I ran toward it.
At some point during my walk, I'd moved into a part of the city with warehouses and empty factories, and it was a warehouse I was running toward. A warehouse with smoke now billowing from open windows, flames shooting into the sky.
Fuck.
I listened for the sirens, looked for the lights, but I didn't hear anything, see anything. Nothing but the people who were all standing around the warehouse and watching it burn.
I skidded to a stop a few feet away, felt the heat on my face as I listened, tried to hear over the roar of the flames and the chatter of the crowd. My gut clenched as I heard it.
The sound of a child crying.
Fuck.
This was probably the stupidest thing I could do, but I knew I didn't have a choice. In my head, it was my mother, my sister. I hadn't been able to save them, but there was a chance I could save whoever was inside that building. Even if it was unlikely, I had to try.
I ran for the door, disregarding the people who were yelling at me that it was too hot, too dangerous. I ignored them. I was in places that were too dangerous all the time. The only difference was that, this time, I was in the States instead of overseas.
That didn't matter though. I'd sworn to protect the citizens of this country. If that meant from a burning building, then so be it.
I took a deep breath of fresh air just before jumping through the doorway. I crouched down, squinting against the smoke. My eyes began to water almost immediately, and I blinked rapidly, preferring to have the tears running down my face to clouding my vision. It took me a moment to get my bearings, and I knew that every second counted.
Then I heard it again, the child. I started to move towards the sound, trying to keep my breathing as shallow as possible. I was going to start coughing in a moment.
“Shit!” I swore as something hot and burning landed on my arm. I slapped at it, but not before it singed the hair.
I coughed as soon as I inhaled and I felt my lungs starting to burn. And I couldn't hear the kid anymore.
“Hey!” I shouted, then coughed. “Hey!”
For a moment, I was afraid he'd passed out, that I'd never find him or her in this huge place. Then I heard a weak banging, as if whoever it was couldn't get enough air to speak. It didn't matter. I could hear.
I followed the sound around the corner and saw a small lump on the floor. I rushed over and grabbed it. I didn't bother checking to see if it was a boy or a girl, or even if they were still alive. All that could wait until we got back outside.
As I turned, I saw another figure on the floor. A bigger one. Adult-sized. The hair looked short, but aside from that, I couldn't tell anything, not even if it was a man or a woman. It didn't matter. The kid had to come first.
I ran back toward the door, trusting my memory more than my sight to get me where I needed to go. More debris was falling and I couldn't brush it off now, not with my arms full. I winced, but I kept going.
I burst through the doorway out into the cool spring air. I sucked in a breath, gagged and hacked. Someone reached for the kid and I let go, bending over for a moment as I spit out something nasty.
“Fire...men?” I gasped. I tried scrubbing at my burning eyes, but it didn't help me see any better.
“On their way.” A male voice came from my right.
“Another...person.” I was still spitting out all sorts of shit, and my chest was burning, but I wasn't going to let someone die.
“It's too late, man,” the guy said.
I straightened. It was too bright out here after having been in the smoky dark and I couldn't see more than an outline. He was a big guy, burly. I wasn't sure who I'd handed off the child to, but this guy wasn't holding anyone.
I looked at him, then looked at the warehouse. I could hear the sirens now and knew the firemen would be here in a moment. I could see the blurry outline of an ambulance and knew they were taking care of the kid. But no one was getting the guy still left inside.
Now that I had my breath back, I didn't hesitate. If I waited for the firemen, the guy in there would be dead, if he wasn't already. If he was, I'd at least tried. I just didn't have it in me to leave a man behind.
I ran back into the smoke and flame.
It was worse now. Pieces of the ceiling were falling down, bouncing off my shoulders and head. Between the smoke and the tears, I couldn't see anything, but I remembered the way. Except now there was shit all over the floor and I kept stumbling, tripping over things.
I should have been there. I'd gone far enough.
I was still thinking that when I heard a hollow sound.
My ears popped.
I was moving through the air.
Pain.
Then, mercifully, everything went black.
Chapter Nine
Nori
The weather was already warm when I went out for a jog. I'd come back home last night, needing a real night's sleep before going in for third shift. I'd had that. Now I needed to work out a few kinks.