She was not burning.
I was not burning.
We had families to get to.
No fucking way.
Whoever did this would not win by ending Austyn or me. Since I wasn’t sure the target, I wasn’t sure the enemy. Whoever they were, though, outside of the loss of the homes, they weren’t getting any lives. I would make sure of it.
The smoke was thick and causing my eyes to water, but I pushed through knowing Austyn was counting on me. I was her only hope.
It had been years since I’d been in Austyn’s house, but I still remembered the layout. Looking through the living room and kitchen, there was no sign of anyone. Lifting my shirt to cover my nose and mouth didn’t help much. The air sucked in was purely dirt clogging my lungs.
It wasn’t until I reached the bathroom in the hallway on my way to the bedroom that I heard it againscreaming with the added bonus of banging on the door like someone was kicking it, trying to break out.
Unfortunately, there were fallen debris in the way blocking the door, and she wouldn’t be able to get out this way unless it was moved or if she busted through the door. She was utterly trapped alive in her own damn bathroom.
“Austyn. Hang on!” I yelled, picking up the cabinet that blocked the doorway. Luckily, it wasn’t licked with fire just yet. The fragmented wood seemed to create a wedge in the door. It was stuck between the door and what was left of the wall. I pulled, kicked, anything else I could do, and I was able to get it out of the way, barely. It was wedged in there good and tight, almost as a sign or warning. It was ominous.
I tried turning the handle, touching it quickly. Luckily, it wasn’t hot, but like I’d thought, the door wouldn’t budge. There must’ve been too big of a shift in the house. She was utterly trapped.
“Move back!” I yelled in warning, needing to bust through the wood.
“What? Get me out!” she screamed, and I hoped she listened. Not hearing any pounding on the door, I took a chance and hoped like hell I wouldn’t hit Austyn and cause more damage.
I lifted my boot and nailed the door hard, my foot going through on the third kick and shattering the wood into pieces. She was standing by the wall watching, then when I stopped, she darted to the door.
She pulled the wood to make a hole for herself to get out. Each second ticking by was a second we lost trying to get the fuck out of here.
I tore at the wood on my end too, grasping and pulling with everything I had inside me.
We were fast and efficient and didn’t stop until the hole was big enough for Austyn to get through.
“Come on!” I reached in and grabbed her arm as she climbed over the pieces of her house that had fallen into the bathroom. She started to go down when her foot went through something, but I captured her under her arm, so she didn’t fall completely.
Pulling her free, we moved quickly through the raging inferno of a house. Holding her hand the entire time, I led her as best as possible, even shielding her body with mine when the fire came at us, flaring up then receding down. Beams were starting to fall from the ceiling, causing loud pops and cracks, each worse than the next.
Flames were around us and encompassing us in a hurry. Fire may take some time getting started, but once it ignited, it had no mercy. That was the stage we were in. No mercy. If we didn’t get a move on, we weren’t going to make it out of here alive.
And today was not our day to die.
The anger of the blaze around us was palpable, threatening to take us over. There was no time to talk. Instead, I tugged Austyn this way and that to get through.
The door I came into the house was now covered in rippling flames, foiling that exit strategy.
Smoke filled my lungs, and it wasn’t the kind from cigarettes. No, this was filled with soot that wanted to take over your lungs and suffocate you to death. The coughing came with a vengeance as the smoke burned my eyes.
Austyn was doing the same, her other arm on her face trying to keep the bad out.
Neither of us were having much luck.
Time was running out, and if we didn’t find a way out, we were both going down. If the smoke had its way, our breaths would be no more.
Blinking my eyes rapidly as tears streamed down them, I pointed to the window off to the left. “Over there.” It seemed to be the only place where the force of nature hadn’t made its path yet.
We made our way to the window and even with the dark film covering the glass, I could see the blue sky and fresh air just at our fingertips through a small corner. Never had I craved air like this before, but there was a first time for everything. Even in the desert, it was nothing like this.
My chest tightened, and breaths were becoming harder and harder, but somehow, I was able to push through.
Seeing a chair, I dropped Austyn’s hand, picked it up, and threw it through the glass, shattering it everywhere. The fresh air mingled with the dirty, tempting and teasing. We were so close. So fucking close to clean.
“Be careful,” I said, wrapping my hand in my shirt and clearing the glass from around the frame as best as possible.
“Fuck,” Austyn cried, lifting her knee to the frame. I held her ass and pushed her out of the window, grabbing her arm to steady her. Her feet landed on the ground.
While I wanted to feel some relief that she got out, a loud boom shook the floor under my feet and threw me to the ground like I weighed nothing. Luckily, I’d released Austyn because I’d fallen to my back and landed on something hard and unforgiving. My arm touched one of the nearby flames, and I flinched away trying to roll to my side, but there wasn’t much room. Everything was spinning as each breath became harder to take than the last.
Fuck me. Fought for our country, and this was going to take me out? My entire body hurt, but I figured it was from the smoke inhalation.
Blinking a couple of times to get my faculties together, I heard Austyn.
“Micah! Get your ass out here!” she yelled, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I rolled to my side and tried to make my way up, watching where I placed my hands and knees. Shit was everywhere.
The fire was all around me, looming like a snake ready to go in for the kill. On hands and knees I shook my head. Carefully, I got up, moved to the window and tossed myself out, falling to the ground even as Austyn tried to help break my fall.
“Go! Austyn, go! Go!” I ordered on several coughs, but Austyn didn’t listen to me.
Instead, she grabbed my arm as I unsteadily got up. I didn’t say anything else as it wasn’t worth the breath. I grabbed her hand, pushed every bit of pain down, and ran with her away from the house.
“Is Emery home?” I asked in our departure, hacking through the words.
Austyn’s head shook. “Her car’s not here.”
“You’re sure?”
“Fuck!” Austyn yelled over the raging fire. She was struggling to catch her breath as was I. The burn on every inhale only made me want to fall to the ground as exhaustion consumed me. It felt as though my insides were fried and wouldn’t allow air inside.
I pulled out my phone and handed it to her as I gasped in the clean air. “Call her. Now.”
Austyn dialed the number, fear written all over her. “Answer, dammit,” she grumbled on a gasp as I kept her moving further away from the heat. It felt like hours, but only took seconds before I heard, “Thank God. Where are you?” Silence, but Austyn nodded as I listened to the one-sided conversation.