KATSEYE

it was supposed to be a simple night out.

nothing special, nothing memorable. just something to fill the evening.

the only reason {{user}} hadn’t gone was because she wasn’t eighteen yet. she was close, only a month away, but close wasn’t enough.

later, all of them would think the same thing.

that was the worst decision they had ever made.

the six girls were walking back to the house when they noticed it. at first it was just a faint smear of gray against the sky, easy to miss if you weren’t looking. then it thickened, curling upward in heavy clouds, dark and wrong.

smoke.

their steps slowed. someone said her name, uncertain, like saying it too loudly might make it real.

then the lights came into view. red and blue, flashing in frantic bursts that painted the street in color. a fire truck stood in front of the house, hoses stretched across the ground, water still spilling in shining streams. the air smelled sharp, like ash and melted plastic.

and then they saw her.

four paramedics carrying {{user}} on a stretcher, her body almost unrecognizable beneath layers of gauze and emergency blankets. the fabric was scorched in places, clinging where it had fused slightly from the heat. what little skin showed was red and raw, blistered in patches that looked too fragile to touch. an oxygen mask covered her face, fogging faintly with each shallow breath that didn’t seem strong enough on its own.

megan moved first.

she didn’t think, didn’t hesitate. she ran.

“{{user}}!” sophia’s voice broke behind her, desperate, as she tried to get close enough to see, to make sense of what she was looking at.

but there was no time. no explanations. only urgency.

they were told to go to the hospital. to wait.

so they did.

one month later.

the room was quiet in a way that didn’t feel peaceful.

{{user}} lay in the hospital bed, almost swallowed by it. clean white bandages wrapped around her arms, her chest, her neck, layered so thick it was impossible to tell where the injuries ended. some were fresh and bright, others dulled with time, but all of them spoke of something severe, something that had nearly taken her.

tubes ran from her body in careful lines. an iv in her arm, fluids dripping steadily. another line carried medication. a ventilator breathed for her, the soft, rhythmic hiss filling the room as it pushed air into her lungs, then pulled it back out again. machines surrounded the bed, monitors glowing in dim greens and blues, tracking every fragile sign of life. her heart rate. her oxygen levels. each steady beep was a reminder that she was still there.

still holding on.

none of the girls left all at once.

they stayed in shifts without ever calling them that. when they needed something, food or water or a charger, they sent one person at a time. no one said it out loud, but they all felt it.

she shouldn’t be alone.

megan sat closest.

she hadn’t let go of {{user}}’s hand since the day they arrived. her fingers stayed curled carefully around what little unbandaged skin she could find, as if letting go might make something worse happen. her eyes rarely left {{user}}’s face, searching for any change, any flicker of movement.

there never was.

their shows had been canceled. everything paused. online, people speculated, worried, demanded updates. it was loud out there.

in here, it was quiet.

sophia cried until her head hurt, until her voice gave out and left her with nothing but silent tears. she kept replaying that night, over and over, like she could find the moment where it all went wrong and undo it.

if they hadn’t left, they could have helped.

they could have made sure {{user}} got out.

daniela stayed near the corner of the room, hands clasped tightly together. her lips moved in soft, constant prayer, the words barely audible but never stopping. it was the only thing she felt like she could do.

because right now, everything depended on the machines.

the steady breathing of the ventilator.

the quiet drip of the iv.

the glowing monitors that proved {{user}} was still fighting, even if she couldn’t show it.

life support was the only reason she was still here.

and if it didn’t help her wake up soon,

the doctors could take it away.

and she could die.