Behind The Flames: A Detective Chineke Series

Chapter 7

In just that split second, the entire house went from safe to bursting in flames. With rising temperatures throughout the house, it was nearly impossible to find an exit.

"Tarah!" I screamed once I saw her under a broken plank of wood.

From the looks of it, Tarah had been knocked unconscious by it. I grabbed the gun she dropped and removed the plank from above her.

"Ughhh! Come on!" I muttered with a grunt.

Then, I picked her up by her waist and threw her arm around my neck.

Even with dancing flames surrounding us in the room, I managed to use some water to clear a path.

WHOOSH! SPLASH!

"Ahem!" I coughed painfully.

My eyes began to lose moisture and my throat became irritated by the fumes of the fire.

"Where's the door!" I mentioned to myself.

Luckily for me, Tarah wasn't that heavy. It would've been a lot easier to escape if she was awake though. Once we reached the door, I hit the flames attached to the wooden door with a water blast from my free hand.

SPLASH!

The fire went out. Then, I kicked the door and rushed us both out of the house onto the cold, green grass. Laying Tarah on the ground helped me come up with a strategic plan.

"Damn! Now what?" I asked myself softly.

I looked around the area to see if Jeff was around. Nothing! There was only one thing we could do at this point. Time was running out!

"Hmmm." I thought to myself.

Without any more hesitation, I powered up a small amount of water in my hand and dropped a few droplets on Tarah's face.

"Tarah!" I spoke loudly.

I could sense her blood circulation flowing in her body to her brain. So, I knew she was alive. Yet, there was no response.

"Alright, I guess I have to push myself more." I whispered as I grabbed Tarah's arm with my hand.

My eyes closed and I used my power to spend up her blood circulation to her brain. Shortly after some focus and that little push, Tarah's eyes opened and she coughed a bit.

"Woah! What happened?" Tarah asked curiously.

I took a deep breath and looked her in her eyes.

"Jeff must've blow up the gas tank beside the house and it caused some wood from the roof to knock you unconscious." I explained to her.

Tarah looked as if she wanted to cry at first. Her eyes were glistening in the dark until she thought about how we escaped.

"You saved me!" She spoke eventually.

I nodded and helped her up by hand.

"We need to find some shelter. We can't track at night." I told her truthfully.

It was too dark to see where to go and our phones were halfway charged, so we decided it would be best to save the energy of our phones.

"Where do you think Jeff ran off to?" Tarah asked curiously.

"Probably back to the cars to get the money. But I took care of that. Plus, he won't get far since the city is about forty minutes away." I responded to her.

A few minutes later, we came across a huge boulder.

"We could use that." Tarah suggested clearly.

The last thing on my mind was sleeping, but that fire drained both of us. A recharge was much needed!

"Alright, I'll help you climb up." I told her as I bent down on my knees.

Tarah quickly climbed on my back and reached the top. Then, I stood up and grabbed her hand after she reached down for me.

"Thanks, you can rest now." I mentioned to Tarah.

"What about you? You need to rest too." She replied with concern.

The only thing I could do now was wait for daylight.

"I'll be fine. Daylight will be here soon. Then, we can finish the job and go back to our lives." I commented truthfully.

As I looked at the night sky, I didn't notice the look in Tarah's eyes went from normal to disappointed. She came to my loft looking for a job. An adventure! After this, then what would she do? Where would she go?

"Yeah, back to our lives." Tarah whispered softly as she laid on her side with her back facing me.

She probably thought I didn't hear her, but my hearing is above the average human's sense. I pretended not to hear her just to avoid any argument.

"Goodnight, Tarah." I spoke calmly as I continued admiring the night sky.

It had been a while since I gazed at the gloomy space full of shiny stars. Keeping watch over Tarah under this night helped me stay calm. In just a few more hours, morning would come, and I wasn't expecting what happened next!