Following Zach's departure, Clair set about her mission to hunt down infected souls. Within a mere few hours, she purified over a hundred hivrins. As dusk descended upon Detroit, she returned to the city. While soaring above the clouds, a distant, brilliant light caught her attention. Descending slightly for a clearer view, she identified it as a sizable fire blazing within the city. Knowing she couldn't intervene, she left it to human authorities and resumed her duties. Yet, an unsettling sensation gripped her suddenly, it's unclear but deeply troubling. Landing in a desolate alley, she emerged and approached a woman strolling along the sidewalk. "Excuse me, do you happen to know where Greenfield is?" she inquired politely.
The woman continued walking without stopping. "Sorry, I don't know," she replied.
"Greenfield, did you say?" an elderly man inquired with a trembling voice from his perch on a small stool beside a dress shop.
Clair glanced at him, noticing he was a street vendor. She walked over to him.
"I once knew someone there, but he passed away last year. A fine fellow he was. May his soul rest in peace," the man shared without lifting his gaze, engrossed in a newspaper illuminated by the light from the dress shop.
"Could you show me which way that is?" Clair inquired.
The man raised his hand and pointed towards the south. With a nod of thanks, Clair swiftly retraced her steps to the alley. Retrieving her phone from her jacket pocket, she dialed Zach's number. After a moment, it began to ring.
****《•》****
Upon regaining consciousness, Zach was immediately engulfed in pain coursing through various parts of his body. Opening his eyes, he was met with the terrifying sight of flames licking the ceiling above him. Horror washed over him. Casting a frantic gaze around, his dread intensified upon realizing that the path to the staircase was also ablaze, with portions of the ceiling collapsed from the fire's fury. Despite the searing agony pulsating through his scorched skin and battered back, he mustered the strength to rise to his feet. The intense heat enveloped him like an oven, causing profuse sweat to bead on his brow.
As he made his way back, the wail of sirens filled the air, signaling the possible arrival of firefighters. Rushing to what he believed was the iron door leading to another staircase, he found it locked tight, dashing his hopes of escape. It dawned on him then that he was trapped. With debris from the ceiling beginning to rain down and smoke thickening by the second, the grim reality of his predicament set in—he was facing the terrifying prospect of burning alive. Glancing at the adjacent apartment room opposite room twenty-one, he noticed it too was locked with a cardboard sign reading Vacant Room. Returning to room twenty-one, he pounded on the door, frantically twisting the knob in a desperate bid for freedom.
Desperation drove him to seize one of his shoes and pound it against the stubborn doorknob repeatedly. Tears welled in his eyes, and he coughed from the suffocating smoke and searing heat. Determination fueled each successive strike, his efforts intensifying with each blow. Finally, after several more forceful hits, the knob yielded and broke. With newfound hope, he shoved his body against the door, mustering every ounce of strength to push it open. On his fourth attempt, it gave way, but his relief turned to shock as he found flames raging inside the apartment. The explosion from the adjoining room had blasted a gaping hole in the wall, allowing the fire to spread unchecked.
A window on the opposite wall offered a potential escape route, but the nearby couch and furnishings were engulfed in flames, making it a perilous option. The thought of navigating through the window without sustaining burns was daunting, compounded by uncertainty about whether it provided access to an exit from the third floor. His coughs grew more severe, accompanied by a throbbing headache. Seeking refuge in the small kitchen, he shut off the sink and turned on the tap. Using a bowl, he doused the dining table and the surrounding floor with water before saturating himself. Taking cover under the table, he noticed water streaming through the hole in the wall into the adjacent room. A flicker of hope ignited within him, praying that the firefighters would extinguish the flames before they reached his location.
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Divine & Wicked: The Trapped Memories (Book2)
Fantasy(Fantasy•Romance) COMPLETED Zach woke up with an addled mind and empty heart a few days after his surgery. He seemed to feel that his life had begun again. As he continued with what he thought was his normal life, fragments of his lost past slowly b...
