THE BRAVO BOYS - SNAKE EATER [book three]

Chapter FORTY NINE

Logan Nash

Philadelphia, PA
...A decade ago...
'The Night Dixie Died'

I barge a squared shoulder through the front door of the humble suburban home as the intense boiling pressure of an inferno rolls off the walls and permeates everything.. Wriggling heat waves distort the air, rising in rivers of shimmering metallic hues as black smoke curls thickly beneath the ceiling.. The wild blaze grows so quickly in mass, its destruction doubling by the second.. The flames chew at the drywall as if it were cardboard and consume everything in their path.. Falling debris and flickering sparks force me to duck my head for protection as I search hopelessly through the chaos..

"Dixie?" I call out desperate, struggling through sputtering coughs as I push my way down the burning hallway.. "Dixie, where are you?"

The oxygen grows thinner with every step, adding a dizzy drowsiness to my already disoriented senses and soon my brow is slick with sweat and my thoughts muddled.. Despite the discomfort and confusion, I push forward, making my way further into the fire..

"OH GOD!" Her petrified screams seem to echo all around me, assailing my ears from every direction.. Shrill and serrated with a chilling edge of primal fear.. "DALLAS! OH GOD, MY BABY!"

The living room is a haze of smoke and cinders, but there on the floor I spy the fragile form of my sister.. Suffocating and gasping for breath, she clutches at her chest.. Beside her is the unmoving mass of her husband, Houston..

He's dead.. I can just tell.. I saw enough corpses on the day of the siege to recognise this one now.. The impossible heaviness of a vacant vessel is eerily unmistakeable.. That strange lifelessness now strangles the animation of somebody who had once been so full of spirit..

"Dixie- You gotta get up, we gotta go!" Leaning down I make an attempt to grab at my sister, hoping to collect her tiny figure from the floor..

"Not me.. Dallas.. Save Dallas!" She shoves me away with a feral hiss and an angry scowl..

"I'm not leaving without you!" I make another move to pick her up and with violent claws she swipes at my face.. Feminine nails drag deep into my flesh, marking my cheek and neck in scarlett scratches.. But I am too numbed by the coursing adrenaline to feel the sting of it..

"NO! NO! DALLAS! OUR BABY, LOGAN! SAVE OUR BABY!" She screams and sobs.. Slipping through my fingers Dixie flops to the floor and attempts to drag herself towards the flames that bar the back bedrooms..

There is only one thing that matters to her..

Her daughter..

Dixie always was the most stubborn, never take no for an answer, fearless warrior.. But this time, she is more determined than I've ever seen her.. I could drag her, kicking and screaming from this house, but there'd be no point, because she'd run straight back I to the flames.. What's more, she'd never forgive me if Dallas didn't make it to safety..
The choice isn't even my own.. Nothing ever really was.. I have always caved to Dixie's will and it seems this time would be no exception.. She is a force of nature to be reckoned with, and I could never withstand her heart's desire..

I love her too much to let her down..

"I'll come back for you, Dee-Dee.." I weeze, lifting the collar of my shirt to cover my nose and my jacket up over my head for some semblance of protection, stepping over the tipped furniture that remains scattered around the living room before barreling at a full charge up the hallway, passing directly through the fire.. "SAVE HER, LOGAN! YOU HAVE TO SAVE HER!" My sister's screaming never ceases to howl through the firestorm as I fly into the smoky pink bedroom that clearly belongs to a sweet little girl..

My eager eyes sweep over everything in sight, landing finally on the sickening sight of her tiny unconscious body slumped over beneath the window.. A crumpled little heap of cartoon princess pyjamas and strawberry blond hair, she looks so still and peaceful that she could simply be sleeping..

Scooping Dallas up in my arms, I tuck her close to my chest to shield her face as I lift a hefty boot and kick through the glass pane of the first floor bedroom.. Shattered glass ices the dewy evening grass underfoot where we tumble out into the cool night air.. With charred lungs and burnt charcoal on my tongue, I sprawl and stagger across the lawn, trying to get the unconcious girl far enough away from danger..

By the time I make it to the curb most of the neighbourhood have emerged from their homes to witness the flaming carnage.. They crane their necks and whisper in horror, but none of them come to help me.. They only watch on with their morbid curiosity yearning to be sated..

Blue and red lights soon flash as fire trucks, ambulances and police begin to arrive at the scene in a blur of high visibility vests and bouncing torchlights.. I hoist up the tiny doll in my arms, carrying her along the roadside while waving down her salvation in the form of a checkered white van.. "Hey! Over here, help!"

A team of focused EMTs rush to take Dallas from me with practised precision, setting her carefully onto a gurney and transporting her into the back of the ambulance..
Only once she is in safe hands do I allow myself a fleeting moment of relief.. But it is short lived and quickly quashed by the harshest of realities..

Dixie is still inside..

Fuck!

As I turn back towards the house, a stout opposition in a navy blue uniform blocks my path.. "Sir? Is this your residence?"

"No-" I shake my cloudy head, peering over his shoulder as the roaring blaze rages higher, engulfing the small shiplap clad residence in a violent dance of orange and red.. A disoriented mumble twists around my tongue as I try to sidestep the policeman.. "My sister's in there - Dixie - she's still in there!"

"Sir, we can't let you back inside.." He lays a heavy hand on my shoulder, triggering my deep seeded hatred of uninvited touch.. "You need to let the fire department handle this--"

"Fuck you!" I shove past him, racing back towards the burning house, only to be met by brutal force.. Three more officers join the first, moving in unison to tackle me to the ground.. My limbs are crushed and my chest pressed upon until I can barely breathe.. Pinned beneath their weight, I regress, falling into memories of holy men holding me down while a knife robbed me of my rights.. "Let me go! Fucking devils! DEVILS! Get off me!"

An angry hysteria surges white hot and defiant in my veins, and soon I find myself in a combative struggle to break free.

"SIR, YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN!" Shouts garble and bark as I am forced over and face down into the ground by the four uniformed oppressors, I catch sight of the medics, gathered around the tiny doll on their gurney, working to revive her..

This can't be happening..
This can't be real..

Can it?

Tears fill my eyes and my limbs slacken as all resistance leaves my body and I begin to accept the terrible truth.

My sister is dead.. And It will be a miracle if her daughter survives this black day..