The cold wind bit into her face as she ran. Her breath swirled out in a white cloud from her mouth, barely dissolving before the next ragged breath was pushed from her dry lips. Her mind scrambled in the confusion of blurred shapes that ceased to exist to her as she passed. Her legs burned, and she kept running, knowing there was a chance she was too late anyway.

“Sometimes you just can’t stop things.”

Kate’s words rang in her ears as she neared the pleasantly attractive blue house just down the block. A sad smile had curled her lips, but the vicious look in Kate’s eyes had turned her face into a mask of such eerie grotesqueness that did not match her delicate features. She stopped when she finally reached her destination, a sob ripping through her chest and she doubled over, one hand clasped her knee and the other clutched at her chest as she wheezed.

The metallic taste of blood flooded her mouth as she coughed and convulsed, aware of her parched and possibly bleeding throat. She straightened painfully and began to lurch up the front walk, her knees barely able to keep her upright.

She took a step back when the handsome front door slid open, barely making a sound. A shudder rippled through her body as she stepped inside, her fingertips easing the open door wider and leaving her in a pool of darkness. She edged forward slowly, her hand held out in front of her like a blind person, her fingers tingling with anticipation. She flinched when the door clicked shut behind her.

“Kate?” Her voice was a smoker’s rasp.

Her skin tingled with a sixth sense that failed to feel the delicate porcelain doll of a girl that stepped from the shadows, strode up behind her, and slammed a leather-bound book over her head. She flinched when the other girl dropped to the floor in a heap of tangled limbs without making a sound.

It was the dull ache in the back of her head that made her resurface from the thick void of unconsciousness. A whimper dribbled from her lips when she raised her stiff hand to the painful knob on her back of her head. Her eyes fluttered open and then widened as she took in her surroundings. She was in Kate’s attic. The low beams were scarred, as if a weak someone had taken an axe and started hacking at the thick wood in a fit of rage. Her ears adjusted to the sound of scissors and steady breathing.

“I take it you’re awake?” Kate’s voice rang out in the dim room and a fist clenched around her insides. Her eyes focused on the small figure on Kate, sitting serenely in a chair, with pieces of newspaper fluttering to the floor around her.

“I’m sorry about the book,” Kate said next, glancing down to see if she had heard.

“Book?” The shaky reply was barely audible.

“The one I hit you with,” Kate’s lips curved in an apologetic smile.

“Oh.” Her reply was barely audible.

Her eyes drifted around the room, taking in the news clippings that covered every inch of surface. A pile of lighters, several bottles of liquor were in the corner, along with a T.V. and several photos.

“This is my scrapbook room,” Kate said, gesturing around. “I was going to show it to you tomorrow. But I bet you found about me today. That kind of knocked my plans off-stride.” A laugh escaped her pretty rosebud lips.

To her, Kate was a vision of innocence. Big blue eyes, pink lips and button nose. At first, she was a walking delicacy, enchanting everyone that spoke to her, mesmerizing them into submission with her melodious voice. It didn’t take long to see that she was hideous inside.

“Hey. I was talking to you.” She jolted from her spot on the floor. She looked up at Kate, a stricken expression on her face.

Kate’s rough expression softened. “I didn’t mean to sound like that.” She paused, considering, still looking down at the figure on the floor. “What did they tell you?” She asked softly.

“Nothing. I read your father’s files.”

“You broke into my house?” Kate’s voice had taken a thoughtful tone, and the fist immediately loosened. She stood and stared down at her, the lonely ray of light from the small hole in the roof made her pixie-like features ominous.

“After I read the school’s files.” She winced at when the throb behind her head flared at the slight touch of her fingertips.

“I didn’t think you were capable of that. Don’t touch it. I’d get you some ice, but right now I don’t trust you.” Kate looked to at the door to her left that was barely visible under the yellowed newspaper. “It’s locked from the outside.” Her gaze snapped back, a sudden ferocity coated her expression. “What did you find out?”

“You killed people.”

“Unintentionally. I didn’t think the fire would burn that fast,” Kate responded. She sat back down and picked up a clipping. “We never stayed in one town for long. Dad always thought each move was a fresh start. I thought each more was a new fire pit for me,” She giggled. “I was never charged with anything. Arson? Forget it.” She waved the idea away. “I accidentally spilled my guts to the guy that was counseling me. He just wrote it down. Never told anyone. He has a pretty accurate record of my work. You know. The fires.” Kate paused. She strolled to the opposite wall and stood before a collection of news clippings. Her hand rose and she touched it slightly, feeling the weak paper underneath her fingertips.

“The one I didn’t tell him about was the warehouse fire. He would have told everyone that one. I’m sure that one was the one you were referring to,” Kate said with a look over her shoulder. The girl was now sitting, her knees drawn to her chest as if trying to keep warm.

Kate did not wait for a response. “Whichever one you were talking about, it must have been that one. I think that was the only one with people in it.”

“There was another one,” The voice trembled.

Kate stood silently, still facing the wall.

“The apartment building. The last time. There was a girl inside.”

“No. It was empty,” Kate’s voice was flat.

“The girl didn’t make it out of her room. The-.”

“It was empty,” Kate snarled, turning, her eyes burning. “There was no girl. The girl was me.”

Confusion marred her features as the pale-faced girl on the floor stared at Kate. She looked at her hands, the broken fingernails, and bruised knuckles.

“You’re smart. I think you’ve got it,” Kate said approvingly. She looked at the silver watch on her wrists and smiled. Without a word, she went to the bottles of liquor, and picked them up; clutching the ones she could not hold to her thin chest. She walked gracefully to the door and nudged it open with her toe.

“I thought-!”

“Silly. Now you’re going to wait here,” Kate’s voice was commanding. She threw the girl one last smile before the disappeared down the steep stairs.

With Kate gone, the girl stood shakily. Every instinct told her to run, to keep running as far away from this girl as she could. She held her breath and felt the silence pressing upon her ears interrupted by Kate’s footsteps in the level below. Her skin tingled with the energy that made her want to leave, and her breath whooshed out when the breaking of a bottle resonated through the floor and into her body.

“Kate?” Her voice was still hoarse and soon after the first sound of shattering glass, more came and she could almost see Kate’s dainty footsteps on the hardwood floor, her arm flung black, with a wild expression of twisted hate on her face. She flinched when the third crash reverberated through her once more and this time there was her tinkling laugh. Still standing in the same spot, she waited until Kate was climbing up the steps, slowly.

The sound brought the image of the condemned climbing the scaffold.

Kate’s small frame stood in the doorframe, a small book of matches was loosely held in one hand.