She could hear them.Hear their cries as they fervently wished against the imminent death. She could smell the acrid scent of smoke in the air.
Taste blood in her mouth.

Her mother had gathered her close, whimpering as they striked her all over. Her mother just pulled her close, acting as a shield against all things wrong in the world, only this time literally.

She remembered shaking in her mother's arms when she felt the...