Page 93 of The Firefighter's Fate

The firefighter breathes in, rushed. He’s sprinted to find me. And me specifically. It takes him a moment to push out the words.

“The emergency... it’s at the Penmayne mansion. It’s on fire.”

The fuck?

47

CONNOR

I can see the fire even before we arrive at the scene.

Flames lick the sky, even above the trees of the distant forest that surrounds Crystal River. The small town is illuminated in a bright, deep red. If you somehow stumble across this site and have no clue as to what is happening, then you could easily believe you’ve been transported to the fiery home of the Devil.

One thing is for certain – it is one hell of an inferno.

And we are racing toward it at the highest speed.

Our fire engine zips around the winding roads that lead up to the mansion – roads that are so familiar to me, but which seem totally bent and disfigured amid the blaze engulfing that familiar structure up ahead.

It’s my home.

My childhood home.

And it’s somehow, impossibly, burning.

How has this happened? Who let it happen?

Who could do this?

It can’t be an accident. Surely, it can’t.

And now I’m sitting here in my capacity as a firefighter, coming to save it.

I can’t believe it. When I left this mansion, I never thought I’d be back here – especially not with emergency lights and fire and with me dressed in this uniform.

But here I am. And I have my job to do.

We speed through the open gates and into the compound itself. I can see it all so clearly now, and it’s far worse than I could even imagine... the main building is completely alight.

My mansion in flames...

I jump out of the fire engine in haste, ignoring any safety procedure that I should be following. This is too damn emotional for me. I need to do something. I don’t care about my own safety.

My boots hit the ground, and I am already running toward the hellhole.

I spot Waylen.

I see his security guards.

I see the staff members of the mansion milling around – some dressed in their work uniforms and others in casual nighttime wear. It’s evident the last thing on these people’s minds was the idea that this place would catch on fire anytime soon, let alone tonight. The staff of the mansion are simply standing around and watching the flames in utter disbelief.

Some are crying. Tears stream down their tired faces. Some are shaking their heads, shocked and confused at what has happened.

Surely this can’t be an accident, right?

This place was well-protected.

What the hell is going on here?

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