The heat I just felt is gone, replaced with the familiar cold once again. Reliving my death is a shock, to now know how everything ended. I look over at Luke, the man with the match. Then glance at my mother, still standing above me. A look of disdain on her red, shrivelled face. I’m suddenly hit with the realisation that she was a part of this too. It was really her that lit the match.

“You.” I whisper, looking up at her.

She doesn’t respond. I can’t understand why she isn’t saying anything, telling me I’m wrong, explaining that this whole mess is just a big misunderstanding, she's innocent. Instead she stands there silent and still, a statue. The snow is falling all around her, ferociously moving in the wind. She looks up at Luke and nods. I turn my head and see him come up behind me, his hands grab my arms, he lifts me to my feet and shoves me forward, all three of us begin to walk to god knows where. We trudge through the icy white for what feels like forever. Turning left, I begin to see another building in front of us, a dark solid shape I can't make out in the snow. The closer I get the larger it appears, I recognise it, we're walking towards the back of the house, just outside the basement, the red ground level metal doors have had the snow shovelled from them, but it's already beginning to pile up again.

My mother pulls some keys from her pocket and shoves one in a large old padlock, keeping the doors firmly closed. She grabs a handle and pulls one door open, I watch her walk down the stairs inside, slowly enveloped by the darkness. Luke and I follow, I push against the closed door and start to scream for help.

Luke pulls me back. "There's nobody here to help you." He shouts in my ear. I look up at the house, the windows are dark portals, no light, where was everyone? He drags me down the steps, stopping at the bottom, keeping a tight hold on me, while he pulls the door closed behind us. The sound of the deafening wind disappears as the door closes. A light comes on, it’s warm.

“That’s better.” My mother says, pulling a scarf and her thick jacket from her tiny frame. “This place is too damn cold.”

“You could always move.” Luke says.

“Who would look after you?” My mother looks over at Luke and shakes her head. “I can’t believe you didn’t kill her the first time, there was nothing left of that place.”

“I’m sorry, I should've stayed and checked. I poured petrol all around the trailer, the fire spread so quickly. I didn’t think she’d have any chance of getting out. Then I heard the explosion and looked back, I thought she was done for. But look at her, not a scratch.”

Luke lets go of me and pushes me to the ground, my hands are still tied behind my back and I land on my knees with a thud. He walks over to join my mother.

“What’s going on?” I ask. “You’re the one that helped him? Why would you protect a murderer?” I look at my mother.

“You know nothing, Elena. You don’t understand how hard I fought to get to where I am.” She spits.

“You’re not protecting Luke. You're using him.” I turn to look at Luke. "You realise that, right?"

“You’ve always had money. Luke and I, we’re different. We understand what it’s like to have to work hard for something. You're not like us.”

“You haven’t worked for anything, you stole it. You killed your own husband and daughter for a bit of money.”

“Your father was... problematic, he was going to give all of our money away. He felt guilty because his brother screwed up, it was nothing to do with him! He would have wound up going to jail, we would have lost everything. I had to protect Michael, I wasn’t going to have my son wind up with nothing.”

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“You weren’t protecting Michael, he wouldn’t want any of this. You were doing it for yourself.”

“Michael doesn’t know what he wants.”

“He wants to get away from you.”

“That’s not true. He won't leave, not if I have anything to do with it.”

“Why? You gonna get your lapdog to kill him too?”

Luke walks over to a small door off to the right and drags something out, someone. Dressed in a red puffer jacket and ripped jeans. The body moves and makes angry muffled sounds. It’s Maida, she’s alive. Luke brings her into the light, I see that she’s beaten up pretty badly, one of her eyes is swollen and black, her hands are tied in front of her. I’m so relieved to find out she's alive. A piece of fabric is in her mouth, tied behind her head, serving as a gag. Luke drops Maida, pushing her to the ground next to me. She looks over at me and mumbles something I fail to understand.

“Hey.” I say back. Maida’s one open eye looks wild, she looks terrified. Luke unties the gag and puts it in his pocket. My mother walks forward, her and Luke standing right beside each other. I slide across the floor, closer to Maida, I try to get her attention, trying to get her to figure out what I'm asking her to do. I move my wrists behind my back and she widens her eyes, understanding the request.

“Okay, so before we do anything, you’re going to tell us where the money is.” My mother looks back and forth between us.

“Why? You’ll just kill us anyway.” I say. Whenever they both look away Maida works on untying my wrists.

“I didn’t work this hard not to get an answer.”

“There isn’t any money.”

“Of course there is. Where is the money Elena?”

“The money is in the ground.”

“He buried it?” My mother says, a sense of excitement in her voice. “Where? Where is it?” My mother walks closer to Maida. She grabs Maida’s jacket, forcing her to look up at her. “Tell me!”

I’m tempted to send my mother on a wild goose chase, one last rebellious act.

“He didn’t bury it. It’s oil.” I say.

“What?”

“The money is under the town, it’s oil.”

My mother crinkles her brow. "Oil? How do I sell that?" She looks over at Luke who shrugs. "There's no cash? Well, we don't need them anymore, can you get rid of them for me?"

Luke nods at her, he goes to grab me, unaware that my arms are now free, I keep them behind my back. He grabs my left arm and lifts me up, I follow him for a few seconds. I don’t have much time. I turn and elbow him square in the nose. He groans in intense pain, blood beginning to trickle down his face. He steps backwards, I see Maida move forward, she kicks her leg under him. It’s all so quick. He stumbles, tripping. I continue to attack him and he falls, hitting the ground hard. He grabs at my leg and I fall to the ground alongside him, my head hitting it with a loud crack. I hear my mother in the background, frantically shouting at Luke, standing back. I pay no attention to her, I’ll deal with her later. I reach for a steel bench, and with difficulty I’m able to raise myself up. I see my dark reflection in the bench top, and see Luke’s right next to it. He’s behind me, slowly moving closer. I see something next to my reflection, a sink, a box of matches had fallen in. Perfect. I put them in my pants pocket. Luke makes a grab for me. I move out of the way, dodging him. Maida comes up behind him, holding a hammer she hits him hard and doesn't stop. I grab the hammer from her, blood pooling on the floor around him. I walk towards his motionless body.

"Did I kill him?" Maida asks, her voice shaking.

"I don't know." I'm too scared to check.

“Please, don't hurt me. I’ll let you both go. I won't hurt you. ” My mother pleads.

“You can't, I’m already dead.”

She looks at me confused and runs out of the room, awkwardly tripping up the stairs towards the house.

"Should we go after her?"

"No, leave her. I'm not letting you get in trouble for this." I say to Maida.

I find a box of lighter fluid and pour it around the room. I grab the matchbox from my pocket and pull out a match. I swipe it against the box and stare at the tiny flame. I throw it on the ground and watch as the carpet lights up, the flames moving towards Luke. I drag Maida to the basement steps and open the doors.

“We have to go, come on!” I say, she can barely walk, I help her up the steps and slam the doors shut, clicking the lock closed. I stare across the grounds,

“Where’d your mother go?” Maida asks. I can’t see her anywhere. “What if she gets away?”

"There's more important things to worry about right now. Let’s get out of here.”