Written With Love

Chapter 13: A Swift Save

 It was a hectic night as Wyatt frantically pushed his cart around Slab-Mart along with other store patrons. He like everyone else, had started their night two hours ago on a normal note only to find that they would involuntarily be caught up in one of the supposedly worst storms to ever hit Georgia. Now like many, he was quickly rushing to get out of the store and quickly find shelter as this large store with a cheap roof would be a prime target for the storm. Fortunately for him, the tornado skipped right over the vicinity of the store and was headed in the direction of Kimberly's apartment complex where it would go on to wreak havoc on that area.

Kimberly was awake by now but she wasn't sober and wasn't aware that lighting had struck her building causing a power surge and starting massive fires in multiple places. The apartment 2 doors down had been hit directly and was going up fast. Meanwhile, having been frustrated with the long line, Wyatt dropped all his items and headed home. While he had been in line he had been watching real-time tracking and reports and from everything he saw and heard, it had devastated the suburbs but left downtown untouched. but most importantly he had heard the brunt of the storm passed just 5 miles of his neighborhood and that had him worried to the point where he said fuck this and left the storm eager to survey the destruction.

As he headed home, he found the direct roads leading straight to his neighborhood had been blocked by debris and some by power lines, forcing him to take back roads. It was when he was using these back roads, that he noticed a large blaze in the distance. Curious, he got closer and realized it was Kimberly's apartment complex and it looked to be her building. Concerned, he called her, got no answer, then called two more times before a voice groggily answered. What he heard next was highly disturbing...it was the sound of smoke alarms and he could hear a crackle in the distance. Wyatt said, "Kimberly, Kimberly, get outside...your buildings on fire". All she said was" Huh? Why's the room all smokey? Am I at a rock concert".

He sighed and said"Get out of there" before hanging up and slamming his gas pedal down. It was at that moment that he didn't care about anything else or anyone else, not even himself, all he knew was that he had to save her. Despite there being a raging fire, there were still no firefighters to be seen, just a parking lot full of residents who had evacuated or just bystanders. Wyatt quickly parked his car and hopped out, forgetting to take his keys out of the ignition. He sped for the stairs to the second floor and shined his phone light around, looking for her door. When he reached it, he found it open and he quickly rushed inside and up to her bedroom and found her phone but no sign of her. 

He continued looking through the apartment, calling her name until he saw a figure sprawled out in the downstairs bathtub, it was Kimberly. After he sat his phone down with the light facing up, he rushed over and shook her, which caused her to dart awake. Her eyes were bloodshot and she was smiling just before she said in a slurred voice" Oh hey Wyatt, the powers out and it got kinda hot so I took a nice cool bath...wanna join me?". Seeing that reasoning with her wasn't going to work, he picked her up out of the tub and sat her on the sink while trying hard not to give into his temptations and peek at her. By now the smoke was getting unbearably thick so in his haste, he grabbed a robe off the back of the door and helped her put it on.

After tying it tight, he picked her up bridal style and quickly carried her out of her apartment and darted down the hallway, following the luminescent handrail until he found an exit sign and kicked the door open. As he came out, he was met with firefighters and paramedics who stopped both of them and checked them out before allowing them to go. After getting checked out Wyatt grabbed Kimberly's hand and walked her through the crowd and to his car, which surprisingly was just the way he left it. The two got in and together, headed off on the long drive home, which was becoming increasingly difficult as Wyatt's adrenaline began to wear off but nonetheless, he made it home.

Despite his panic earlier, his home was relatively untouched, sure the shingle and gutters had been ripped off in some places and the tree in his backyard dropped a few branches, but his house was still in good shape. As they crossed through the front door and closed it, Wyatt fell to his knees and passed out right there on his living room rug. While his adrenaline helped him pull off athletic stunts, it had also drained him like a battery and left him with virtual zero energy. Kimberly had now sobered up a bit and was aware of her surroundings and had seen Wyatt collapse and rushed over to him. She checked his pulse and breathing and determined that he must have been wiped, which made her feel bad. 

As she looked at him, her thoughts began to refocus, her heart began throbbing and she felt so warm...this guy right here literally charged into a burning building to save her, all without yelling or complaining. It made her very happy but at the same time she was upset with herself that after everything he had taught her, she still ended up needing his help. She quickly shook off those thoughts and began tending to Wyatt...he took care of her all those times and now it was her turn to take care of him for once.