Instinct kicks in. Old habits. The version of me that runs meetings, takes control, doesn’t wait to be told what to do.
“Get out of the street!” I shout, my voice cracking the air. “Clear the road—fire trucks need space!”
People look at me like they’re waking up.
A guy is frozen in the middle of the lane, hands on his head. I grab his arm and shove him toward the sidewalk. “Move. Now.”
Someone’s car is idling at the curb, door open, keys still in the ignition. “Pull it over! All the way over! You—yes, you—get it out of the lane!”
They listen.
That shocks me.
More sirens. Fire trucks screaming around the corner, red lights slicing through the haze. Ambulances. Police cars. The smell hits—burning fuel, something electrical, something I don’t want to identify.
“If you’ve got water—fresh water—bring it!” I yell. “Towels! Anything clean! Wheelchairs—if you have them, bring them!”
I’m running now. Heart hammering. Adrenaline burning everything else away.
I don’t feel brave.
I feel necessary.
A line of firefighters surges past me, faces already gray with ash, eyes locked forward. One of them shouts, “Get back! Stay back!”
I don’t argue. I skid to a stop, chest heaving.
A cop near me is crying openly, tears cutting tracks through the soot on his face. He keeps waving people away, voice breaking. “Please. Please move back.”
I turn and run the other direction instead.
Storefronts have their TVs on, every screen showing the same image on a loop. The impact. The fireball. Over and over and over.
People crowd the windows like it might explain something if they watch it enough times.
Phones don’t work.
I try anyway.
Busy signal. Again. Again.
“Mom,” I mutter, staring at my useless phone. “Mom, pick up.”
Nothing.
My sister. Same thing.
They know I’m here. They have to. They’re watching this too. They’re probably screaming my name at the television, convinced I’m dead.
The thought nearly drops me to my knees.
The sky is filling with smoke now, thick and dark, swallowing the blue. Ash coats my hair, my shoulders, my hands. Sirens never stop. People never stop screaming.
I’ve never felt so small.
And I’ve never felt so awake.
This is real.
