Out of Time: 'Short Stories'

By Vanessa Sgroi © 2008

Time’s running out. 

Flames are licking at the far wall, curling, browning, and finally obliterating a poster of SpongeBob tacked there.  The hungry tongues of fire are already beginning to devour the ceiling. 

Incredible heat is pressing in from all sides.  My turnouts offer some protection, but vulnerable spots like my ears and wrists are blistering. 

My SCBA’s low-air warning started awhile ago. 

Still . . . still—I won’t leave. 

I can’t. 

I can’t find the little boy. 

Maybe his parents were wrong and he wasn’t in his room like they thought.  Maybe he got out. 

No.  No, he’s here.  Don’t ask me how, but I feel it. 

A wave of dizziness makes the engulfed room waver and spin.  I shake my head to clear it to no avail. 

Wait!  There!  Behind that wooden chest in the corner.  Is that a foot? 

I crawl forward, feeling with my left hand. 

YES! 

I toss aside the stuffed animals under which the boy is hiding.  All but one anyway.  He's gripping one, a soot-smudged little dog with floppy ears, tightly in his arms.   I pull him into my arms and race out of the room. 

At the bottom of the stairs, the lack of air finally catches up with me and I feel my knees give way.  Relief overrides despair when my partner, Cade, is suddenly there reaching for the boy.  Other hands grab for me, urging me toward the front door. 

Toward safety. 

When my legs refuse to hold me, they carry me.  My world grays a little around the edges and the frantic beeping of my alarm fades. 

But I know I'm in good hands. 

And so is that little boy.

The End...

 

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