The First Steps (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 1 of the Hardships Saga)

Chapter Fifteen

❝fire (pronounced ˈfʌɪə or fuhyah r), noun
Destruction.
Heat.
Death.❞

Hunter ran to the flaming house and pounded on the door. "Lilly!! Lilly, can you hear me?!"

"Hunter? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me, I'm here. Can you open the door?"

She coughed. "Hunt- I can't-" (she coughed again, sounding wheezy) "-can't breathe-"

"I'm gonna find a way in," called Hunter, before smashing open a window and ducking inside. He cut his leg, but that wasn't important at the time. He was surrounded by hear suddenly, and coughed violently from all the smoke. "Lilly?! Where are you?!"

When he didn't hear a response, he ran through the house, yelling her name. "Lilly!"

"I'm trapped!"

He followed her voice to her room. He could hear her wheezing desperately. "Hurry, please!"

"I'm coming!" He began bashing the door, trying to break it open, but Lilly protested.

"No, Hunter, there's fire there! Don't!"

"It's okay, I'll be okay!" Hunter coughed. "Lie down on the floor, it'll be easier for you to breathe! Have you got your inhaler?"

Her response, a bout of coughing, told him no, and he rammed his shoulder against the door numerous times. "Hang on, Lilly-Pad, I'm gonna get you out of there!"

"It's too dangerous, Hunt!"

"I'm not leaving you behind!"

He managed to smash the door down, and he found Lilly lying on the floor and coughing violently. "Oh gosh, Lilly, are you okay?"

"Can't-" she coughed again. "- breathe-"

"I've got you now, c'mon, deep breaths," he said to her. She tried, but began coughing harder.

"Hunt- go-"

"I'm not going without you!"

"Save yourself- I can't-" She gasped wheezily. "Don't die for me."

"You're my best friend. I'd die for you any day." He lifted her up, though his lungs and body screamed in protest. "You're gonna be okay."

"You're hurt..."

"What?" babbled Hunter, and Lilly showed him her hand, which had been brushing against his leg earlier.

"Blood," she breathed. "It's your blood."

"No, it's not," said Hunter, trying to reassure her. "I promise you, it's not." He was in pain, terrible pain, but he knew it was nothing compared to what Lilly felt. Lilly needed the help more than he did. And that was what kept him going.

Fire. Fire everywhere, destroying and blocking any path in front of him. The red-orange tendrils curled into the air, taunting him as he struggled to breathe. Every breath sucked in felt like he was sticking red-hot metal into his very lungs, and every breath out made him crave fresh air more than ever. There were choking clouds of smoke floating through the air, and it all made it that much harder for Lilly to breathe. The air was much too dry, and Hunter kept licking his lips to keep them moist. He carried Lilly valiantly all around the tiny apartment to try and find an exit, but he found all the possible exits consumed by flame. It's beautiful, thought Hunter. But it didn't have the unearthly beauty of a river running gently. This was a dangerous sort of beauty, knowing that if you got too close, it would kill you, just like it was doing to Hunter and Lilly now. The heat was beginning to get too much, and Hunter searched more and more desperately for some sort of exit. He knew by now that he needed to save Lilly- he wasn't even sure if she was still breathing.