It was a quiet night, but peaceful, with the soft sounds of nature lulling those that lived in the mansion and those around it to sleep. That peace was broken suddenly by the screams of horses, the stable engulfed in flames. Young Roma, only six years old, woke with a start, her older sister Luna shaking her. "Roma get up." She said in an urgent whisper, grabbing clothes and pulling them on the young girl as soon as she managed to sit up. Trembling and frantic fingers brushed fresh bruises, causing quiet whimpers, but there was no time to apologize.

      "Hurry and tell father and mother, and meet me at the orchard." Luna whispered, running down the stairs. Roma walked swiftly down the hall, afraid to run and be scolded again. Smoke began to fill the lower rooms of the house. Her brother Michael, older by a year only, emerged from his room fully clothed with a bag on his shoulder. He nodded at her and hurried off to the other rooms that were upstairs. Roma hurried faster to her parent’s room, peeking in cautiously. Her mother was cowering in the corner, her father pacing back and forth. He was visibly upset. Before she could shut the door he flung it open and she fell, her knees stinging where bruises hit the hardwood floor. "Get up!” He boomed and she scrambled to her feet quickly.

       "Father they're h-"She stopped short as blood filled her mouth, her cheek stinging in an all too familiar way. "You don't speak!" He yelled as he shoved her into the wall, causing her to cry out as her not-yet-healed bruise hit the wall. "You are not allowed to speak! You shouldn't even be allowed to live!" He picked her up by the throat, holding her far above the ground. She struggled, kicking and gripping his hand and arm. She clawed desperately, whimpering and tearing up, but he only squeezed harder.  There was a sudden and deafening roar, the world going dark. Roma awoke several minutes later in a fog of grey and she began to choke, smoke invading her lungs and stinging her eyes. "Roma!" Her mother called out. "Roma come to me!" Roma obeyed, closing her eyes and following the sound of her mother’s voice, reaching her in a matter of minutes. Her mother gripped her small forearms. "Be strong Roma." She didn't open her eyes, saying quietly. "M-momma" She whimpered. "I don't want to go..."
       "I know baby I know" she brushed her youngest child's hair back and kissed her head. "Go on now, Ben is waiting for you." "Yes momma." Roma said, pulling herself to her feet and opening her eyes, she made her way to the window, where there was a patch of clear air. She gasped for breath, looking back to find her mother was trapped under a fallen beam, the fire on a straight path towards her. "Roma come on." said Ben, the second oldest at 13, tugging at her shirt. She turned and stood on the windows ledge, looking down at the ground and her bare feet. She turned back suddenly and screamed "momma!" As she saw the flames engulf her mother. "Momma!" She screamed desperately, stepping off the ledge and attempting to run to her. Ben grabbed her around the midsection and jumped backwards out of the window, holding her to his stomach tightly as they fell.
      Roma could only stare up at the window as they fell, her tan hair whipping around her face, her mouth ajar. Ben's back hit the ground with a loud and sickening snap, and Roma felt him go limp. She crawled out of his arms carefully and kissed him on the forehead, closing his eyes. She turned and ran for the orchard, but stopped short. The orchard was now engulfed in flames, along with most of the estate and the house. "Roma!" Michael yelled, grabbing her hand and together they ran into the woods. They ran for a long time until eventually Roma began to wheeze, then they stopped and sat down on a log.
"Roma..." He said after a while. "We should get going soon..." He stood and picking up his bag and turning to her. "We can find some apples, I’m sure of it." He said in an attempt to cheer her up. He stood in front of her, looking down at her and smiling. She smiled back softly. "Roma." She smiled wider. "I love y-" He began, but stopped short, his eyes widening as he looked down at himself, to find an arrow through his midsection. "Run..." He whispered. She was gone before his body hit the ground. Again she ran for a long time, branches whipping and stinging her arms and face. She didn't dare stop, or slow down, afraid of being caught and killed, or worse. She tripped suddenly over a tree root and went tumbling down a hill, landing in a pile of leaves. She lay there, dazed, and managing to cover herself with leaves before she fell unconscious.
      She awoke with a young boy standing over her. His light blonde hair was unkempt, and it fell over his eyes, which were hauntingly dark brown, almost black. His body was covered in mud and dirt, most of it long since dried, and his hair was matted with something brown, possibly...blood?  "Hi, I'm jam." He said with a smile. She just stared up at him. "Hi..." Her voice was rough and scratchy. She sat up and gripped her pounding head. "Where...?" "I took you to my momma." He said cheerfully, moving aside to reveal a once beautiful young woman, her body now quite far into decomposition. "We...we should go  ..." Roma said quietly, standing, avoiding looking at the corpse for fear of vomiting. "But...my Momma..." Jax said, looking down, his smile gone. "I can't just leave her.” "I know, bu-" A branch snapped nearby, and Roma panicked, grabbing his wrist, and pulling him along. "Momma!" He screamed, tears rushing down his face. "We have to go!" Roma yelled, pulling him faster, running now. He was crying, but he kept up with her. They ran for a long time, until they came to a river, and then Roma finally slowed down. "Where are we?" She asked, turning to Jax.
       He snapped suddenly, shoving her to the ground. "You! You made me leave my Momma!" He was screaming, angry and hurt and confused all at once. She knew that, but because he pushed her, she couldn't help herself. She yelled "She's dead you idiot! She's dead! She has been for a long time!" "SHUT UP! DON'T SAY THAT! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" He screamed, gripping the sides of his head. Roma stood and screamed "SHE'S DEAD! YOU CAN'T ACT LIKE YOU DIDN'T NOTICE! SHE'S GONE!" "OF COURSE I NOTICED!" He screamed, his voice cracking and tears welling up. He clenched his fists. "Of course....of course I knew...." His tears overflowed and he looked away, his shoulders shaking. He sunk to the ground, now sobbing into his hands. 
She walked closer and kneeled down, wrapping her arms around him. "I...I lost my whole family last night...." She said softly, tearing up. He reached up and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him and clutching the back of her shirt at the shoulders. She gripped him just as tightly, crying into his shoulder as he cried into hers.
      Later that night they made a small camp in a nearby tree, climbing into it and laying close together. Their legs and arms intertwined as young children are prone to do, and they were peaceful, though it lasted only a few hours.