Joshua bolted upright, heart pounding. The blast hit like a hammer to his chest. The thunderous sound vanished instantly, replaced by a piercing shriek, thin as glass. His mouth moved—shaping Colin’s name—but no sound came back to him. The world had gone silent, reduced to a sharp, piercing shriek.
The bed shuddered—moved by unseen force—and debris pelted him from above. He didn’t know what had broken. Or why. He instinctively grabbed the sheets, gasping, fighting for balance. Smoke—acrid and thick—filled his throat. His gaze shot toward the open bedroom door just as a bloom of white fire flared down the hallway, chasing the shadows.
His ears rang, then didn’t. Then rang again. His hands were shaking. Everything was shaking. Smoke curled across the ceiling, thick and gray. He tried to move but couldn’t. Everything felt slow. Dull. A nightmare from which he couldn’t awaken.
Then—through the haze, through the smoke and panic, a hand gripped his own—Colin’s. Firm, gripping hard, pulling him back to reality.Oh, thank god!
Colin
The whole world was shrapnel and smoke. His ears screamed with silence, the sound warped and hollow, like the ocean roaring inside a shattered seashell.
He tumbled from the bed, fumbling along the floor with one hand, scrabbling through the splinters of glass.
His sneakers.Where were they?His fingers grazed canvas, rubber. He shoved one foot in, then the other. No laces. No time.
He still clung to Joshua with his other hand, gripping tight. Afraid to let go. Joshua stared into his eyes, his own wide with terror, mouth moving soundlessly.
Colin shook his head once.Don’t talk. Just come.
Smoke curled from the stairwell, thick and choking—and beneath it, orange light licked at the hallway walls, firelight flickering a deadly warning.
Without a word, Colin pulled him forward. He spun into the bathroom, yanked a damp towel from the rack, and pressed it over Joshua’s mouth and nose. “Hold it!” he screamed, hoping to god Joshua understood. Then he gripped his husband with both hands and dragged him forward.
They stumbled down the stairs, feet slipping on the steps as they clung to each other. On the third step, Colin’s knees buckled. He caught the railing with one hand and Joshua with the other while ahead, he saw flames licking into view through the smoke.
Still no sound. Just the pounding in his blood. Just the frenzied desire toget him outand the gut-wrenching fear that he couldn’t.
Joshua stumbled on the last step, and Colin caught him around the waist, guiding him through the smoke-thick air.
Joshua
Silence roared in his head. But Colin’s hand was there. Anchoring him.
He forced himself upright, feet slamming the floor. Glass tore into his skin, pain knifing up his legs. He tried to scream, but the sound died in a void, smothered by that shrill, relentless whine.
He staggered forward, limping, clutching Colin, mind racing for answers, but he could process only the fire—flickering brighter through the stairwell banister—noise blinking in and out, like a shorting wire. Colin’s voice was there, then gone, then back again. But his grip on Joshua’s arm was firm, urging him onward.
He wanted to answer. Couldn’t. Just nodded. Or tried to.
Colin pointed toward the door. Smoke choked the air there, laced with flickers of firelight. Pain tore through Joshua’s feet, but he forced himself forward.
Then Colin veered away—toward the stairwell—dragging him off-course. Seconds later, something cold slapped against his face.
A moist cloth. Pressed hard against his mouth and nose.
“Hold it!” Colin’s scream punched through—fierce, desperate.
He pulled Joshua toward the stairs—one arm braced on the rail, the other locked around Joshua’s waist.
They began to descend, half-blind and reeling, barely processing the smoke, the heat, the pain.
Colin stumbled—caught himself—held them both upright with one hand on the rail, the other locked around Joshua’s waist. He coughed hard, chest burning, wheezing, the taste of smoke thick on his tongue. Colin hauled him closer, shielding him with his body.
Everything hurt. His heart. His lungs. His soul. His feet screamed with pain.
But Colin was there. There with him.
And that was all that mattered.
