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+Chapter 2+

Mari undressed and got comfortable on the bed, not bothering to shower because it was too cold to do that. She got out the cake and the single candle she had bought, after setting it up and lighting the candle, she sang to herself a happy birthday song.

The single bulb in the room was low and cracked and it barely gave out much light, so much so that the single candle on her cake brightened up her room more than the bulb did - maybe she should get a new one.

After singing the song, Mari leaned forward to blow out the candle only for tears to drop on the cake. She touched her cheeks in slight confusion, unaware that she had been crying.

She blew out the candle after wiping her face and ate her cake. It tasted like tears and artificial flavoring but it was filling nonetheless.

There was no time to mope about her hard and sad life because she needed to be up early the next day. So she got on her stringy bed and went right to sleep, tears staining her lashes.

+.+

Mari had a dream while she slept, it was an old dream, one of white clinical walls and people in uniforms. She was in someone’s arms and although it was cold around, she felt warm and safe. Usually the dream always ended with the person slowly growing cold and fading away, and then she would be left all alone in the bustling hospital while everyone ignored her.

This time, it didn’t end that way, the time, the person holding her didn’t leave, their warmth and love never left but the white clinical walls were dyed red, flames licking at the strange people in uniforms.

Yelling and loud beeping woke Mari up and it took her a moment to realize that she was no longer dreaming because her apartment was also in flames. She was literally sitting in the middle of a blazing fire.

The door was kicked down as soon as she sat up and firefighters marched in, wielding hoses and fire extinguishers, while Mari just sat there confused in her nightdress, wondering what was going on.

In no time, she was rushed downstairs where a crowd of people had gathered, and she was hosed down although she didn’t seem to need it. She was covered with a jacket and was currently being checked over by paramedics that arrived at the scene.

Mari was in shock, she stared blankly into space as the paramedic questioned her, unable to process the questions being asked. It was hard to see into the fire but it wasn’t difficult to see that every single thing she owned had gone up in flames.

What could have started the fire? And more importantly, how hadn’t she noticed it? She wasn’t a heavy sleeper so the smoke and heat should have woken her up shortly after the fire started.

“Ma’am, excuse me? Ma’am? Are you alright? Can you hear me?”

The paramedic was tapping her on the shoulder but all she could hear was a loud ringing in her ears as she realized that she hadn’t woken up because she couldn’t feel the heat, and although her bed was charred, she was completely unharmed.

“Ma’am!” The paramedic called sharply, jolting her out of her daze.

“What?” Mari blinked and turned to the paramedic.

“Are you alright? I already checked your vitals and everything seems to be in order but if you don’t feel fine, we’ll have to take you to the hospital.” The young paramedic explained.

“No, no, I’m fine,” Mari quickly clarified, she couldn’t imagine how high her already insurmountable bill would climb if she had to go to the hospital. “I’m just a little dazed is all.” She said with a nervous smile.

The paramedic looked at her judgingly like he didn’t believe her. “Alright but if you feel even a slight dizziness or any other symptom make sure to go to the hospital.”

“I will, thank you.” Mari said although she had no plans of doing any of that. She focused her attention on the building, noting that the firefighters were yet to come down although her apartment wasn’t very big. She also noticed that although the entire apartment had been in flames, there was no smoke.

After the ambulance drove off, Mari could better hear the conversations around her, none of them were what she expected.

“Fred, have you ever since fire that color before?”

“I heard that she was sleeping in the middle of the fire…”

“… and she’s unhurt too, can you imagine?”

“I always knew there was something off about that werewolf…”

Mari felt her heart sink at all the unspoken accusations, feeling hostile eyes on her. And to make things worse, the fire was still licking out of the window, a strange red color against the blue sky, the firefighters making no moves to return.

Although she didn’t do anything, she felt the indescribable urge to run, her instincts were telling her that she was in grave danger. Just as she was about to give into her instincts and go out of sight, unmarked blacks cars rode up, swerving in their haste.

The sight of them made Mari’s hackles rise, it made her realize that the flames must have been blazing for a while before the firefighters came, and even after they arrived, it hadn’t dimmed.

She wasn’t sure what this meant but the one thing she did know was that witches were hated and feared, and it didn’t matter if she was a werewolf, she could get killed for a strange occurrence such as this one.

Armed men in full tactical gear stormed out of the cars, making most of the crowd quickly dissipate, only leaving the occupants of the apartment complex behind.

Without having to ask any questions, the men singled her out shivering in a corner, and came for her. Mari took several steps backward as they drew near, terror filling her veins.

“You’ll have to come with us.” One of them spoke, they all wore wraparound shades which hid their identities.

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