“I don’t give a shit. The woman I’m fucking in love with is possibly in that building.”
Scott and Jake were standing nearby, both looking pale, trying to listen in to conversations, work out what was going on.
Will froze, his expression pained. “You had anything to drink?”
“No. Early shift tomorrow. I’m going in there regardless, job or not.”
“Fuck it.” Will leaned to the vehicle. “You come in with me, you buddy me and you do what the fuck I say, do you hear? I lead.”
Jonny nodded. “It’s all on me. Anything goes wrong and this wasn’t your call.”
“What’s the worst that could happen? I get fired? Not like it hasn’t happened before.”
Jonny was already inside, grabbing the spare equipment that was inside, thankful that his team always kept extras in there. There wouldn’t be repercussions; he wasn’t under the influence and if anyone thought that someone they loved was inside a burning building they’d be in there.
He didn’t listen to Scott or Jake as he ran passed them towards the building. They shouted words about taking care, about Rayah, about how they’d known for months – trying to add some light to the situation and hide their panic, but the words fell into the blurry commotion around him.
The manor house was being coated by flames, eaten and regurgitated into a blackened shell. He paused before entering, looking up at the rooms on the first and second floors. Some of the windows were boarded; he’d never noticed it before, rarely coming up here in the last five years or so because the cult kept themselves as an insular group. Most kids were home schooled, with only one or two exceptions.
The main door was wide open, smoke billowing out. The stairs hadn’t been hit yet, the fire seemed to have been set from an upstairs room, but there had been an accelerant used, just like the others. Just like the others where there had been bodies found and they were no further on in the investigation.
Jonny pushed any thoughts away, needing to focus on his job. Because that was how he needed to treat this right now. As much as he wanted to run up the stairs and search in every room, he had to be hyper aware of the building, of what the fire and smoke were doing to the wood and the walls. There was a crash behind them and a flurry of flame and dust as the ceiling above them started to collapse. It wasn’t the first time he’d been in a burning building; it wouldn’t be the last.
Voices fed into his helmet, telling him what was happening in other parts of the building. It was being doused with water and he had no doubt that within an hour his team would have it completely under control, but if Rayah was inside, they didn’t have half an hour.
Another crash. Another falling ceiling. Another explosion followed. He heard someone confirm that a second explosion had gone off, likely left to harm the emergency services.
“We’re going left here. The right of the building is coming down, Jonny.”
He knew what that meant. Anyone on that side was likely dead already and if not, it was too dangerous for them to get to them until the fire was under control.
“There were boarded up windows here.” His looked through the mental map of the building that he’d made.
“And one had been broken through. To the back at the side. What the fuck has your woman gotten involved in?”
“She’d have been trying to help. Right now though, I don’t give a shit what she was doing, I just want her out of here alive.” And unharmed. He knew that was unlikely. If she’d stayed away from the flames, there was the smoke and that would be more than deadly. “Does everyone know about us?”
“Well, if they hadn’t put two and two together before with her pretty much living at your house, you declaring your love in front of everyone has just sealed the deal. That room there!”
The room was closed, unlike most others, its door heavyweight, suggesting that things were hidden in here that weren’t for the eyes of the masses.
“We need to get that fucker down.” Will looked around for something with some weight.
“Here.” Jonny reached for a metal door stop, a huge thing in the shape of a hen. “This.” He ran to the door, swinging the object to pick up maximum force, clobbering the wood as hard as he could.
This was dangerous. They had no idea what was behind the door, which looked to be fire proof. Backdrafts were a firefighter’s worst nightmare but Rayah could be in there.
“Pass it here.” Will reached out for the object. The door was weakening after three hits, one more would see it gone.
Will repeated Jonny’s action. The sound of wood splintering echoed, followed by another crash. The building was full of wood and was going up like a tinder box. He could hear one of their sub-teams inside the building, curbing the spread of flames.
The room was full of smoke, part of the ceiling had collapsed from above and flames were starting to drop down. One of the windows had been smashed, the one in the back corner. Thick boarding that had covered the glass had been broken and the glass put through.
Below it sat a sight for his very sore eyes. Rayah was holding a cloth over her mouth and nose, a damp one. He could make out bruising to her face even through the thick smoke that was now filling the room.
“There isn’t any time for a fucking romantic reunion. We need to get the fuck out here before this floor collapses and that ceiling comes down.”
He already had hold of her, picking her up easily in her semi-conscious and putting an oxygen mask over her face.
