Chapter 29
-NAOMI
to life. i like a terrible nightmare coming to
As the fire alarm continues to wall, people begin to stumble to their feet, their Exces etched with panic and confusion.
I stand frozen, my mind struggling to comprehend the chaos erupting before my eyes
The instrumentalists, who have been playing softly just moments before, abandon their instruments and sprint for the doors, joining a growing stampede of guests desperate to escape,
The room is a blur of chaos, with people tripping over each other and screaming as they fight to get away from the inferno.
I feel like I am trapped in a scene from a disaster movie, unable to move or look away from the horror unfolding around me.
I can feel the search coming from everywhere and I don’t know how long I have been on my feet watching, until a hand touches my
shoulder.
“What are you doing? Let’s go!” Charles is quick with his movement as he grabs my wrist and starts to run towards the stampede.
He stops running and kisses his teeth in annoyance and his head snaps around, looking for another exit
The hall is getting foggy with smokes seeping in from the vents in the grand hall and causing more panics to erupt
I start to look for another exit too. Not just leaving Charles to suffer it all.
Like a continuous bad dream, I notice one of the hall’s roof to floor curtains has caught on fire, spreading as fast as possible.
“Oh, God” I shake my head moving close to Charles.
A man starts to yell.
“Everyone! We should leave in a single file. We are never going to make it out if we leave all together.”
As there rages on, thick clouds of smoke billow through the room, choking the air from our lungs.
The once–lavish dinner p
is now a chantic, smoke–filled nightmare.
party is now
Charles’s grip on my arm tightens, his eyes fixed on me and the rest of the place with a fierce determination. He’s like a loyal bodyguard, refusing to let harm come to his charge me
Coughs erupt around us, a chorus of desperation as people struggle to breathe
I try to pull away, but Charles holds firm, shielding me from the worst of the smoke.
His protective grasp is both reassuring and unnerving as if he’s willing to risk everything to keep me safe.
“There’s another exit there, if we join the crowd we’ll get caught up in the smoke. And we can’t hold out, Charles yells, his voice almost drowning with the chaos.
He pulls me and stars to drag me toward an exit I can’t see.
ΠΕ
I notice some people immediately leaving the crowd struggling at the main exit and are now trailing behind us too.
We come across a hallway that is still far from the smoke and start to make our way down.
No one has no idea how the fire started or where it started, so to determine where to run to is a big risk and a journey of faith
I grip Charles’s hand tightly as we join the stampede of people rushing for the exit
The smoke is choking me, making my eyes burn and my hangs ache.
I can barely see a few feet in front of me, but Charles pulls me forward, his grasp firm. We’re sw
swept up in the tide of panicked guests, all of us desperate to escape the inferno
As we run, the sounds around us are deafening shattering glass, crashing furniture, and the roar of the fire,
Chapter 29
My mind is rambling so many things, but the clearest thing is how I don’t want to die.
I stumble, but Charles catches me, his arms wrapping around my waist
“You okay!” His voice is fast and deeply affected by the smoke that has caught up to us
I nod, ignoring the pain my heels are creating around my angle.
I can’t waste any more second
Some people are already ahead of us.
We keep moving some of the others behind us and in front of us, our footsteps echoing off the walls.
Suddenly, a loud crash shakes the floor beneath us.
Just as we see an opening that eradicates hope in all of us-
Chunks of the ceiling come crashing down, sending debris flying everywhere..
I scream
I notice another is about to fall on me but Charles yanks me to the side, and we’re instantly separated from the others in the chaos,
I frantically scan the smoke–filled hallway, but there’s no sign of anyone else, it is blocked from the fallen ceiling. There is absolutely no opening.
I start to panic.
Am I going to die?
“Charles“” I scream. “Charles, where are you?”
My voice is shaky and hoarse from the smoke and dust and I want to cry.
No. I am already crying
Charles‘ response is muffled, but I follow the sound of his voice, my hands outstretched in front of me like a blind person feeling their way through the darkness.
The smoke is so thick I can barely see my own hands
I trip over
over something, falling hard onto the floor.
As I struggle to get up. Charles’s arms lift me to my feet, and we stumble forward, our footsteps echoing off the walls.
We manage to find an opening and just as we are to take a few more steps, the hallway in front of us erupts in a blast of heat and flames.
The blast push us off the face of earth and backwards for our backs to crash against the pile of rocks
We are trapped.
Shir. Na
I manage to get on my feet, wanting to create a pathway but Charles pulls me back.
“What are you doing? We’re trapped”
I shake my head.
“No I cry
I already know that, but hearing him say it makes it evilly true.
I bury my face in his chest, and start to cry, praying for a miracle.
My boys, Who’s going to look after my boys? Certainly not just Circenn
As I cry, closing in the silence, Charles as quiet, rubbing my shoulders.
I don’t know why he had to rak his own time and life to come for me
He could have just left me and saved himself, now he’s muck in here with me.
Chapter 19
I sols, wanting to s
speak but I can’t.
Before we know it, heavy footsteps
cloud the silence and a masculine voice follows.
Is anyone here!”
I let go of Charles and yell back.
“Yes, two of us!”
“Okay, stand back!” The masculine voice yells and I take a step back and Charles does the same.
I’m unsure how long I’ve been holding my breath, but it feels like an eternity. Time seems to have stood still as I’ve been trapped, my lungs burning from the lack of oxygen. It isn’t until the firefighters finally break through the blocked path and pull me to safety that I realize I’ve been holding my breath
As they drag me out into the fresh air. I finally allow myself to inhale, and the sweet oxygen floods my lungs, reviving me.
The sensation is overwhelming, like a wave of relief washing over me.
I gasp, feeling my chest expand and my lungs fill with air. It’s as if I’ve been reborn, my senses coming alive after being numb from the smoke and
fear.
I’m aware of the cool night breeze on my
the sound of sirens in the distance, and the feeling of strong arms supporting me. I’m grateful to be alive, thanks to the brave firefighters who risked everything to save me
As Charles comes out and touches my shoulder, I take my time to notice the place is destroyed and is filled with the snowy remains from the fire extinguishers
Paramedics quickly come to our aid. Despite being injured or not, we are to be treated.
After oxygen therapy, which is the last thing I recall doing at the back of the ambulance with Charles Dickson by my side.
I wake up only to find myself back at home–the McCain’s mansion, in my room.
As I stare at the ceiling trying to understand when I had fallen asleep.
Was I injected with a sleeping sedative? Or did I pass out!
Blake’s head suddenly pops right in front of me.
“Mommy!” He exclaims happily.
I try to stand up but I hear “please don’t”
I turn to see one of the maids in front of me.
Elena.
“How am I here!” I ask
“Mr. Asher brought you here” she says.
I shake my head.
I turn to my twins and see them staring at me like I died and resurrected
Today has been chaos and mind numbing and I do not want to repeat any second of it
I’m so grateful I made it out in one piece.
I really am
I sigh and gently lay back on the bed.
What dine i
“It’s lam” she replies.
“And the twins are pui aslerpt” I gayi.
Chapter 29
“They woke up when you arrived, they were worried.” Elena replies.
up
“When I arrived? Who brought me here?” I ask,
A man, a very tall man. He refused to tell me his name. You were asleep when he brought you in” Elena says.
Charles.
Oh Charles.
1 sigh and turn to the boys.
“Mommy’s okay” I assure them.
They don’t seem disturbed so they just smile at me..
I turn to Elena again.
“And Circenn?” I ask.
“He never came home. she replies, shaking her head.
