PROLOGUE
The walls went up in a woosh, the wood dry and rotten from years of abandonment. Smoke filled the space between the roof and the top of the doors, creating a foggy haze over everything in the room. Cameron frantically twisted and turned, desperate to find something, anything that would get them out of this mess.
Both his brother and sister were already crying as their own panic set in but Cameron bit his back. He knew he was the only one who could save them now, no one else was coming.
Unless I make them come,he thought, rushing to the window where the fire was the lowest.
He stood on the tips of his toes, peering out of the green moss covered glass. He could almost make out a small row of houses not far from the hut. Picking up the heaviest thing he could find, Cameron smashed through the window. With the flames growing higher and higher, he moved quickly, ignoring the sweat dripping into his eyes. Rushing back to where Ciaran held Senga by the crumbling fireplace, Cameron snatched a forgotten fire poker from the hearth and ran back to the open window.
It was too tall off the ground for Ciaran or Senga to make it through and the fire was spreading too quickly for Cameron to go for help so his plan would have to suffice. Ripping his shirt off, Cameron tied it around the end of the fire poker and shoved the metal rod out of the window, doing his best to ignore his siblings’ cries.
“Ouch,” he winced, the iron getting hotter as the heat from the flames spread.
Wenching the fire poker into the best position he could manage, Cameron looked out of the broken glass one last time, praying someone would see his makeshift flag and come save what was left of his family.
Senga’s screams grew hoarse the longer she wailed, the smoke filling her lungs. Cameron hurried back to Ciaran, knowing all he could do now was try to keep them calm and alive while praying for a savior.
Ciaran set Senga on the ground, her toddler body too heavy for his young frame. Cameron moved to her to rub soothing circles on her back the same way he had seen their mother do countless times before, but it was no use. She continued to scream and cry, her own fear spiking Ciaran’s until he too was wailing.
“Shhh,” Cameron tried to soothe, but without anything else he could do, his panic started to build.
It wasn’t long before he was crying right alongside his siblings, calling out for his mother, for anyone to come and save them. He couldn’t tell how long they stood there like that, clutching to each other as the walls were eaten away by the flames. In reality, it was likely only minutes but to him, it felt like an eternity had passed.
“I think there’s someone in there,” a voice said, sounding like it was miles away.
“Aye.” A gasp. “It looks like a couple of bairns are trapped inside.”
“Quick! Grab yer buckets and yer furs. Someone needs to go in there to pull them out.”
Relief rushed through Cameron. He could hardly make out what the voices were saying, but he could catch enough to know that help was coming. He doubted that Ciaran or Senga had heard as much as their cries had become almost deafening when paired with the crackling of the fire.
“Everything is going to be all right,” he shouted, his words coming out raspy and tight. “They found us. Someone is coming.”
Ciaran looked over at him, his eyes watery and filled with tears. Cameron’s heart broke at the sight, but he knew they wouldn’t have to endure this much longer.
“Stand up, get up,” Cameron urged. “Make yerself tall so they can see us.”
Ciaran tried to push himself off the floor as Cameron hauled himself up, but the lack of air had his brother collapsing back down again. Senga was too young to understand anything but her fear so she stayed on the floor, using her blanket as a shield from the flames.
A loud crash had them all looking towards the front of the hut in surprise. Cameron was sure that the roof was about to collapse but instead, they saw the front door slam into the ground. A man cloaked in fur came charging into the room, one arm in front of his mouth, the other stretched out to grab what he could. Ciaran was the closest thing to the man and was swooped up and carried out of the hut, the smoke making them both disappear from sight seconds after the man first entered the house.
Senga cried louder, terrified at the fact that her brother had just vanished, but Cameron knew it was the best thing to have ever happened to his brother. He waited, his lungs burning and his hair dripped, for the next man to come running in. He made up his mind that he would insist on Senga being the next one out. She needed the air first.
It was only a second or two before another figure emerged from the flames and smoke, arms reaching out to collect Senga off the floor. She clutched the man’s arms with everything that she had as he raced back out. For a moment, Cameron thought her screams got louder, but he shook himself, convinced that the fire was making him imagine things.
Standing alone, Cameron watched where he thought the doorway was like a hawk. It was impossible to see through the cloud of thick, black smoke and the heat from the fire made the room warp. But he did his best to stay on his feet and ready.
He blinked hard, then rubbed at his eyes, his vision blurring as the fog burned. His chest heaved, sucking in what little air was left as best he could. Without a shirt on his back, he felt the heat of the fire inching closer to him the longer he waited.
Cameron willed himself to stay standing until his muscles shook from the effort and the lack of oxygen. In a heap, he collapsed on the floor. Seconds turned to minutes and his relief turned back into fear. Desperate, he cried out,“Help me! Please! I’m still in here! Please! Dinnae leave me!”
“Shhh, hush now, Cameron. Everything is all right.”
His head shot up, looking for the person talking. It was a voice he had known all of his life, but something in the back of his head told him it wasn’t possible. He had watched his mother die that morning. He had seen the light drain out of her eyes and her blood had pooled under her neck. There was no way she could be talking to him now and yet, hers was the voice he heard.
“Mum?” he called, his eyes still blinded by the smoke. “Where are ye?”
“I am right here,” she soothed.
