Page 66 of Ashes of Us
I tested my weight, and the wood immediately groaned… but held.
One step. Two. Three.
A crash behind me, part of the first floor giving way. The heat intensified, flames punching through gaps in the floorboards.
Just keep moving,I thought.Just keep going.
Four steps. Five.
Another groan, louder this time. The whole structure shuddering.
Six. Seven.
The landing. I pulled myself up, stayed low. The second floor was worse—hotter, smokier, the ceiling sagging. I could hear fire eating through the walls.
I had seconds before this whole place came down.
"Fire department!" My voice came out muffled through the mask. "Call out!"
Nothing. Just the roar of flames.
I moved forward, sweeping my arms. Feeling for walls, for doors, for bodies.
My hand hit something solid. A door frame. The door was open, hanging crooked.
I pushed through into what looked like a bedroom. The smoke was slightly thinner here; not much, but enough that I could make out shapes. Something that could be a bed, or maybe a dresser. And then…
A body on the floor.
I moved toward it, dropped to my knees. Male, young, unconscious. The homeowner's son. His breathing was shallow and irregular, but he was still breathing.
Then I saw movement beyond him.
There was someone else here. Pinned under a fallen beam, EMT uniform visible through the soot. He was conscious but struggling, trying to push the beam off himself.
Daniel.
His head turned toward me. Even through the smoke I could see the relief flood his face.
"Thank God.” His voice was raw, barely audible. Then he focused on my face through the mask and recognition hit. "Sullivan? I thought—I thought this was it. I thought I was done."
"Not on my watch." I moved to the beam and assessed. Heavy, but I could lift it. "When I get this off you, you move. Understand?"
He nodded, coughing.
I braced myself and lifted. The beam shifted, groaned, and Daniel scrambled out from under it, gasping.
I let it drop.
"Can you walk?" I asked.
"Yeah. I think so.” He was coughing hard, smoke inhalation obvious. His face was covered in soot, eyes red.
I pulled off my mask and shoved it at him. "Put this on."
"What—no, you need?—"
"Put it on." I turned to the kid, checked his pulse. Still there. "Help me get him up."
