Durham Killer

3

~A Week Later~

Leah's Household, Durham, Ontario

July 14, 2023

It was the scent that woke Leah Kingma up. A strong, foul smell. Leah had never smelled such a scent before. She reached over to her nightstand and drank a sip of water to awake her to check if she was still dreaming. She let the cool liquid glide down her throat. She stood up and followed the scent. The scent grew stronger as she neared it. The smell was like sulphur mixed with smoke. A fire, perhaps, because of the smoke? No, it couldn't because the country was engulfed in the darkness of night with no sign of light. She walked down the stairs and saw pitch darkness. No light. No sign of life. She tip-toed over to the front door, going quietly, as to not wake her parents up. She opened the wooden door and looked around. On nights like this one, the sky should be full of stars, but as she walked around to the backyard, her legs almost gave out. Her neighbour's house was a bonfire. She was right. Tall clouds of smoke and ash rose up into the dark sky. Enormous flames engulfed the wood. Usually everyone was screaming and bustling and yelling when a fire happened. But it was dead silent, except for the sparks and crackles of the fire. Leah screamed and dashed into her house and called 911.
"Hello?" Leah cried into the phone.

"Hello, what is your emergency?" A man's voice responded.

"Please. My neighbour's house is on fire. I don't see anyone, but they could still be inside. Please hurry."

"Don't worry. Where are you?"

"Winchester Street, near the school. You'll see the fire."

"We'll be right there hold on."

"Leah, is everything ok?" Leah turned to look at the stairs. Through the dark, she could just make out her mother.

"Mom! The Manley's house is on fire! I called the fire department."

"The Manley's? What? How did you know this?"

"Well, I smelled it first. Then I went outside because that's where it smelled the strongest. I followed the scent and saw the fire."

"Show me."

The two ran outside.

"There!"

Leah's mother was speechless.

"Kristin? Leah? Where are you? Is everything Ok?"

"Dad! We're out here!" Leah called.

"OH MY..." Leah's father exclaimed seeing the flames. Sirens wailed in the distance, cutting him off and getting louder by the second.

"There are the firemen," Leah stated. The family ran around the block to the neighbour's front yard. Luckily for the Kingmas, the Manley's and themselves included were both on the corner of the street. The Kingmas met the firemen at the house. Men in heavy, charred suits grabbed thick, large nozzles from the trucks and attached them to the fire hydrants. Leah watched in awe and fascination and a bit of terror.

"Stay back, ma'am." Leah didn't even realize she was moving slowly towards the fire. She stepped back.

"Sorry."

Many firemen carried long pythons which sprayed clear, cold water upon the flames. Flames crackled and hissed. Leah's eyes sparkled in her sockets. She didn't blink. Flames overtook her eyes. The smell of burnt wood filled her nose.

A scream for help. Another. Faint screams erupted from the house.

"Someone's in there!" Leah yelled. Because of the bustling, yelling, and lots of running around, nobody heard her, and seemingly not the screams. Leah turned to her parents for help. They were frozen in fear. She rolled her eyes in frustration and ran to the fireman chief.

"MR!"

"You have to stay back, ma'am. It's not safe." The chief pushed her back.

"But-"

"I said stay back."

"There is someone in that house! I heard them! Please. Go. Help. Them." Leah ordered.

"Alright, miss. We'll see. Christofferson! The girl says there's a person in there. Go check."

"Yes sir!" Christofferson and a few other firemen ran into the house. Leah looked at the house. Her friend, Caroline was sleeping in that house. After what seemed like hours, Christofferson and the other firemen came out with eight people. Mr. and Mrs. Manley and 3 of Caroline's siblings seemed fine, dazzled, yes, but fine. Caroline and her older brother, David, on the other hand had several third degree burns and were unconscious. A tube of air was connected to their mouth.

"We need the medic!" Christofferson yelled. Several doctors ran from their ambulance with a stretcher. Christofferson laid Caroline and David each on a bed in the ambulance gently. The doctors quickly led them away.

"Alright, folks. We'll take care of this. Go back to your house. Get some rest." The chief told Leah's family. Her parents nodded and led her away. Leah looked at her unconscious friend in the ambulance. The doors shut. Leah had saved her friend's life from a raging fire. Now it was the doctors turn to save her from those nasty burns.