Watch You Burn

by KA Richardson

  ‘Susie, please…’ whispered Heather, searching Susie’s face for a sign, anything to indicate that this wasn’t really happening. But all she saw were flat blue eyes staring back.

  Susie grabbed Janelle’s arm and swung her hard, letting go suddenly and smiling as Janelle careened into the living room, her hip colliding with the edge of the sofa before she sank to the floor.

  Then she turned towards Heather.

  ‘Get in there with her now. I won’t ask again.’

  Heather shook her head, ‘No, Susie, I won’t go in there just so you can burn us alive. Let us go. Please. You don’t have to do this. You’re a good –’

  ‘Spare me the begging,’ snapped Susie, stepping towards Heather until her face was right in front of Heather’s own. ‘Spare me all the sanctimonious bullshit – you don’t care about me. You never did. And I’m not a good person. I’m watching this then I’m leaving this shithole town forever. And you will never cross my mind again. You disgust me.’

  Susie stepped back a little – it was the opening Heather had been waiting for. Swinging her pink cast around hard, she connected it with the side of Susie’s head. Pain shot up her arm, causing her to gasp, but Susie just staggered, her hand holding the side of her head.

  It was getting smokier now – Heather’s breath caught and she stifled a cough.

  Heather stepped back as Susie went to slap her, then launched herself at Susie – forcing her to the ground. ‘Please don’t make me hurt you,’ she said through gritted teeth as Susie tried to push her off.

  The screech that came from Susie sounded more like a wounded animal and she thrashed beneath Heather, doing her best to get the upper hand. Heather used her cast and pushed it hard against Susie’s neck.

  Hearing a noise above her, she looked up, losing her concentration for a moment. A moment, though, was all Susie needed. Heather suddenly found herself on her back and gasped as Susie punched her in the face with so much force that Heather saw stars. She hit her again, smiling as Heather groaned and felt her teeth loosen. The third blow came close to knocking Heather out – it was all she could do to keep her eyes open, let alone focus on anything.

  The smoke curled throughout the house, now denser and invading unwilling lungs. Heather’s chest hurt, her eyes stung and watered furiously. Realising that it was time to go, Susie leapt off Heather suddenly – making her way to the kitchen door to watch as the flames started licking the top stairs. It would only be a matter of seconds now before the accelerant ignited.

  Heather curled into a ball, coughing and spluttering as the smoke forced its way down her throat. She had to find Janelle. She had to get them out.

  Remembering Ed’s advice for if she was ever stuck in a fire, Heather crawled along the floor. Moving used precious oxygen, but finding Janelle was her priority. Right now, she didn’t care where Susie was. Heather just knew getting out was their only hope.

  Finally, she felt Janelle’s arm beneath her fingers. ‘Come on,’ she rasped, her voice hoarse. Janelle tried to turn towards Heather, but she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stop the coughing. Heather grabbed Janelle’s arm and tried to pull her.

  But she didn’t have enough strength.

  The coughing stopped as Heather slipped into unconsciousness.

  22

  Even as Kevin pulled the car up outside the address on Firthmoor, Ed could see the smoke curling from the upper floor. Thank goodness Ali hadn’t hesitated in passing her Janelle’s address. He was on his way, too, but hadn’t arrived yet.

  Orange flames licked at the windows of the bedrooms upstairs. She knew the fire brigade were on their way, but she also knew Heather was still inside.

  She didn’t hesitate. Flinging the car door open, she shouted at the neighbours who’d come outside to see what was happening, ‘Get water, hosepipes, buckets – anything!’ And she ran to the front door.

  Placing the back of her hand on the door, she was surprised to find it cool. She’d thought for sure the fire had spread. All the way through Kev’s 100mph driving, she’d been listening to the phone. She’d heard Susie hitting Heather seconds before they’d pulled up. Stepping back and turning around, she hoofed the front door, bending to get full force. Ripples of pain radiated through her back but it almost gave, the door creaking loudly and splintering. Another kick and it would be open.

  Ed could hear the sirens coming – she knew help would be here in a minute or two. But that would be too late for Heather. Taking a deep breath, she booted the door again, losing her balance slightly as it swung open.

  Covering her mouth with her sleeve, she made her way into the hallway. It was like wading through pea soup, the air thick and hot. Keeping her breathing as shallow as she could she searched the hall floor for Heather.

  Is that a strip of light?

  Rubbing her eyes, she tried to focus on it despite the tears running down her face. She wasn’t crying – the smoke was hot enough to practically blister her face: her eyes were just reacting.

  The strip of light moved, and that’s when Ed realised it was more like reflective material. Attached to something that looked like fireman trousers. She was confused – they weren’t here yet – were they?

  Her eyes travelled upwards and stopped.

  Susie’s eyes glared back through the cover on the mask she was now wearing.

  Ducking as Susie went for her, Ed crashed sideways into the hall table, sending it skittering behind her. She felt the touch of the flames from beside her on the stairs. Any second now they’d be down far enough for the heat to ignite the fuel she could still smell the remnants of.

  Righting herself, she used her full force and ran into Susie, knocking her through the kitchen door and onto the kitchen floor.

  ‘Heath,’ she tried to shout, her throat raw. She paused as a coughing fit took over, hunching her double as the hacks stopped her moving. Her arm felt like it was on fire. Glancing down, she confirmed she wasn’t alight, though her clothing was stuck to the skin of her arm.

  Staggering into the living room, she almost tripped over Heather lying on the floor.

