Secrets to Keep (Phan)

Chapter 7

I awoke in the middle of the night in a cloud of confusion, the agonizing pain of burning lungs, and the searing heat being the next thing I noticed. High pitched smoke alarms beeped very non-discreetly from upstairs, and I could hear people shouting, only adding to the chaotic sounds.

The smell of smoke filled the room, and I immediately hauled Dan off the ground, who was half-asleep and complaining about the noise. At this point I don't even think I was thinking straight anymore, I was acting on pure instinct.

I threw the door open, only to be greeted by shouting voices that were a lot closer than I once thought. Paul, Shawn, and Wesley scrambled around in the room next to Dan's, shouting at eachother to grab certain boxes that were packed into the room like several 3-D Tetris games.

They hardly even noticed Dan and I standing there, holding hands and half asleep, but maybe it was better that way. Out here the smoke was clearly coming from upstairs, which glowed orange from the top of the stairwell. My foggy, sleep induced instincts were screaming at me to escape the fire, but there was nowhere to go. As far as I knew, there weren't any windows in the basement.

Wesley screeched at the others to get the boxes to the backyard. They practically coughed up their lungs as they ran, trying desperately to obey the orders.

"Lester, grab a box!" he shouted desperately, only just noticing my arrival. I almost did it for the sake of having some sort of excuse to leave, that is until I saw the gaping hole in the ceiling. Glowing red beams threatened to collapse any second, leaving the inflamed living-room clearly visible through the carnage that once was a floor.

Smoke drifted through the downstairs room in a thin haze, that held a loose but deathly grip on my lungs. At this point Dan stood beside me terrified, as he stared at the orange flames that roared upwards from the ceiling. Upstairs the smoke alarm still beeped, the monotonous shrill being joined by the sounds of shattering glass. Sweat beaded up on my brow as I made my decision.

Ignoring Wesley's shouting completely, I took a tighter hold on Dan's hand, and dashed up the stairs. He followed of course, tripping and stumbling up the steep stairs that had no hand-rail to use as guidance. I could hear shouts of protest to "Get my arse back here" and whatnot, but my need to keep both Dan and myself alive outweighed Wesley's stupid drugs.

At the top of the stairs, the heat and smoke hit me like a ton of bricks to the chest. Orange and Yellow flames flickered and ate away at the walls, violently swallowing the curtains and wooden floors. The fire hadn't exactly spread to the kitchen yet, but it showed signs of beginning to take an interest in the wooden dining set.

Dan, who stood beside me coughing and shirtless, was trying to desperately cover his mouth and nose with his palm to block out the suffocating fumes. I yanked my own shirt off and forced it over his head as if I was dressing a child, being sure to pull the neckline back up to cover half his face.

"Breathe through that okay?" I instructed, grabbing a kitchen rag to cover my own face. The smoke stung my eyes, making them water and not helping with the sight issue I was having.

The living-room floor was obviously the source of the destruction, as the gaping hole seemed to be the most damaged part of the room. More glass shattered from somewhere in the house, letting in a bit more oxygen to fuel the roaring flames that threatened to tarnish everything in their path.

I led Dan carefully around the hole in the floor, attempting to get closer to the front door. Creaking could be heard throughout the entirety of the house, and then came a crashing sound, as a thick beam fell from the roof, landing less than half a meter in front of my face.

Sparks shot up from the ground as the half burnt beam fell just so, so that it was now diagonally blocking off the exit.

Fucking fantastic.