I surrender." (Jamie)
Wrackeded with trembling laughs, Jamie smiled brightly, although his older sister tickled him before she let him go, shoving him softly as they both laughed.
Beep Beep Beep
Grabbing the cards, their dad started to clean off the table. As their mother stood yelling at the timer.
"Cancel timer." (Mom)
"Timer is canceled" (Automated voice)
"Okay, kids, go wash your hands and help your dad set up the table." (Mom)
Having a gentle smile, and both young kids were jumpy and excited. They both bolted to get cleaned up and help prepare food. Both of them chanted the name of a straightforward item.
"Pizza Pizza." (Anna, Jamie)
Before they could get their hands washed, a loud bang shook the entire house, and everyone froze in shock and worry.
"Mom, Dad, What was that?" (Jamie)
Jamie's voice shook as he spoke, being the first to get out of his stupor to run over and hug their dad. Anna snapped out of it and ran to her phone to see if she had received a report about what had happened there. Before she could attempt to look as if in slow motion, another boom shook the house. Flames rolled out of the kitchen, spreading quickly as they swallowed their mother in its flaming embrace. Shattered glass boomed out without being able to scream in horror. A shard faster than sight slammed into Jamie's temple, making him drop as terror filled their father's face as the flames spread to him. In his final moments, he wrapped his son's corpse in an embrace, not knowing that his son died instantly just a few seconds earlier. The flames never fully reached Anna, but pressure caused her teeth to chatter as she was blasted against a wall. Black fog filled her mind as fire engulfed her home and family.
It was but a moment for her, though when she opened her eyes, she was still in the flaming house as the walls and ceiling crumbled around her.
Cough Cough
Smoke was filling her lungs as she tried to stand up, but one of her limbs wasn't moving correctly anymore.
"Mom, Dad, Jamie." (Anna)
Her body shook as she started to drag herself across the living room to the dining room. Her yells were audible, and she could not be fully yelled in the smoke.
"Please, somebody." (Anna)
Her voice grew weaker as her lungs burned in protest. Pain shook her body, though still she dragged herself closer to them. The first thing she saw that remained of her family was her father's burnt corpse wrapped around Jamie. Jamie's body was still somewhat whole. Hope surged in her body. He can't be dead. He is still somewhat whole. He can't have died. Those thoughts ran through her skull as she dragged herself closer to him. Pressing her hand against their father's corpse, his skin slid off, pulling away and breaking apart as she shoved her father's corpse off her brother. Jamie's legs and arms were practically cinders as his torso and head were pretty much undamaged, besides the hair being burnt off his body covered in soot. Although warm from the fire, his body wasn't warm enough to bring about hope for him being alive.
"Jamie?" (Anna)
His still body remained limp and lifeless as she gently touched what remained of his shoulders as she shook his body.
"Jamie." (Anna)
Cough Cough Cough
Her body shook as more smoke filled the house, and the ceiling started to slope downward as the walls weakened and crumbled. Her hands moved faster as she shook her brother's corpse. Sobs rose and broke her shouts as she kept trying and failing to wake the dead.
"JAMIE!!!"
Soot-stained tears flowed down Anna's face as her arms wrapped around her brother's limp corpse. She looked around herself and saw the remains of both her parents and felt no life from her brothers' semi-whole corpse in the crumbling remains of their home.
Forcing herself, she pulled herself up, hobbling on her good leg as she pushed away from her family's remains. Unfortunately, that wasn't all the home had in store for her that day. A beam above her head creaked as she walked through the smoke. Hearing the sound like a snapping twig, she threw herself to the side narrowly missing having her head smashed in by the beam of the house as it landed on her battered leg, causing smoldering blisters to form up her leg as a scream filled her lungs as she collapsed on the ground the beam pinning her inside the house.
From smelling and feeling her flesh cook, shock overtook her body as she could no longer focus. The blackness in the corners of her vision filled her sight even more as she was unable to keep back the darkness in her head and lost consciousness.
Waking up in the hospital, news played on the television in the corner of the room as a news reporter talked about casualties caused by over-pressurized gas lines that exploded across several blocks close to the appearance of giant towers. The reporter spoke about the fact that it was unknown at that moment how many died but mentioned how the hospitals were overflowing with patients from the fires that survived and how the fire department and other emergency services were working together to save as many lives as possible.
This was the first day the towers appeared.