Chapter 1: Home.
Seraphine tugged off her dark blue jacket and shook off her shoes, her keys clinking together as she unlocked the door, revealing a long hallway towards the kitchen. She had finally returned home for the weekends from her college dorm. As the door opened, she was received by the pleasant smell of cooking and warmth that rushed up her arms from the heater. Her little sister, Ayla, rushed towards her with the biggest smile on her face.
“Sera!” Ayla shouted, throwing herself at Seraphine. Seraphine smiled, embracing her. Ayla had a light pink dress and a pair of ballet shoes on. Her blonde hair was tied up in a bun on top of her head. Ayla always loved to dance and would practice whenever she had time. Her darling little sister was as bright as the sun to a sunflower, her glowing, cheerful smile paired with a light that never seemed to fade. Ayla released Seraphine and ran inside.
“Mom! Sera’s home!” Ayla screamed, delight evident on her face. Seraphine rolled her eyes, but a grin perked up on her face. She opened the door and scanned the room for her parents.
“Mom?” Seraphine walked around the corner to see her mom making dinner. Her mother turned around. “Sera?” Her mother’s wavy hair fell to her shoulders, her sparkling eyes flickered to Seraphine’s figure. “Weren’t you planning to stay in your dorm this weekend?” Seraphine sighed. “I got homesick.”
“Alright, well, welcome back. “ Her mother squeezed her tightly before returning to tend to the food. Seraphine advanced up the stairs slowly; her exhaustion overtook her joyful reunion. She collapsed on her bed. Her breath slowed as the soft mattress caught her weight. No one told her how exhausting college would be. Needing a part-time job to cover expenses, pulling all-nighters to study for exams, and balancing extracurriculars, all in it. She surveyed around her room, a cozy sanctuary that seemed too distant. Her shoulders ached, and her sore limbs creaked at every movement she made. How long had it been since she’d gotten a full night of sleep?
Seraphine remembered all those late nights as a child when she used to stay up with a light, reading until she fell asleep. Those memories seemed far away. Everything had stayed the same since she left for college: the bean bag in the corner, the stack of books by her bed, the gentle light that always soothed her, and her family’s warm presence drifting up from downstairs. Her fluffy blanket always wrapped around her, the heater humming softly against the cold, bitter storm that thundered outside.
The crescent moon’s light shone through the window, casting shadows over her weary face. Oh gods, she was so exhausted. Downstairs, Seraphine could hear her parents chatting and laughing with her little sister. Her adorable, innocent baby sister whose laugh could brighten even Seraphine’s worst days. She smiled at the thought of her sister’s laugh and her happy little smile. Her sister’s laugh felt like something she needed to memorize. Her home made everything seem more bearable. Lighter. Seraphine turned over and stared at the ceiling. Maybe college wasn’t as bad as she made it out to be. At least it would be better with her friends and family.
Seraphine put down her phone after selecting her favorite song. She then put on her light blue headphones, decorated with stickers; the cushions were cool against her ears as she skimmed through the book with half‑lidded eyes. When Lover Girl by Laufey began to play, the soothing melody washed over her like warm light. The gentle strings and honey‑smooth vocals played softly, loosening something tight she hadn’t realized she’d been holding all week. She sighed. Laufey’s soft singing wrapped around her as she flipped through the pages of her book, her eyes shutting slowly. Seraphine began to slowly drift off until she felt a sharp warmth fan against her face. The heater’s hum stuttered. A faint crackle threaded through the music, wrong in a way her sleepy brain couldn’t place. The fire alarm began to scream in a sickening warning. Smoke punched into her lungs. Her eyes snapped open, watering at the painful heat. Something was wrong, deeply wrong. Flames licked up the wall beside her bed, bright and hungry, devouring her books, her blankets, her room. Pages curled and blackened, words dissolving into ash as the fire roared to life. Her mind blared a single word. Fire. Seraphine coughed, using her sleeve to cover her mouth and nose. Her pulse hammered in her ears, like branches whipping in a storm. Her thoughts stuttered at the destruction, then they snapped into focus. She let out a sharp scream at the realization. Her room was on fire. She scrambled to her feet, nearly losing her balance and tripping. Seraphine tore off the headphones as she threw herself towards the door. A pair of crimson eyes watched her from her bathroom doorway. Footsteps thudded against the hard floor, too heavy to be human. The comforting light on her bedside flickered off, the bulb shattering.
“W-Whose there?” Seraphine whispered. Her eyes darted around the room. Seraphine frantically searched around for the figure who had been standing in her doorway, her own steps growing more hurried as she heard the treading amplify. Her heart lurched as she saw the crimson pair of eyes flash as the fire crackled. The crimson eyes seemed to be everywhere where the flames spread. A blade came into view. Seraphine’s mind stumbled as the sharp metal caught her eye. She was unable to identify the figure, as they were cloaked by darkness where the fire had not yet burned. Seraphine picked up her chair and smashed it against the window. Shards of glass shattered against the floor and out of the window, creating a hole large enough to jump out of. She had to escape. The footsteps continued at a relenting pace towards her. Seraphine hesitated, looking back at the figure and then at the soft grass beneath her. The dagger flashed a malicious, glistening light in her eyes. She had no choice. Seraphine leapt out of the window. The unnatural crimson eyes followed her falling path down. As the unnatural beings looked out, she finally saw the face. A nearly perfect mimicry of humanity, yet it was too robotic to fully mimic human features. The metal upon its face glinted against the moonlight, her entire house now in flames. How was the inhumane machine surviving the fire? The crimson eyes backed away from the window as Seraphine got up slowly. Her joints ached from the vicious fall. Her clothes were singed from the brutal flames. Seraphine lifted her eyes, her mind pausing upon a slow and horrific realization. Where was her family? Were they still inside the burning building? Had they gotten out? Seraphine sprinted towards the doorway of her house as she reached for the doorknob. Pieces of her doorway that had been set afire fell in a pile, blocking her pathway.
“MOM!” Seraphine wailed at the top of her lungs, letting out a raw, instinctive sound torn straight from pure unadulterated terror. “Are you inside the building?”
“AYLA!” She coughed, stumbling towards the broken doorway, singed with painful sparks. “Ayla, answer me!” Nothing could have prepared Seraphine for what came next. A scream, small and shattered, ripped through the house. A plea for help. From the flames or the monster inside the building? Seraphine couldn’t tell. Ayla’s scream was cut off. The silence that followed was louder than the broken scream. Her mother didn’t even have time to scream. Crimson eyes stared out at Seraphine. Watching her. The flames of the house continued to crackle, but the world seemed muted. Silenced. Seraphine’s mind reeled. The fire screamed. Seraphine couldn’t. Her throat was raw from shouting Ayla’s name, from clawing at the burning doorway until her hands bled. Seraphine fell to her knees. This wasn’t real, right? It was just a nightmare. Seraphine pinched herself. The pain was real, but nothing compared to the ache in her heart. The void that had been created and would never be able to be repaired. Her knees buckled, and her feet slid out from underneath her. How could this have happened? Seraphine looked up, and the whole city was covered in a bright, destructive inferno of fire.
