"Ahhhh!" I screamed, jerking upwards out of my bed, drenched in sweat, the heat unbearable, as if, in my very room, there was an inferno. Ugh. I shivered and shook off the thought. "Emma, you're late for school!" said Peter.
       
Maybe you've heard of him. He went to school with the great Ivan Williamson!! Isn't that awesome? (Not!- Annabelle) Shut up, okay, Annabelle?

    
"Annabelle's dead! She burned in the fire!" I screamed.         
    
"What are you talking about?" Peter asked.
     
"Wait, we aren't burning?" I asked. My brain was starting to wake up, and I realized the room didn't look like it was burning.

"No! Ina is downstairs, and so is your brother. She tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't wake up, so she called me. Emma, you have to get over it!" he whispered. "Where's Lukas?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

      
"Is he back from school already?"I whined. Great. Got to deal with my bro now.

        
"Yes, he got home from BAYA early. And now he's going to have to take you to school." My brother is eighteen and a reckless driver. I was so not looking forward to the car ride, especially with almost no speed limits on the roads. Well, besides being a reckless driver. He goes to BAYA on a soccer scholarship. Football. I hate you N.I.C.S.  and your soccer. OMG, it's FOOTBALL!!!

You play it with your foot and a ball. Last time I checked, N.I.C.S. football was played with your hand and an egg. So it should be handegg, not football. Ignore  my football (soccer) ranting. I'm Germonion. Anyways, he's one of the favorites for Bayern -Munich and the Germonian National teams, since he'll be nineteen years old next year. Like he needs the additional money. (Sarcasm)

     "Wait, wasn't Lukas banned from driving because he crashed too many times?" I asked.

        "Ja, one of his friends will take you with your brother in the car. Both your brother and I are pretty firm on that requirement!" Peter shouted.

         I snorted, "He's got to be a special boy to catch my eye. I doubt Lukas would have a friend that's like that."

           "You never know," he said.

            "Yeah right," I said rolling my eyes.

          "What did I want to talk about again?" he asked

        "IDK, just go away!" I shouted.

          I didn't want to talk about my nightmare with Peter. He would just lecture me, again. Do I really have to go to school today!? It's the last day of school anyways! What's the difference between going and not going? I curled up in a ball and started crying. Stop, thinking about that day. The day you almost killed your twin.

 
     Now you guys are probably thinking I am crazy and belong in a asylum.  But let me explain. When we were five, my parents left us alone.You are probably thinking how irresponsible of them. They are the worst parents in history! I mean honestly- Shut up ARSCHLOCHS! Annabelle and I were smarter than a 25 year old at that age, logically speaking. So they probably figured what harm would it do, they must have some common sense. They were wrong, very wrong.

     "I'm bored, Emmy!" Annabelle whined.

     I looked up from my book, "Did you finish your book?" I asked. 

      "Yes, it was good, but really sad," she said.

      "Are mom and dad gone?" I asked.

      "Yes," she said

       I put my book down. "Do you want to raid the refrigerator and go to the park?"

      "That'd be great! We can make popcorn!" she happily answered.

      Going down the steps, it felt so good. So, reckless.

     "What if Mom comes back right now?" I asked.

     "We make a run for it!" Annabelle laughed.

     "Yeah, we can survive in the woods with Dr. Pepper and popcorn. I'll just eat you first. How would you like to die? Maybe poison. Probably quickest," I mumbled.

     Yes, I knew sarcasm when I was five. I was a genius, except I was crazy, like all geniuses. Which means I had no common sense. Laugh it up! Could you go to all the top colleges in the world: Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge, University of Toronto, Imperial College London, Stanford, Columbia, University of Chicago, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, University of Tokyo, Heidelberg University, University of Melbourne, Peking University, KU Leuven, National University of Singapore, Pierre and Marie Curie University, University of Sydney, University of Queensland Australia, University of Munich, Moscow State University, and... well, I think you get the point. I get tired just thinking of all the possibilities. Now back to the story.

