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Emma's ears were filled with Cathy's screams. Her friend was completely engulfed in fire and Emma couldn't do anything because this very fire was now all around her as well. The heat from the flames now increased. She tried looking around for Cathy but the growing flames made everything difficult.

"Cathy!" Emma finally managed to shout out but there was no response.

The lack of response made Emma's heart pound in fear. She was now afraid for Cathy. The whole house was now in flames and Emma stood in confusion, trying to understand how to find Cathy. There was no means for escape. She was surrounded by the dancing flames around her. There were tears in her eyes, as she realized that this was her last day. Her head began spinning and she fell to the floor. She felt as though she could no longer breathe properly. She tried to get up but she was losing her vision. She felt as though she no longer had strength either. A blurred face suddenly appeared in front of Emma as the flames grew larger around her. It was a man whose face she couldn't see clearly. Whoever it was, he wrapped his jacket around Emma and then carried her out in his arms.

It took a while for Emma to realize what had just happened. She had lost someone close again. Someone who wasn't as close to her as Julia but someone whom she could call a friend. This friend was even her cousin. Even though Emma and Cathy weren't that close, she too stood up for her against the bullies. Things wouldn't be the same ever without Julia and Cathy. Now she was completely alone. She wondered if she had ever done something that the almighty above was punishing her for.

'The only girls who were close to me are gone forever! They were the ones who supported me! Why only were they taken? Did I do something wrong! Why am I being punished like this!' thought Emma as she cried.

This was the worst thing that ever happened to her. Today she watched Cathy die in front of her and yet she couldn't save her.

"You okay?" a familiar voice asked.

Emma coughed before she looked up and realized that she was being carried by Stephen. She looked at him with her widened eyes. Stephen walked until they came out of the woods. Emma continued coughing every few seconds. He walked closer to a black Toyota echo. He then stopped and helped Emma so that she could sit on a broken trunk of a tree that had fallen. Tears were still rolling down Emma's cheeks.

"Emma, are you okay? Could you tell me what happened?" Stephen asked, softly.

"Someone killed my friends. Andre and I were supposed to meet a friend in that house." Emma replied, wiping her tears.

"I am sorry. I just saw you going into the woods with a guy. It looked suspicious so I tried following you. After that, I lost track of you both. I was going to use my GPS but then I saw this house on fire."

Emma didn't say anything. She couldn't forget Cathy's screams. Even though Emma tried her best, she still couldn't control her emotions. She began to cry loudly in front of Stephen.

Realizing that Emma was still in trauma, Stephen sat beside her and rubbed her back. She continued to cry as she blamed herself for what happened to Cathy.

"This is all because of me! I should have called the police instead of just coming over. Andre was right. We should have called the police but I didn't. This is all my fault !" said Emma as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Emma please don't cry. Don't blame yourself for this," said Stephen.

After a few minutes, Emma stopped crying. She wiped her eyes and put her head down. Stephen could see that the corners of her lips were pulled down and this would mean that Emma was still upset.

"The cabin is still burning so I will call for an emergency," said Stephen, before his cellphone.

Emma did not say anything to Stephen. She kept her head down as she took deep breaths. Stephen dialled the emergency number and waited for them to respond.

"Um, yes, hello. I'm in the forest right now and there's a burning cabin... I think there's someone inside it. Please come quickly." said Stephen as he looked once again at Emma.

"I am not sure about the location. I think we are quite close to the creek lake." Stephen continued.

'Who was that man in the black hood? Why did he kill Cathy? How did he know about our cabin?' thought Emma as she looked at her reflection from the car's window in front of her.

A few minutes later, the town's Sheriff appeared in front of them followed by the fire department and the ambulance. Emma knew him as he was her father's close friend. The Sheriff was a tall, bulky man with a short moustache. He wore a dark brown jacket with brown trousers.

"Sheriff Oscar here, were you the one who called?" the Sheriff asked Stephen.

"Yes, that was me. This is my friend Emma. She is in shock. She came here along with another friend to meet someone and their Cabin got burned."

The firefighters managed to douse the flames but both Stephen and Emma were made to stay out of the woods. A couple of firefighters found Andre unconscious below a tree near the cabin. They carried him on a stretcher as they came out of the woods.

To Emma's horror, they found nothing but ashes in the cabin. Hearing this, Emma broke down once again in front of everyone. Stephen held her hand and hugged her.

"Emma, I know that you are very sad about Cathy but what were you all doing here?" asked Sheriff Oscar.

Emma wiped her tears and looked at the Sheriff with widened eyes. She did not know how to tell him everything. She was sure that she would be blamed for whatever happened to Cathy. Had she called him before, Cathy would have been alive now.

"Sir, don't you think it's quite late for questioning us. You can meet us tomorrow. Emma just lost someone close." said Stephen.

Sheriff Oscar ignored Stephen and continued to speak with Emma.

"Emma, I know that you have lost someone very close but Cathy's death will still be investigated as a suspicious death. We need to know what happened here."

"Cathy asked me to come here. She kept talking about some people who were putting the town in danger," said Emma, slowly.

"Did she mention any name?" asked the Sheriff.

"She only told me and Andre that she saw Julia getting strangulated by someone," replied Emma.

"Who?"

"Before she could tell anything else, someone dragged Andre and probably poured kerosene. We hid below the bed. A few minutes passed and we thought he left us. When we came out, that man in the hood threw something over Cathy and she was caught in flames."

Emma, I am sorry. You have gone through a very terrible situation. You can go along with Andre to the hospital. Mr Tepes, will however have to stay with us for now." said Sheriff Oscar.

Emma sat in the back of the ambulance, on a bench opposite Andre, who was now lying unconscious on a stretcher. A nurse wearing scrubs helped her with the oxygen mask. Emma too laid down on a stretcher beside Andre.

'Would he be angry or sad? Would he forgive me? It was I who convinced him to go without telling anyone. I should have called the Sheriff.' thought Emma as she looked at Andre.