Secrets of a Hoarder

Part Five

It was the chocking smell of smoke that woke Victoria up.  She opened her eyes to see the flames growing over the coffee table, lapping at her belongings.  

    "No! Oh my god no!" She gasped and inhaled the thick black smoke that was quickly filling the room.  She began to cough, violently.  

    Desperate to find something to stop the flames Victoria grabbed a dirty fleece blanket from the top of a pile.  She tried to toss it over the fire, but the blanket was not large enough.  The fire was gaining strength.  

    Dropping to her knees to avoid the smoke, she tried to crawl through her little path mostly clear of things.  She needed to find the fire extinguisher  Her eyes were starting to water, both from the toxic smoke and the thought of her possessions being burned.  Nearly blind, Victoria started to fumble around in the messy kitchen.

    She knew she had at least three fire extinguishers in this room.  She had no idea where they were.

    Standing up, Victoria blindly used her hands to search over the counters.  Dirty glasses and plates were knocked over and smashed on the floor, covering her bare feet in sharp shards.

    That is when the smoke detector above her head started to beep, loudly and obnoxiously.  

    Jumping in surprise, Victoria cut her feet on more glass.  Crying out in pain, she started to fall.  The back of her head hit the edge of the counter right before her body hit the floor.

    From the kitchen floor, Victoria could see the fire gobbling up everything she owned.  It had reached the farthest wall and was almost licking at the ceiling.  Clearly her possessions were all incredibly flammable.  

    She realized it was too late for a fire extinguisher.  Hopefully it was not too late for her to get out alive.

    Trying to crawl forward, Victoria felt sick and light headed.  The warmth of the fire was coming towards her back.  The opposite doorway was only fifteen feet away.  Then out the door and she would be safe.

    "Ow! What the fuu..."

    She looked down at her hand.  It had been sliced open on an old discarded soup can lid.

    "Shit!" She yelled tossing the can back behind her.

    The dripping blood from the large slice across her palm made Victoria feel queazy.  She had never been good with blood.

    Struggling forward, she limped on one hand and two knees.

    Even on the ground, she was inhaling too much smoke.  The fire was sucking up all the oxygen it could, leaving her breathless.  The scattered papers under her remaining hand slipped.  Victoria's body fell crashing forwards, slamming her nose into the ground.  

    This time she tasted the blood.

    Struggling to remain conscious, she ignored the pulsing pain in her face. She tried not to think of all the blood was she loosing.  

    Crying only made it hurt more.

    She started to cough.  Her lungs were hurting so much.

    She felt weak, so weak.

    Dragging herself onward, Victoria started to wonder if she would even be able to make it out of this mess.  

    It was right then, on the brink of death, that she started to wonder about her life.

    William had been everything.  Her one and only.