     "She won't catch us," insisted Annabelle.
     "Fine," I said, finally giving in to her plan.

            Something even worse happened.

     When I was grabbing our snacks, I decided to take marshmallows. Why is this such a big deal? I felt like eating marshmallows, okay. So ? Well, I wanted toasted marshmallows, not un-toasted  marshmallows.

And for that I needed fire.
    
I put some matches in my backpack. We ran out, and I closed the door behind us. As we snuck through, we suddenly saw a car that looked like our mom's and we ran.
  
  "Do you think that's mom's car?" I asked.

     "I hope not." Annabelle replied.

      Some time passed and neither of us said a word until the car drove past.

     "We're fine, it was just an old man." Annabelle breathed between laughs.

       I burst into hysterical laughter.

      Finally, after what felt like miles, we had reached the park. It wasn't much just some swings and a play set. We got on the swings and started to eat our popcorn and drink our Dr. Peppers.
 
   "Do you want some marshmallows?" I asked

     "Sure," said Annabelle. "Toasted, right?"

    "But of course."

      I opened up the bag of marshmallows.

          Cue dramatic music.

      I put the marshmallows on a stick.

          Cue extra dramatic music.

      I roasted the marshmallows.

         Cue extra extra dramatic music.

       We ate them. No, we did not die because of eating marshmallows. That would be the stupidest death ever.  We didn't even die! I almost killed my sister because I made marshmallows. There is a big difference!  Laugh all you want, but when you die because your sister made marshmallows, will you be laughing?

Annabelle fell asleep. She was dangerously near the fire, but I didn't think about it.
    
You know, looking back on it, my conscience is basically screaming:
          
You stupid ARSCHLOCH!

     Instead of watching over my twin I went on the swings for a bit. Everything was fine until a strange scent wafted towards my nose.
    
Smoke.

     I didn't think much of it. Probably another child's parent smoking a cigarette. Then, from the corner of my eye, I saw that Annabelle's dress had caught on fire! I froze. For a moment, the whole world was on pause.  I couldn't speak, scream, or even move my body like a maniac. I was completely paralyzed with fear.

     The fire started spreading around the hem of the dress, and at that moment the play button was clicked and I finally let loose a scream.

     Nothing happened. Time froze. My eyes filled with tears. I could imagine the funeral. Mom, her beautiful eyes stained with tears, and dad's heart broken forever, and me lost of all my compassion. I'd be thrown out by my parents. Maybe I could leave with Peter and Ina. They would help me run away. I would have to live on, for my twin. But I would never be the same.

     Then I heard Peter's shoes on the ground. He sounds like a giant when he walks. I hate the noise, but for once in my life it didn't annoy me to death.

    "Emma, grab a bucket, and fill it with water. Now!" yelled Peter.

     Finally, my legs could move. I was free!! I could do something that would save my twin! I know, I know, that sounds so corny!!! Ha!

     The planned rescue attempt seemed like a good idea.
    
There was just one problem:

       "Where do I get the bucket from?"I asked
    
  "Umm...ask the neighbors," he said.

      He forgot we were IN THE PARK.
       
I ran the distance to the nearest house. Out of breath, I rang the doorbell and stumbled onto the WILKOMMEN! mat. A woman with curly red hair and freckles opened the door.
 
   "I need a bucket of water.  It's an emergency!" I wheezed frantically.

     Instead of responding, she walked silently back into the house and shut the door. I was so scared she was going to call the Polizei, reporting an escaped verrückte. Fortunately, a minute later she returned with a bucket of water.

      "Danke!" I said quickly, running carefully, so the bucket wouldn't spill.

     I gave the bucket to Peter, and he poured the entire thing onto Annabelle. Surprisingly, Annabelle hadn't even flinched from her peaceful slumber in the midst of all this. She is a heavy sleeper, I guess.

      "For Annabelle's sake, never tell her this happened! She will be scarred for life! Do you understand? You will get her changed now and wake her up. Tell her that mean ole Peter poured water on her for no reason," he whispered so she wouldn't wake up.

