Page 30 of One Little Spark

When they subsided, she was finally able to stand and moved over to the doorway. Doc had left it open when he’d gone to make tea. Why was it closed now? She tried to turn the knob, but it wouldn’t turn. “Doc?” she yelled. “Doc?” She rattled the knob some more, but the door wouldn’t budge.

She had another coughing fit. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins as it dawned on her that the old paper-filled house was on fire. She screamed and banged on the door, but no one came. She put her hand on the metal doorknob again, but immediately pulled it back. The knob was now hot to the touch. The fire was close, and the room was filling with smoke.

Hazel coughed as she turned around and scanned the room. There was no water source in the room, and she had no doubt the old furniture and pillows would go up in seconds. She had nothing to block the smoke from coming under the door.

The lights dimmed and went out. The room went pitch-black. She stumbled over in the direction of the window, but she banged into the coffee table in the darkness and fell. She coughed again. Her lungs were on fire. Drawing a breath was like breathing underwater. Impossible. She tried to crawl to the window, but she got disoriented in the darkness.

She collapsed onto the carpet and started to cry. She struggled for each breath, but it was pointless. She sighed. She’dnever told Aiden how sorry she was about what she’d said and that she didn’t mean it. She never told him how much she loved him, and now she wouldn’t get the chance.

Chapter Seventeen

The night sky was painted orange as Aiden leaped from the rig. The whole house appeared to be engulfed. Flames licked out of the windows on both floors. It wouldn’t be long before the roof was on fire. Hazel’s car was parked at the curb, now surrounded by fire and rescue vehicles.

Hazel had to be alive. She just had to be. He scanned the area outside the house, but he didn’t see her. Panic gripped him. The pain in his chest was monstrous. He would not lose her. Not this way. She could tell him she never wanted to see him again and he’d deal with it, but he wasn’t losing her to a fire. As long as she still breathed and walked the earth, he could survive. He would not make it if she died.

Phoenix appeared beside him and Jory. “Doc is still in there and”—he put his hand on Aiden’s arm—“so is Hazel.”

Aiden’s lungs froze. He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Hazel. He had to get to her. He glanced at Jory, and they both immediately headed into the burning building. Captain Hastings yelled at them to stop, but they didn’t wait. Aiden couldn’t. He needed to find Hazel.

They raced up the stairs into the old house where they found the foyer in flames. He flicked on his flashlight and entered the room on the left. It was also engulfed in fire. The window was open, and the smoke was billowing out. He turned back and found Jory heading down the hallway. He followed and took the next room on his left.

The filing cabinets in there were open with flames shooting out as the paper burned. The rug was on fire and so were the curtains. He looked up. The ceiling was also consumed by flames. He looked around, but he was sure the room was empty of people. He went back to the hallway and found Jorywith someone over his shoulder. Aiden shone the light at the body and recognized Doc immediately.

They headed toward the front of the house. Captain Hastings was on the radio, telling them to get out, the roof was going to collapse. Jory hurried out the door with Doc, but Aiden turned and climbed the stairs two at a time. At the top, he turned right. He went into the first room and shone his flashlight around. The room was filled with thick black smoke. His flashlight beam barely penetrated the darkness. “Hazel,” he yelled. “Hazel!”

There was no answer. He searched every corner of the room, but it was empty except for more filing cabinets. He turned and went to the next room. The door was closed. He tried to open it, but it was locked. At this point, fire surrounded him. The floor of the room opposite him caved in, shooting sparks everywhere. He didn’t have much time.

He took a step back and slammed the door with his boot. It shot open and bounced off the wall. “Hazel!” When he waved his flashlight around the room, he caught a glimpse of a leg on the floor.Hazel.

He squatted beside her and shook her shoulder. “Hazel!” he yelled, but his breathing apparatus muffled the sound. She didn’t respond. He immediately picked her up and slung her over his shoulder.

Out on the landing, the roof above them collapsed. He turned to shield Hazel as best as he could from the flames and falling debris.

He had no choice but to go through the fire and out the front door. There wasn’t time for the ladder to get to them. He went to the stairs and started down. He was almost to the bottom when they collapsed underneath him. He staggered and tripped but managed to stay upright. Intense, nausea-inducing pain shot through his knee. He ignored it and kept moving.

Flames shot at them from every direction as he decided the best way to get through the foyer. Without hesitation, he ran through the flames and down the stairs to the front yard. As he got to the sidewalk, many hands took Hazel off his shoulder and put her immediately on a gurney. He pulled off his mask and started coughing.

“Is she okay?” he demanded. “Is she?”

The EMTs worked on Hazel as he stood there. He tried to move toward her but fell. His left knee wasn’t working. Phoenix was there, helping him up.

“Jory,” Aiden yelled. “Where’s Jory?”

Jory came around from the other side of Hazel. “I’m here.”

Aiden nodded, and his shoulders sagged. The two people he cared most about in the world were out of the fire. “Tell me she’s gonna be alright, man,” he pleaded.

Jory stared at him and then stared at his sister’s motionless body on the gurney. “I don’t know,” he whispered.

The EMTs loaded her up in the ambulance, and Jory climbed in. Aiden stumbled after them, but there was no room for another person.

“Looks like you need your own bus,” Hastings said as he came to stand next to Aiden. “Someone, get this man into an ambulance and to the hospital. He’s hurt.”

Another gurney was rolled over, and after they helped to remove his gear and looked him over, they loaded him up. “Please go faster,” he pleaded when they were on the way. “I need to be there. I need to see Hazel.” The adrenaline was fading and his knee was a giant seething ball of fire, but not nearly as much as his heart. He couldn’t bear it if Hazel didn’t make it.

They pulled up to the ER entrance of the hospital, and the EMTs wheeled him in. He tried to sit up, but they held him down.

“Where’s Hazel?” he demanded.

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