“Wake up!” Hand are on my body shaking me. I sit up quickly gasping for air as my mom stands over me.

“Mom, You scared me. What is it?” I ask, confused about what’s going on. I take a deep breath in and cough as soon as the air hits my lungs.

“Fire! Get up! We need to get out!” My mom

yells. I stand up out of bed quickly and put on pants.

My mom grabs my hand and we run down the stairs.

“Maverick! Where’s Maverick?” I pause and look around in a hurry. I see him curled up in a chair and I grab him and run out the house with my moms hand still in mine.

“It’s okay. Shh.” I pet his furry head and kiss him. He purrs as I pet him.

As soon as I look up my heart drops. The air is filled with black smoke and my lungs feel like they are collapsing. The houses, the tall buildings, the tiny little shops are filled with smoke.

“C’mon!” My mom says as I follow behind her towards the car.

“Momma, What’s happening?” I ask as I rush to the front seat of her car.

She hops in the drivers seat and we drive off in a hurry. I stare out the window at everything and my heart hurts. My home, my city, my life is crumbling up and burning in flames.