The Breaking Point

Chapter 12

A strange smell drifted into Mark's nostrils. It smelled like when he'd distract his mother while she was cooking, for too long. It smelled like when his father had first tried to grill something. He sniffed again. It took a moment for him to distinguish the smell- and then he remembered. It smelled like burning.

"Someone probably messed up while cooking a patient's lunch," Mark reasoned with himself. 

But the smell was too strong for that.

He shook Axel, gently at first and then harsher as the smell grew stronger. No response. Millions of wires connected themselves to Axel from every side, not to mention the breathing mask that covered the striker's nose and mouth. Even if the remainder of his energy was enough to carry the blonde, he would have to disconnect everything first. Now he found himself wishing he had paid more attention in biology, and then he'd know what to do. But he didn't need biology to know that one (or more) of those machines were vital to life, Axel's life in particular. He had no choice but to run out of the corridor and get a nurse to help Axel.

"I'll be back," he whispered before running out of the room.

The hall was no longer cold, in fact a strange warmth enveloped the entire corridor, and it got warmer with every step. Mark stopped in his tracks. A few feet still separated him from the end of the hall but he could already see a couple orange flashes. A giant rumble shook the corridor. Mark stumbled and gripped the slippery edges of the wall. He only barely stayed upright.

"What on Earth?" Mark yelled in terror.

The orange at the very end of the corridor got brighter. Mark ran forward. When he reached the end of the hall, he gasped. He was trapped. Huge chunks of the roof had blocked any exit. There was only a tiny hole in between some unordered pieces. Mark crawled through, burning his bare limbs in the process. He was starting to regret freeing himself back at the river. He could have still saved Nathan with his dress pants and tux, but he couldn't save himself  now without them.

His eyes darted back and forth from one flaming wall to the next. Everything was burning. Everything was on fire. Fire. What type of effect was this? Mark knew that he couldn't make it out himself; how on Earth would he do a double trip to return to Axel with some help- and then get him out? It was impossible.

But....what if it wasn't?

The entire ground shook and Mark heard a massive cracking sound. He was still on all fours so he simply shielded his head with his arms, which managed to collect nothing more than a couple specks of ash. He hissed and shook them off his arms. Axel wouldn't have had such a reaction. After all, he was the Flame Striker and if he could kick a burning soccer ball then maybe, just maybe,  his body could build up resistance to the heat. Maybe Axel wouldn't die while Mark got help.

The idea seemed logical enough. Shawn was rarely cold (except when they had first found him) and Nathan loved the breeze. Maybe the fire wouldn't hurt Axel. Then again, Axel had kicked burning soccer balls with his shoes- not bare feet. Mark himself was shoeless and he could feel the hot ground slowly destroying every cell in his toes.

He stood up and winced. Although now his hands weren't melting and his knees weren't almost on fire, his feet felt like they were sinking into magma. Perhaps Axel wouldn't feel the pain quite as much. He was the Flame Striker. He probably never felt hot. It was a dumb thing to count on but it was also Mark's only hope. He pushed aside any thoughts concerning the fire burning the machines and killing Axel that way. There was absolutely no way Mark was going to lose his striker again.

All around him, burning chunks of roof were scattered on top of each other. There was no real exit besides some holes or slits that were caused by the pieces' disordered setting. Mark made a mental note to bring a short, slim nurse to save Axel. He crawled through the widest hole and ran, once again burning himself.