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Relief floods me as the house staff and our resident doctor are safely extracted from the ruins. All that's left is for my brothers and the rest of the team to be brought out. The fire department did an excellent job at quickly taking the wall apart and getting to them, now I just wish they would hurry up and actually extract them.
Isabela has done an amazing job at getting our attack drones up and running, that girl keeps surprising me. Who would have thought that a sickly fragile thing succumbing to her cancerous tumor would turn into the strong and fiery woman before me.
"DANTE!!!" Dominic's voice rings out to me like a siren and the panic in his voice instantly makes my body go cold once again.
"DANTE!! FOR FUCKS SAKE SOMEONE GET OVER HERE AND HELP MY BROTHER!!"
No
Help is here, they're finally within arms reach, he's supposed to be okay. I heard his voice. He was fine....
A fantom wind brushes gently against my cheek and I swear I hear my mothers voice whisper to me in passing
Protect your brothers Dante
I'm trying mom... I swear I am.
With a shuddering breath I take off running inside and follow the big water hose line the fire fighters are still using to battle the fire within and use it as a guide to my family. I chase it all the way up. I ignore the suffocating heat of the flames and the burn of the smoke in my eyes and lungs staying as low to the ground as I can and stop just inside the conference room.
I take in the fire fighters moving crap around trying to make space, their tools scattered about, first aid kits out and blood. Lots of blood.
I hold my breath and inch closer to the hole they cut into the wall and get a glimpse of Darren and Thomas, neither look good and I hope they make it. They're just kids, they're Diego's friends, all of them barely eighteen.
"DANTE!!" Dom's booming voice slams into me once more and I swear my heart skips a beat.
"I'm here!" I tell him as I rush into the tight space and see Dario limp in his arms, the anguish on Dom's face my undoing and my carefully crafted facade cracks and breaks away entirely.
"I don't know what's wrong! He was fine! We were trying to make space for the fire fighters to get the guys out and next thing I know he's on the ground and he won't wake up! Why won't he wake up?!" The desperation in his voice and the panic in his eyes is one I've seen on him only one other time in our life.
I no longer see my second in front of me but my little brother. I couldn't do anything to save our mother but I'll be damned if I let him down again.
