Prologue
Brian placed the last of the camping gear in the back of the car and wiped the sweat from his brow. Realising his shirt was soaking he removed it and wiped his face with it.
"Oi! Get a shirt on." Shannon remarked coming up to him and poking him in the ribs. "There's a female member of this party you realise?"
"Where?" Brian looked around him.
Shannon punched him in the arm playfully. "Think you're smart do you?"
"You're pretty much one of us Shannon Maxwell, I don't see you as a girl anymore."
"Gee thanks a lot! You know how to destroy a woman's confidence."
Brian laughed and threw his dirty shirt in the back of the car. A few moments later Nathan emerged from the shrubs. Upon noticing Brian was topless, he stumbled backwards his eyes wide with shock.
"You can't walk around with your top off! Shannon's here!"
"Aw she's one of us Nate." Brian slapped him on the back. "She can handle a bit of muscle and manly physique."
Shannon snorted. "Manly physique? Even Nathan has more muscle than you and he doesn't work out!"
Brian pretended to look hurt. "You cut me real deep there Shannon."
Shannon giggled and jumped in the front of the car before Nathan could beat her. Brian got in the driver seat while Nathan sulkily got in the back seat.
"Why do I get the back?" Nathan whined.
"Because you always get the front." Shannon retaliated. "Besides I'm so sunburnt, I need to stretch my legs."
"Yeah, yeah any excuse. You owe me one Shannon."
They drove away from the campsite and back to the Gold Coast. They turned the music up loud and everyone sang along badly yet happily.
Brian was 17 years old, the oldest of the three, with Nathan and Shannon being 15 years old. Shannon and Nathan had been friends since kindergarten and Brian soon joined their little group when they started school. Even though he was 2 years older, they hit it off immediately.
Shannon was a headstrong yet easy going girl. She loved life, never took anything or anyone for granted and laughed at everything. In looks she was considered pretty but not beautiful with a long red hair, bright green eyes and a smile that looked as though it spread from one ear to the other. Whilst she didn't have an inch of fat on her, she had large bones making her a tall and heavy set girl. She lacked confidence and never admitted that she was pretty. She never understood what other people saw in her. She only ever saw her flaws and could never see anything good about herself but this was covered over by focusing on her family and friends.
To people who didn't know Brian he came across as a serious and arrogant person. In actual fact he was one of the funniest and easy going people around. He liked to keep to himself and only ever let people he cared about know the real him. His dark sense of humour transformed him completely. He had always had a serious and mature nature which meant Shannon looked up to him as a big brother.
As cliché as it sounded, Brian was considered a heartthrob with a to-die-for athletic and tanned body, a squared masculine face with deep set dark brown eyes and dark brown hair which was always cut short. He was not blind to his assets but he was also not shallow. He noticed the way girls threw themselves at him but he never acted on it. The truth was he didn't enjoy that sort of attention. He was a one woman guy.
Nathan on the other hand was as serious as he looked. He was tall and lanky, had crooked teeth, masses of thick blonde hair, pale blue eyes hidden behind round glasses and a thin yet acne scarred face. He was at the peak of his teenage puberty years and suffered badly from it. He had the potential to be good looking but at that point of his life it seemed almost impossible. One could only hope that his looks would improve as he grew older.
He took everything seriously, including life, and rarely laughed. He was quite often the one that thought logically about things and spoke up with what he felt was the right way of doing something. When people didn't agree he would force his opinion on them and most times people went along with it to keep him quiet.
While all three friends were completely different, neither of them could imagine their lives without each other. Nathan never felt out of place around Shannon or Brian even though he rightly had reason to. They understood each other better than anyone else and they knew they would be friends for a very long time.
As the trip continued into the third hour, the music stopped and they fell silent as they all reflected on the weekend. They had spent three days camping and were tired, dirty and desperate for a normal bed. On the other hand they were relaxed and on top of the world. At that moment nothing else mattered and their lives were perfect. The summer holidays were upon them, they had recently finished school for the year and they were determined to enjoy every moment of their time together.
They arrived back in town and Shannon was the first to be dropped off. She took her things from the boot of the car, waved goodbye and ran inside.
"Mum? Are you home?"
Julie Maxwell emerged from the lounge with her reading glasses half way down her nose. She smiled at Shannon and removed the glasses completely.
"I was wondering when you would be back. How was your weekend?"
"Brilliant! I don't remember ever having such a good time with those two."
"That's good to hear." Julie scrunched up her nose. "I think you need a shower."
"What do you expect? I haven't showered for three days! Ok I'll tell you what, I'm going to shower then I'll cook dinner ok?"
Julie resumed her place on the lounge suite with her crossword while Shannon showered. When she was out and changed, she started preparing dinner. She hummed happily to herself a song from Roses Revived, a band she, Brian and Nathan had seen live only a few weeks earlier. They bought their live album and had it playing in the car on the way home. Shannon always found it relaxed her and helped her become motivated to do things. While she was humming she got the matches out and lit one then realised she was missing an ingredient for her meal. Shaking the match out she dropped it absentmindedly to the floor toward a patch of oil she had spilt. Little did she realise the flame had not gone out.
"I have to run down the street." Shannon called. "I forgot something. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Shannon ran out the house and sped down the street. She was not even aware that the kitchen was in flames and Julie had fallen asleep on the couch.
It wasn't even 10 minutes later when Shannon pulled to a screeching halt out the front of the burning house and jumped out of the car. Her heart began thumping wildly.
"Mum!" Shannon screamed, running toward the flames. "Mum! Come out!"
A fireman grabbed hold of Shannon's arm to hold her back. "You can't go in there, ma'am. It's too dangerous."
"My mother's in there!" Shannon screamed as she tried to struggle free from his iron like grip. "I need to help her!"
"You can't do anything. We have our best men here doing what they can but the fire is dangerous and they cannot go inside until they know it's safe."
The flames engulfed the house, the heat excruciating and intense even from a fair distance. The sound of mini explosions and planks of wood snapping could be heard from inside as the house disintegrated in front of their eyes. Shannon sobbed uncontrollably. She knew she was calling out to her mother but she couldn't hear anything but her own heart beating faster and faster in her ears. A blood curling scream was heard from inside and Shannon screamed. The adrenalin took over and she managed to break free from the fireman and ran toward the house. People called out to her and tried to grab her but she had a one track mind and dodged every one of them. She only got as far as the door before she was knocked back by the flames and passed out.
Shannon regained consciousness a few moments later. She had been placed onto a stretcher and strapped on. As she noticed the house burning in front of her she tried to break free but to no avail. As she struggled to loosen the ties she felt an arm on her. Looking up she noticed her father, John Maxwell, standing next to her and tears were streaming down his cheeks. Shannon watched as the remains of the house disintegrated. The fire was so ferocious that it was only a matter of minutes before the house had been reduced to a pile of rubble.
Shannon closed her eyes and let herself cry as the sound of her mother's scream ran through her mind over and over again. At that moment she realised it was her fault. Her mother was dead and it was all her fault.