     As soon as he left, I woke her up. We got her changed, and when our parents got back, they never noticed. No one except for Peter and me, well maybe Ina. She and Pete had a thing going on. I never knew the full story. Eight years later it still haunts me, and I know the fear will never go away, no matter how hard I try.

   
     I got up and wiped my tears away. Toughen up and get down there, you've got to go to school. I walked into my closet and put on our school uniform. For once I was happy about the dull material. I comb my unruly luscious red locks and strained them into a bun. A straight slicked back bun that I wore every day. I hated it, but it was part of our school dress code. I put on some concealer, concealing my fears and restless night. Also some Mascara and lip gloss. I wasn't going to look gross! Giest! I also put a black bow on top of my head. My phone started ringing. What is it now! I looked on it it was a FaceTime from my friend Alice.

       "Hallo!! Where are you? I've been waiting for you for the last three hours," she said. She was standing around a street littered with old Soviet buildings. Her neighborhood.

        "Hallo. I'm so sorry, Alice! I had this horrible nightmare, and I guess I didn't wake up. I'm not really sure. But, whatever. Anyways, my guardians are making me go to school in the car. So we can't walk together," I said, rolling my eyes. Peter was a meanie.

     "Oh, look! I have an excuse not to go to school. Mom always says you can't walk to school on your own. You have five brothers for a reason. But they already left, so I'm stuck in the middle of this fucking place. At least no one will try to mug me again. Well, they didn't try to mug me. They tried to mug you," she said.

     "I'll pick you up. You just have to bear my crazy  brother and his friend," I said, rolling my eyes.

     "Don't worry! I still have that knife in my sock. Best birthday present ever, William. Really the best thing to give a little ten year old."

      "Bye, got to get to the car," I said hanging up.

       I took my phone and blasted some music into my ears. I put on my pointe shoes, so I could practice pointe before I went to school. I made my way downstairs. 

     "Guten Morgen!" I shouted before anyone could talk to me.

     "Guten Morgen," people shouted back.

     I walked over to the kitchen and started to make Germonian Coffee. I felt someone's stare. I turned around. It was a boy sitting on our couch that I didn't know. Must be Lukas' friend. I threw an ice cube at him and quickly went upstairs with my coffee.

    "Hallo, Snowy! Comes here baby!" I said, picking up my dog, Snowy.

     "Ok, and  let's get you some breakfast!" I said.

     I walked downstairs and ran straight into Lukas. 

    "Hey, Lucas. I'm going to feed Snowy and then walk her. Then I can go to school. Did Annabelle feed and walk Midnight?" I asked.

     "Yes, she did Emma, and hurry up. Annabelle's already at school," he said as I walked past him.
     I poured Snowy her breakfast and impatiently watched her eat. I turned on the TV. It was on the news. OMG! So boring. I was going to change the channel until something grabbed my attention.

     "Will World War  Four start? Now before you get panicked, there is only a slim possibility. France has declared war on all Ivan controlled territories. Riots have been staring in the N.I.C.S. More on that with Henry. Henry take it a—" I turned the TV off.

     I wasn't alive during the Third World War, but I had heard stories about it. It was all started by three countries and their twisted government. The governments weren't the same. There was the USA, a superpower in the Industrial Age. They prided their Government on being an equal one. Where everyone was equal, everyone had the same power over their lives. Twisted lies. Then there was Russia, the child of the Soviet Union. They claimed to have a democracy, but it was more of a version of the times of Stalin. Where having the wrong opinion could kill you and everyone you knew.

    Then there was China. No one understands what was happening there. Those three countries almost destroyed the whole world. They destroyed their countries. Which led to the Wild ages. When there wasn't enough food and people would kill each other for a carrot. That's why we can never go back to those biased governments. Our leader will keep us all safe and away from the terror of our past. The past that was filled with war and cruelty.  The same cruelty that killed my parents, and what would have killed me.

Snowy started barking. I flinched.

     "What's wrong, Snowy?" I asked trying to calm her.

     She started to howl, and that's when I heard the alarm.