Page 37 of End Of Never

“Touche.” We both laugh until our pagers go off.

‘All units respond. Fire in progress at 1246 Main St. Veterinary clinic. All Units respond.’

All the blood drains from my face, and my entire body freezes. Lilla. Zeus!

“Zeus is there, man, we gotta go get my dog!” Hayden and I jump into the truck together, both running on adrenaline.

Hayden drives like a NASCAR driver to the vet clinic. Arriving, smoke wafts into the night sky, creating a haze that chokes out the stars above. Flames shoot from the broken windows, erupting into a raging inferno that engulfs her home.

Hayden and I rush over. He starts putting on his fire gear, “Chief, what’s the word?” Chief looks entirely out of sorts; his eyes are darting around Hayden and me.

Without giving us a rundown, Chief starts yelling, “Hayden, get inside, do a sweep, the call came from inside! When we got here, Zeus was outside barking at the door. He wouldn’t stay away from the door, so we had to confine him. He’s in the truck. He got out before the fire went haywire.” I look back at the Chief’s truck, and sure as shit, Zeus is in there, running back and forth between the passenger seat and the driver's seat, barking and determined to get out.

I pull out my phone and try to call Lilla, but there's no answer.

I call again. No answer.

And again. No answer.

FUCK.

And that’s when I see it. Her car. Tucked back behind the rig.

Chapter 31

Lilla

On my way to the clinic to check on Zeus, my phone starts going off rapidly, alerting me to motion at the front door. Picking up speed, I drive faster. When I arrive, an orange-and-yellow hue lights up my office window. What the fuck. Parking my car out front, I waste no time running inside. Smoke fills the hallway above as I run to the back. Zeus barks, crying out for help.

When I get into the kennel room, Ava is standing there trying to get Zeus out, but he’s backing up, hostility causing the hackles on his neck to rise as he bares his teeth, growling at her. “Zeus!” Ava whips around, her eyes grow into saucers, bitch’s caught. “What the fuck are you doing!?” I yell at her, running and pushing her out of the way, opening the kennel. “Come on, boy, let’s get out of here.” My chest rises and falls as the air thickens, and heat pounds as the fire spreads from my office into the hallway. “We need to get out of here!” I turn and open the back door for Zeus to exit. The minute he steps out, we hear a soft whine, and before I know it, a loud boom erupts, throwing Ava and me back.

My ears ring as smoke fills the room; with each outburst of flame, it thickens, suffocating us with a vengeance. Excruciating pain runs along my leg, now being crushed by the heavy ceiling beam. My vision blurs as I fight to stay awake; the pressure on my leg is torturous as I try to move the structural piece. “Ava, you have to stay awake.” Forcing my words out, hoping they reach her, the smoke slowly suffocates the breath it takes to speak. Pushing myself harder, I clear my throat. “Tell me why you hate me.” The energy it took to mumble the words has my breath hitching, begging for clean air. She moans as she tries to move. The smoke circles us, making it hard to see where Ava got thrown. The noise seems close, yet so far away as the ringing in my ears intensifies.“Don’t move. Tell me why you hate me.” My chest heaves, eyes sting at the warmth as I peel them open, begging her to speak. I’ll listen to anything if it keeps her awake. Pain radiates from my legs, shooting up my thigh into my hip. With every sharp breath, the throb intensifies. The last thing I want is her dying on my conscience; to be honest, I wouldn’t even let a rodent die in a fire, let alone my worst enemy. “Ava, now!”

“I–” Her breath is labored. “Because you’re you. You made it so easy. Even when–” She grunts in pain. “I would be so mean, and you would still be nice, and it pissed me off.” She groans again.

“Good. I hate you, too. I always will, but I’m not going to let you die. So stay awake.” I lean my head back on the wall. The heat makes me sweat as the fire blazes and crackles beside us, singeing my hair and choking me out.

“Hello, is anyone here!” A deep voice yells.

“YES! In here!” I choke as the air suffocates me. Wheezing starts to take over. I try to see Ava, but the thick smoke between us shadows her. The fire is hot, burning into my back. I’m roasting, save me. Please save us. A bone-deep ache courses through me, “AHHHHHH,” I yell as loud as I can, choking on the smoke that now feels like razorblades sliding down my throat with each swallow, every breath heavy and slowing. I can hear Ava wheezing, matching me, as breathing gets tight.

I hear the man outside the door, trying to get the door open. That’s where Ava and I were headed until the oxygen tank blew, throwing us into the wall and dropping the beam from above on us, trapping us in here.

“I’m here.” He rushes in. He comes to me first, “Hay?” My voice is weak, wheezing, as I try to talk. “Come on, let's get you out of here.” I shake my head.

“Get Ava.” He looks over, spotting Ava in the corner, before turning back to me. “Please, Hay. She’s bleeding and won’t respond. Save her, please.” I cough as I force the words out.

“I can’t leave you; Jace will kill me.”

“If you let her die, you're killing me.” I wheeze.

He drops his head, rushing over to Ava, pulling the beam off of her, and lifting her. Her lifeless body falls into his arms. “I’ll be right back.” I hear him call on his radio, demanding another rescue. The line breaks, and it’s hard to listen to the response as he moves through the smoke. I lose him, just as I feel my breath fading.

Chapter 32

Jace

Hayden barrels out the door as smoke follows his motion, rolling out with a force. A small female body pressed to his chest, in a ball gown. My heart hammers out of my chest as he rushes to the ambulance where Cody waits. “Female, lost consciousness, pulse is steady, but fading.” He turns around and looks at me, “It’s Lilla. She’s inside, man.” My heart leaps out of my chest, fighting to be next to her. Two words, ‘it’s Lilla’, is all it took to engage in fight mode, to save her, once more. Something I promised I’d do for the rest of my life. Without thought or hesitation, I turn and run.