Page 23 of Savagely Scarred

The man's face falls and I think I am finally getting through to him—talking him down.

I continue, “Get your buddy downstairs to let them go.”

He slowly looks up at me, his face cast in a red glow and smiles. “But I’m going to free them.”

Frozen in place, I watch as he lets the flare slip from his hand. The gasoline ignites instantly. Fire roars to life following the path that was laid, the flames engulfing everything it touches.

And as the heat reaches my face…

Everything fades to black.

“William!!!” my dad screams, running into my room.

He scoops me up from the floor and cradles me in his arms. My eyes slowly open and I can barely see anything.

Black smoke is everywhere.

“Dad,” I croak out before coughing.

My voice is hoarse.

It hurts to talk.

It hurts to breathe.

He runs out of my room and into the bathroom. He grabs a washcloth and makes it wet in the sink before placing it over my mouth. He grabs my hand and puts it on top of the rag.

“Keep this there, okay?” he says and I nod.

Dad runs down the stairs as fast as he can, holding onto me tight.

It’s so hot.

I’m sweating again.

My eyes widen when we reach the bottom and we almost fall to the floor.

FIRE

It’s burning everything.

The pictures on the walls.

The wallpaper is peeling and leaving black marks.

The front door is covered in flames.

We can’t go that way.

Dad scrambles back up the steps into the black smoke again.

He’s coughing now too and he pulls his shirt over his mouth. We end up in my parent's room and he sits me down on their bed.

He tries to open the window, but it doesn’t budge. Running over to mom’s makeup table, he grabs the chair and brings it back to throw at the window. It shatters and glass falls to the floor.

He doesn’t have shoes on.

He’s going to cut his feet.