Prep School

Chapter 51

I race inside, Zane on my heels.
We scream out names. I remember my dad saying that he was working here today. I scream louder.
"DAD!!! ELLIYOT!!! DAAAD!!!"
I sob, running through the burning metal of the facility.
Zane yells out. "FATHER! JAMESON!!!"
The facility is a wreck. Beams of blazing flames are everywhere, the metal frames of the ceiling collapsing from the fire. Portions of the wall are being licked away by flames, long, red, blazing tongues of flames.
And the heat. The heat is unbearable. It's pounding down on my back, making it harder and harder to breathe.
Zane pants heavily, gripping my hand as we scream.
"Aria....." We hear a rasp come from the left.
I whirl around. "DAD! JAMESON!"
We run over to them. They're pinned under a metal beam with flames slithering along it.
I push against the beam, screaming out when the flames hit my hands.
"Schist!"
I back up, crying. I kneel next to my dad's face under the beam.
"Dad..... Daddy. We're gonna get you out! Ok?! We're getting you out! You and Jameson! Got it?!"
He smiles sadly. "You gotta go."
"Like hell I am."
Zane grips my shoulder. "Aria, I got an idea."
I stand up and he steps back. He points to the beam. "There's a weak spot right there. If we hit it with our scythes, it's gonna break."
"You're a genius!"
I hug him around the waist and summon my scythe.
He summons his and we both swing at the beam. Sparks fly from the clashing metal and the heat of the beam travels up my scythe. I grit my teeth and swing harder. Sparks fly again, landing on my hands.
"Break.... You.... Damn.... Thing!"
Zane and I swing at the same time, our scythes going through the beam.
"Yes!"
I rush forward, pushing the beam off Dad and Jameson, gritting my teeth as the flames touch my hands.
They push upward, pushing the beam off of them. Finally, it slides off them, setting the ground on fire.
I pull up Jameson and he helps pull up Dad, who's eyelids are fluttering.
Zane supports his weight and I grab his other side.
Jameson treks ahead, pushing away any beams.
My hands grip Dad's arm, but they hurt real bad. Blisters have formed where I tried to pull the beam off them. We breathe heavily. My head hurts. My throat hurts. My eyes hurt from the smoke. Finally, after an eternity it seems, we make it to the door. Dad's head is crooked on his neck and Jameson's face is ashen gray. Zane looks at me, breathing hard, his hair dark with soot and plastered all over his face.
He pushes forward with his shoulder, trying to open the door. It's stuck, blocked by pieces of the ceiling.
I wheeze, my throat burning. I push with my shoulder, Zane rushing forward. We both bounce off the door, our bodies sore and blistered.
We push one more time, and the door cracks open. My head hurts.
We push again, Dad and Jameson in our arms.
The door cracks some more. We push. Crack. Push. Crack.
Finally, after a few more pushes, the door cracks enough for us to kick it open.
Sunlight streams in and Zane barges through, pulling me with him.
I hear sirens and see flashing lights. My head hurts. Ambulances and fire trucks are lined up on the road.
I breathe in the clean air, so sweet, it's burning my lungs. Zane breathes harder and his face is black with soot and sweat.
I gently lay Dad and Jameson down onto the sidewalk and stroke away the dirt from their faces.
Dad grimaces and I see a large cut across his forehead.
Jameson clutches his hand close to him and moans.
Immediately, two men from an ambulance rush over fussing over them.
They wrap up Dad's wound and put him onto a gurney.
"Dad," I wheeze.
One of the men turns towards me, "He'll be fine. We're taking him to the hospital. He has some burns and we need to treat his cuts."
Cuts. They are more.
I nod slowly, stroking my dad's hair.
Jameson is loaded onto a gurney and carried away too.
I kneel on the sidewalk, wincing when my hand moves. Tears run down my dirty cheeks, pooling under my chin.
"Hey," Zane wheezes, flinching when he puts a hand on my shoulder,"We're gonna get through this."
I nod slowly. "Ok."
I look around for the first time, seeing the workers treating the reapers.
I spot a lump under a blanket. I stand up and slowly walk over, my body painfully sore.
I point to the blanket. "Wha- who's that?"
The woman next to me sighs. "We don't know yet. Everything was burned in the fire, so we haven't been able to identify her."
Her?
The woman looks at me. "Maybe you know her?"
I kneel next to the blanket and push its aside.
I sob. Huge tears fall off my cheeks when I see who it is.
Elliyot.