In Our Heads

Chapter 39

*****

There was music sneaking into the room through the opening at the bottom of the door when Theodore woke up. He slid his phone out from beneath the pillow, tapping on the screen. It was just past 2 AM.

Theodore turned back onto his side ready to return to sleep but paused. Water... He didn't usually feel like water, and he did not want to see either of the adults he lived with.

Still, he felt oddly thirsty for the hour. Pushing out of bed, he glanced at Zion before approaching the door. His nose caught the smell before he unlocked the door and pulled it back, not thinking much of it until his eyes were drawn to the normally white ceiling now covered in a layer of light grey mist.

His eyes darted down the hall and he stepped forward to head towards the living room but stopped and instead turned to head back into the room.

"Zion. Zion, wake up."

He tapped his brother lightly, trying to keep his voice calm despite the aggressive hammering in his chest. Now that he had seen the smoke in the hallway, the room smelled so much more like fire. Fabric, plastic, wooden fire. Zion responded with a little groan and made no move to wake up; it would have made Theodore laugh usually, but he was too worried.

"Zion, wake up," he repeated, needing to ensure that his brother was alright.

"I'm awake," Zion whined, trying to swat Theodore's hand away.

"Good. Come on."

He picked Zion up without waiting for an answer and carried him to the kitchen before opening the backdoor, and putting him down outside. Zion looked at the grass around his feet sleepily as he rubbed his eyes before looking back up.

"Why are we –"

"Stay here. Don't come back inside," Theodore instructed. He needed to get back inside quickly.

"Why?"

"Just listen to me, okay?"

He didn't wait for Zion to answer as he grabbed the hose and headed into the house.

The mist had become a heavy cloud of smoke that burnt down his throat as he inhaled. He made his way further to the living room where his mother's coughing could be heard.

The room was covered in smoke that he couldn't see through as he began coughing too but followed the sounds to grab her wrist. She seemed to be too drunk to walk out herself. He didn't know whether to try and find William and get both out of the house or douse the bright flames pricking through the clouds.

It was concerning that he had not heard a sound from William. He turned on the hose and aimed it towards the fire, coughing while he called out William's name and received no answer. Was William even in the living room?

The smoke seemed thickened even more as he put the fire out, it didn't appear too big, but he couldn't tell given the lack of vision. He hoped the water was helping as he walked further into the room, spraying water everywhere until he tripped over legs.

Theodore dropped the hose to hoist William's arm over his shoulder and dragged the man into the hallway where his mother was still struggling to crawl her way out. She didn't seem to be trying all that much, though. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her with them out into the backyard before tossing both of them onto the grass.

"Theo –" Zion began.

"Just a minute."

He leaned down to listen to William's struggling breathing before patting his face in an attempt to wake him up.