Page 1 of Play With Me

Prologue

Lola

“911, what is your emergency?”

“Help me! I don’t want to die. Please help me!” I cried out, coughing. I could barely hear my screams over the roaring fire.

“Ma’am, where are you right now?”

I strained my gaze but I was unable to penetrate the thick cloud of smoke. It irritated my eyes and throat. Something protruded my stomach. I touched my belly. It felt wet and sticky. I coughed again into my sleeve, trying to remember how I’d gotten here. Nothing around me seemed familiar. A loud bang echoed in my ears, vibrating, and then there was a fire. My body ached. Hot flames roared in front of me, and I had nowhere to go. I could barely move.

“I… I don’t know. The fire’s spreading. Help me! Pleeeeeease…”

The air thickened into an impermeable fog in a matter of seconds. The taste of smoke filled my mouth, and when it reached my lungs every few breaths, my head spun. I covered my mouth with my arm in an attempt to breathe through the sleeve. Giving up wasn’t an option. I banged on the window beside me, hoping someone on the other side would hear me.

“Ma’am, what city are you calling from?”

“I. Don’t. Know. I need help. Use your satellite signal.”

Holding the phone between my shoulder and chin, I fanned my other hand in front of my face, but that didn’t help either. The window wouldn’t open. I was trapped.

“We’re trying to trace your call right now. Can you get to a safe room? If so, put a towel underneath the door and stay low.”

A minute ago, I’d been certain I had more time. I’d been sure I could get out, but my situation worsened. Now I was stuck. The door was jammed, and the fire had spread too quickly. A loud bang shook the earth underneath me, and all of a sudden it seemed that the outside was more dangerous than my current location as a new bright orange fireball spread upward toward the sky.

“It’s okay, princess.” I heard a familiar voice beside me, but I couldn’t see where it was coming from.

“You’re going to be okay,” he cooed. “Hold on.”

“I… I can’t.”

I pinched my nose. Breathing through my sleeve was less effective. I had few seconds left, but sometimes seconds mattered. Seconds saved lives. Holding that air for as long as my lungs let me could buy me a few precious seconds. It could buy both of us time.

“We’re having a difficult time tracing your call, ma’am. Can you see anything out the window that you can describe?”

Fuck me! My phone wasn’t traceable; it wasn’t supposed to be. I’d have had better luck calling my friend Emma than dialing 911. She’d been there for me before. And why was the dispatch calling me ma’am?

“No.” I coughed again. “Nothing. No, wait….”

My eyes were stinging from the smoke almost as much as my lungs, but I had to give the dispatch something.

“I can see trees,” I said.

“Any buildings? Bridges? Can you see anything else, ma’am?”

I took one last dirty breath through the fabric of my sleeve and placed my face against the window again.

“I see a penis.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s a huge dick! Help me!”

“Ma’am, how much have you had to drink today?”

Fuck her!Though many might have contested the claim, I’d never had a drink in my life. I tried to take another breath but inhaled pure soot instead.

“Ma’am… Ma’am?”

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