𝗣 𝗬 𝗥 𝗢 𝗠 𝗔 𝗡 𝗜 𝗔 | BOOK THREE

T W O

[graham eaton]

"Graham, I'm coming with you!" Atticus shouts.

I run through the front doors of a burning school, ignoring everyone and everything other than Olivia.

"Livia!" I exclaim, leaping over fallen lockers and diving under collapsed beams. "Olivia Karli, speak to me right now!"

"Help me!" She screams, her voice echoing over the loud crackle of the flames.

I run even faster, ignoring everything, including the ache in my leg as I push my previously injured knee past my boundaries. She's my little sister. I can't let her die in a flaming library.

"Livia, get away from the library doors! I'm kicking them in to get to you." I exclaim.

Atticus grabs my arm and spins me around to look at him.

"Get off of the high, Graham! Yes, she's our sister and we would do anything to save her, but right now, she needs us to not die in the process of saving her. Otherwise, what's the point of us coming in here?" Atticus asks.

My daze lifts and the pain in my knee crashes into my like a tidal wave. I groan and lean down, placing pressure on it.

"Shit, why'd you let me run like that? You know that knee gets agitated after how I screwed it up Senior Year." I state, blaming him when I should blame myself for being so stupid.

He looks at the doors and pushes against them.

"These doors aren't opening anytime soon with you kicking them," He says. "Not unless you're prepared to tear that ACL again."

He steps back and kicks the door, full force. One door flies open, the other stays mostly shut. Good thing we only need the one door open to get inside and find her.

"Livia!" I exclaim. "Livia, where are you?"

The books, old and covered in dust from lack of use, catch fire quickly, the pages turning to ashes, the thick scent of dust afloat in the air filling my lungs.

"Graham? Atticus?" A voice says weakly from a corner.

We run in that direction, peering into the flames to find her. She lay on the ground, a beam from the ceiling laying atop her abdomen. The beam is red and hot, one large, heavy, brittle ember waiting to be stoked and take flame again.

"Livia! Stay calm. We're gonna get this thing off of you." I state.

I reach for my radio, exhaling sharply.

"Chief Williams, come in."
"This is Williams. What have you got?"
"We found her. A beam is crushing her. We need a paramedic team ready for anything from minor burns to a large trauma. We're gonna lift this thing off of her and get her out of here as soon as possible."
"Be mindful of any unstable areas. Stay sharp, boys. We'll be here waiting for you."

I put the radio away and nod to Atticus.

"Liv, we're gonna life this thing off of you, then get you to the Paramedics outside." I say.

She nods, looking up at us weakly. I look at Atticus as we both crouch to the beam.

"Lift on three, got it? One, two, three..." I say.

We strain to lift the steaming, crumbling beam off of the smaller girl. After many tries, we finally manage to lift the hot embers off of her.

"Okay, Livia, we're good to go." I state, looking down at her. "Let's get out of here."

She lay limp and unmoving on the ground, her body burnt and red, bloody and blistered. I crouch down and remove my glove, checking for a pulse.

"She's crashing. Call the Chief. This is bigger than we thought." I state.

I pull my glove back on and remove my mask, pulling it on over Olivia's face. I reach under her knees and shoulders and lift her from the ground bridal style.

"Come on, don't leave me now blue eyes." I say. "You haven't had the best things in life just yet. You deserve the man of your dreams holding you in his arms on your front porch as your children run around the front yard chasing the dog. You deserve the chance to wear the dress of your dreams as you walk down the aisle on your wedding day. You deserve the chance to graduate and show the world that you have a path laid out for you in this world. Come on blue eyes, come back to me."

I run as fast as I can without hurting my knee again, jumping over lockers and diving under beams, looking down at my eighteen year old little sister.

"Come home to us, Livia. Mom needs you. Dad can't lose his only little girl. Sure, he loves Atticus and I, but you're his little girl. You're the one he has to protect from the boys. They one he has to tell to change her skirt because she looks so beautiful that he's scared that she'll come home to tell him a boy asked her out. Dad can't lose you. None of us can. Come home." I whisper, my voice hoarse from the smoke.

I cough, trying my best to cough away from her. Atticus runs forward, pushing the doors open, allowing us to escape the burning building.

"Here!" I exclaim, my voice hoarse and scratchy. "Weak pulse, shallow breathing. Albuterol, check for soot and smoke inhalation, get a non-rebreather mask and treat that burn."

I fall onto my bottom, gasping for air.

"I gave her my mask. She couldn't breathe." I whisper.

A hand lands on my shoulder, my mother.

"Calm down. Breathe. I'll get you some oxygen." She says.

My father crouches down before me, placing a hand on my cheek.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you, dad." I whisper.

He shakes his head and smiles at me.

"No, I'm sorry. He's been on my ass all week too. You're right. He's annoying." He says.

I smile and chuckle, then cough into my elbow.

"Sorry. I'm okay." I say.

I go to stand, but my father makes me sit.

"Stay. Your mother and I just want to make sure you and your brother are okay. The paramedics are taking care of Olivia. Now, it's our turn to take care of you." He says.

I nod. My mother hands me an oxygen mask, then gives me a dose of albuterol.

"Thanks," I say, nodding at my parents, then over at my brother.