Page 49 of One Last Night

“She’s at the barn on the Cartwright property. She went there to meet Kevin. I don’t know what happened, but the barn’s on fire now, and I can’t hear either of them.”

My stomach turns somersaults. “Does she have her cell phone?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“You call her,” Sean says. “I’ll call nine-one-one.”

“Take us to the fire, Nathan,” I command. “Sean, you drive.”

“Right.”

Nathan leads us to the car. I hear Sean on the phone with emergency services while we run.

“When did the fire start?” I ask Nathan.

“Umm… I think… Fifteen minutes ago? It was still small when I left, but they weren’t answering, and the door was locked.”

“All right. Thank you,” Sean says. He hangs up and tells us, “Emergency services says nine minute ETA. That means we’ll beat them by four minutes. Have you called Julian yet?”

I shake my head.

“Do so,” he says. “Nathan, do you have Robert Cartwright’s number?”

Nathan nods. “Yeah, I know it.”

“Do you have your phone?”

“No, I lost it on the way over.”

“Use mine,” Sean says. “Call him now. He might be able to have someone on the property get into the barn.”

When we pull onto the main road, I see the black smoke billowing up from the barn. My heart sinks to the soles of my feet. I hope desperately that Luann and Kevin aren’t inside there anymore.

“I don’t know,” Nathan says. “They just went inside. I figured they wanted to make out or something, so I just left them alone. I didn’t think they were going to get hurt. I’m sorry.”

I can’t hear what Robert says in return, but Nathan says, “We’re on our way back now. The fire department is supposed to get there a few minutes after us. Okay, yeah, please. If they can get in before us, maybe they’ll be okay.”

He sniffles, and I feel a pang of sorrow and fear on his behalf. I know how terrifying it is to lose a sister.

At that thought, I am filled with resolve. Nathan will not lose his sister today. I don’t care what else happens, but Nathan willnotlose Luann. He won’t suffer the way I have. He won’t be plagued by bad memories the way I am.

Sean’s car is not at all suited for rough roads, but he bounces the car up the gravel and dirt drive toward the Cartwright house with no regard for his suspension. The barn is located behind the house to the right, and he leaves the drive behind and bounces over the loose ground until he comes down hard and snaps something in the front. The car skids to a halt, but if Sean is concerned about his vehicle, he doesn’t show it. We rush from the car and sprint to the building without a look back.

The barn is completely engulfed. Smoke billows from the windows, and yellow flame licks out between the boards. The fire appears concentrated in the upper half of the building, a good sign. The lower portion might be relatively free of smoke and flame.

“Call them, Nathan,” Sean commands. “See if you can… Mary! Mary,no!”

It’s too late. I’m already running for the nearest window. I don’t have anything to shield myself, so I cover my face with my right arm and throw myself through the glass. I feel a sliver of the material slice my back, but I don’t stop to see how bad the wound is.

The heat is enormous. The smoke is a thin haze near the ground, but the heat is unbearable. It’s like being caught in a broiler. I am in for only a few seconds before I’m gasping for air.

A strong hand grabs my arm, and a moment later, Sean hisses, “Mary! Get the hell out of here!”

“No, Sean. Help me find them.”

“Are you insane? We need to get out of here! The fire department will be here soon.”

“I’m not leaving them.”

---