Shadows Of A Forgotten Spring

Travis yanked the flaming wood away from his chest.

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His entire body screamed in pain, smoke clogged his lungs, but one of it mattered. Not when his world was falling apart.

He stumbled to his feet, gasping at the heat pressed against his back. His house, the only home he'd ever known was crumbling, flames consuming everything he'd ever loved, everything he'd ever held dear. He could still hear his parents screaming, but they were dying, becoming weaker and weaker until... silence.

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He caught his breath, his chest tightening, hot tears running down his soot-streaked face, his small frame trembling beneath the burden of the loss just forced upon him. And then, in slow, agonizing motion, he turned.

Those guests who had danced in the garden, laughed at his jokes and eaten the food his family had prepared were all gone. They were like ghosts in the wind, and fled at the first sound of trouble. Not one of them stayed, nor did any of them attempt to help. He was alone.

A harsh cry came out of his mouth, but it wasn't enough. He couldn't hold in the pain, it was too raw, too sharp, too much. He screamed with all the strength left in his broken body.

It was a cry of loss. Of rage. Of betrayal.

But the world did not stop. The flames did not die down. The dead did not rise.

A few minutes later, red lights flashed through the night. Fire engines rushed to the building, spraying huge gallons of water, over the blaze that had consumed his home. He walked out of the darkness, his plan was to tell the firefighters who had set the house on fire. But then he saw him.

There at the forefront of the operation, standing tall and calm, in a well tailored black suit, was a man whose expression was blank. Mr. Black.noveldrama

Travis's blood turned to ice.

He knew why he'd come. Alexander Black's father had come not to help, but to watch. To make sure his evil plan had worked. To see with his own eyes the Mahoneys wiped from the earth.

His fists were so tightly closed that his nails bit into his palms. He wanted to tell on Mr. Black, but he was stopped by Mr. Black's cold, calculating stare.

There was no doubt in Travis mind that if he saw him, he would finish what he started.

He took trembling steps back and vanished into the darkness. His body broken, his family gone, his whole life in smoke and

ash.

As he limped away, swearing he'd never return, one thing burned brighter than the fire that had gutted his home: Revenge.