NICHOLAS

The four of us scan around and Madison jumps, points behind me. “There are flames coming out of the bathroom window!”

Swearing under my breath I take off running for the house.

Matt is right behind me, pushing through people as he shouts, “FIRE!”

The crowd freezes, unsure if he’s serious.

Madison shouts, “Stay calm! If you run, you might not get out! Don’t trample each other!”

That does it. They lose their minds with fear.

Denise shouts over the screaming, “No! Don’t go out the side yard! That’s where the fire is! We have to go through the house! This way!”

Matt and I find Billy with a sloshing bucket, rushing toward the bathroom. He sees us. “Help! I can’t find the fire extinguisher! It’s not under the sink!”

“They’re usually in the garage! Matt, search the laundry room! Get these people out!”

“You got it!”

The house is filling with smoke. I can feel heat in the kitchen. See flames licking the closed bathroom door.

As I head for the garage I shout, “Billy, don’t open that door!”

Matt yells, “Someone call 911! Call 911!”

It’s a mob scene, people trampled, crying. These parties are too fucking huge and the space too small.

I shove my way through.

In the garage there is nothing. Nobody lives here anymore, the movers cleared the place out years ago. Desperate, I claw open abandoned cupboards as fast as I can, searching for hope.

Rushing back inside I cough at the smoke. “Fuck, it’s getting thick fast. Maddie! Matthew! Where are you? You guys out?”

He appears through a cloud of charcoal, grabbing my sleeve. “Billy won’t leave!”

The house emptied while I was searching for an extinguisher, all except for the guy who grew up here.

He’s running back and forth with a bucket of ice.

“Knew I bought extra for a reason!” he shouts, eyes wild.

He fights me off as I grab his shoulders, urging him, “Billy, no! We have to get out of here. The flames are jumping, man! We gotta go!”

“You didn’t find one? Not one?”

“I came up empty. I’m sorry.”

“It’s my home! This was my home! My parents’ home! I can’t leave it!”

“You have a new home now. So do your folks.”

“I have to try!” He makes a break for it.

Matt and I grab Billy and haul him up above our heads, carrying him out as fast as we can. Crashing through the front door we come upon a huge audience watching from the street, all staring as one side of the house is engulfed in flames. We set Billy down and Madison rushes up.

“Nicholas, did you see the dog?”

Frowning I quickly shake my head, “No, I would have grabbed him!”

“He’s not out here!”

I shout to the crowd, “Anyone see a black dog?”

They stare at me, shaking their heads.

Madison runs toward the house. “I have to find him!”

I chase her, stop her, “No, I’ll go!”

“I’ll come with you!”

“No! Stay here! Be safe!”

Matthew shouts, “Nicholas!”

“Hold on to Billy!”

Flames lick the door-frames but I dash through them, praying I’ll have time to make it back alive. Leaping out the back door I shout, searching the yard, “Here boy! Come!” The heat lamps on the right side have caught fire, the fence a dancing blaze of orange and red behind them. Squinting at the heat, I shout again, “Here boy!” A whimper reaches my ears. I flip around, blinking against the itch in my eyes. “Where are you boy!!! Come here! COME!”

No movement.

My eyes widen at the shed, its roof engulfed.

The door is closed.

Was it earlier?

I race over and whip it open.

He’s cowering in a corner, sparks in his fur, crying, frozen in terror.

I squat low, urge him, “Come here boy.”

He won’t move.

As fire laps above us I grab all eighty pounds of him, my lungs weak from the smoke. “I’ve got you, boy. I’ve got you.”

Carrying him out of the shed I set him down and stamp out the bits of fur that sizzle my hands. “Okay, let’s go!” Lifting him up again I carry him into the house, coughing like crazy. Can’t see anything anymore except a grey-orange haze.

Matt appears in the kitchen’s entrance. “You scared the shit out of me! Don’t do that again! You got him?”

I cough, “Run!”

He pulls his shirt off, waves it through the polluted air, getting the smoke out of our way as best he can so we can see where the fuck we’re going. But the wind increases the flames and it just feels hotter, the fire chasing us.

We burst outside, gasping and desperate for clean oxygen. The crowd cheers and Madison runs up. Behind her Denise is pacing, fanning herself from suspense.

Maddie’s gentle hands reach for the dog’s face. As I set him down they slide over his back. “Oh, poor baby, you got burned!” Over her shoulder she asks the onlookers, “Whose dog is this?!”

No one steps forward to claim him. Her eyes fly up to meet mine. “Thank you! You saved him!”

Wiping soot from my eyes I laugh with relief, “I told you I saved a life today.”