𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐘 → original

seventeen

Everything seemed to happen so quickly. They carried out the motions as if this was a real scenario they were not expecting. Lou and Amory opened their door, staring out into the blazing flames, before shouting for the others to get out and going towards the bedroom window. Lou grabbed her phone and nothing else, while Amory did not even bother with his. He attempted to pull open the window, but he was too frantic and hazed, the heat of the fire warming his back as it began crawling into their room.

"Amory!" Lou shrieked, because she was now growing panicked. This was not apart of the plan. This was real.

She realized that the window was simply latched, but before she had time to point that out to Amory, he was using the alarm clock from the night stand to smash it open. He pushed Lou forward, urging her to go first, so she did. She climbed through the broken window, slicing her hand and knee in the process, before tumbling into the bushes outside. She rolled out of the way, giving Amory room to jump out as well, and they both coughed as they reached the outside air.

The oxygen from the outside fueled the fire within, and they watched as the room was quickly engulfed in flames. Lou and Amory shared a look, the first they had shared since Amory pulled the trigger, before Amory pulled Lou to her feet and they rushed around to the other side of the house, where the upstairs guest bedroom's window faced.

As they got there, they saw Nadia hanging over the edge, her butt resting on the window sill. It appeared that the upstairs group did not break their window but instead were able to open it and push out the screen. Still, Nadia looked nervous, eyeing the ground below her.

"You have to jump Nads!" Amory cupped his mouth and called up to her. "The fires catching quick, you all need to get out!"

Lou nodded, but then became distracted. The upstairs window was on the side of the house with the patio, which held the sliding glass doors. She noticed now that they were wide open, which seemed odd. There was no way they were open prior to the gun going off. She shook the thought away, figuring that Marc had forgotten to close them upon coming back with the gasoline tank, and stared back up just in time to see Nadia take the leap.

Amory heard a snapping sound then an ungodly scream, and he was rushing to Nadia before he had a second to even get his thoughts straight.

"Don't move her!" Marc called from above, punctuating the end of his sentence with a cough. Smoke had begun to filter out from the window upstairs. "She could have fractured her spine!"

"He has to, or you guys won't be able to jump out!" Lou pleaded, tears beginning to fill in her eyes. Why had she let herself crumble? Why hadn't she stood strong and come up with a less dangerous plan?

"It's not my spine." Nadia sobbed as Amory finally reached her, clutching her left knee into her chest. "It's my leg."

Amory smoothed her hair away from her forehead, gently. He felt like any way he touched her might make her shatter. He had never hated himself, he wasn't that kind of person, but in that moment he completely understood self-deprecation. This was entirely his fault, and now those he loved were paying for it. Nadia opened her eyes at his touch, and she gave him a small nod, so he placed his hands under her and picked her up bridal style, and she screamed the entire time.

Ophelia began to crawl out the window next, coughing so much that she shook. Rather than jump the way Nadia did, she turned and hung out the window, glancing once below before letting herself drop. It certainly hurt, but she didn't think she broke anything. Lou was at her side in an instant, dragging her away into the grass. Behind them, Amory still coddled Nadia as she sobbed.

Marc went next, lowering himself in a similar fashion to Ophelia. He had read once that you should jump out and try to tuck and roll, but he didn't trust his dexterity at the moment. Plus, if he injured his leg like Nadia, he wouldn't be able to run into town. He fell to the ground in a heap, coughing desperately as he tried to allow good air into his lungs.