  Bending to grab her sister’s arm, she pulled hard, turning to accommodate the additional weight. Heather weighed too much, there was no way she’d be able to drag her to the door. Stopping, she used her own weight to sit Heather up, then grabbed her left arm and right leg. The pain in her back intensified as she shakily stood, Heather’s full weight now bearing down on her shoulder as she lifted her sister.

  Ed couldn’t breathe. She was seeing stars dancing in front of her eyes, but she knew she had to get out. Her eyes were blurred, but she could just about make out the front door.

  Dragging herself with Heather on her shoulder was hard, every muscle was in agony. She didn’t think she would make it, slumping against the doorframe of the living room.

  But suddenly Kevin was in front of her.

  He took Heather from her as if she weighed nothing more than a feather and ran for the front door.

  Ed was going to follow, she really was. But she could’ve sworn she heard something behind her. A sigh maybe? The fact that Janelle was still in there somewhere hit her like a steam train. Innocent she wasn’t, but it wasn’t fair just to leave Janelle behind.

  Turning, she dropped to her knees and felt around, finally finding a hand. The fingers closed round hers tightly, silently begging Ed not to leave her.

  ‘You need to help me,’ rasped Ed, coughing again. ‘I can’t carry you. Come on, we’ll crawl together.’

  She heard rather than saw the whoosh of flame beside her as the fuel finally caught alight in the hall. It burned hot, spreading fast to anything that would burn, and quickly blocked the route to the front door.

  ‘Shit,’ her whisper was inaudible, the flames crackling and spitting.

  Thinking now, she slammed the living room door and keeping low, she used the coffee table to launch at the living room window. It took all the strength she had – she dropped to her knees as the glass sm
ashed.

  She couldn’t do it.

  She couldn’t get Janelle out.

  Now the tears were real, and Ed dry heaved a few times, as she tried to fight the smoke for the bit of oxygen remaining. She vaguely saw a shadow somewhere near the window, but it was too late. It was all too late. Her eyes fluttered closed as Joey and Lynus climbed in through the window.

  7th October, 2155 hours – Janelle’s residence

  Kevin dumped Heather unceremoniously on the pavement outside – listening to her chest he registered she was still breathing.

  ‘She’s OK, love. She’s gunna be… ’ he faltered as he realised Ed hadn’t followed him out of the door. He’d thought she was right behind him. Where the hell was she?

  He pushed himself back to his feet, running up the path towards the door just as the force of flames catching the fuel blew out of the open door and into him. All he could see was fire, his skin was blistered, his lungs were heavy as he tried to breathe.

  He vaguely heard the fire engines pull up in the street behind him, but he ignored them. He had to get Ed out. Putting his arm over his face, he took another step towards the door.

  Strong arms appeared around him, dragging him backwards down the path.

  ‘Noooo!’ he screamed, fighting them, ‘I need to get Ed, let me go.’

  ‘I’ll get her,’ said his cousin, suddenly in front of him, pushing him back towards the pavement. He’d never seen Rachel in full get-up – but he recognised the determination in her eyes. ‘She’s my friend too. I’ll get her. Now get back there, I can’t do my job if I’m worrying about you, can I?’

  She shoved him, hard, and he stumbled back up the path to where Chief Talbot stood.

  ‘It’s OK, son.’ His arm on Kevin’s was almost comforting.

  One of the other firefighters held their mask over Heather’s face, letting precious oxygen flow into her lungs.

  He couldn’t do anything. Kevin had never felt so helpless. He watched as Rachel and one of her colleagues climbed through into the living room via the window. How had that even smashed anyway? He didn’t know. And felt a nervous giggle rise from the errant thought.

  The giggle stopped in his throat and was replaced by fear – the adrenaline was still pumping and Ed was all he could think about. Why wasn’t she behind me? She was meant to be right there.

  All Kev could do was stand and watch – Rachel and the other fire fighter had reached the window and his heart was in his throat as Rachel climbed in through the gap in the glass after using her arm to wipe the shards from the frame. Another two firefighters now ran down the path and stood in front of the window to assist.

  A bare arm flopped over the frame, quickly grabbed by two firefighters and was pulled through the frame. Carrying her by the shoulders and feet, they made their way back up the path. Kev stretched his neck, trying to see if it was Ed, but the blonde-haired girl being carried wasn’t her. His heart sank – tears threatened. He didn’t even feel the blisters on his face from the fire blast at the door.

  A sob choked in his throat – where was she?

  He was on the verge of running back to the house – they were too slow! Surely it didn’t take this long to find someone?

  ‘Easy, Kev, she’ll be OK. They’ve got this.’ Ali’s voice pierced his terror, and he felt the detective’s hand on his shoulder.

  ‘They’re taking too long. She was right behind me, Ali. I swear, if I’d known she wasn’t I’d never have…’ Kevin’s voice broke, a single tear falling down his cheek.

  The sudden commotion at the house had them both turning just in time to see Rachel practically fling Edina into Joey’s waiting arms. He waited a split second to make sure Rachel clambered through the window before carrying Ed up the path to the waiting paramedics.

  Kev’s eyes widened – he hadn’t even noticed all of emergency vehicles behind him – the blonde girl was in the back of one ambulance, Heather in the back of another, and now Ed had been laid on a stretcher. The paramedic placed a mask over her face, checking her pulse silently. His ginger hair flopped over his eyes and he swiped it impatiently with his arm, before placing his fingers back at Ed’s neck.

  At the medic’s nod, Kev felt Ali slap him on the back hard, his jubilation impossible to miss. All Kevin felt though, was sheer relief. The tears were coursing down his face now.

  ‘Come on, time to get you checked out,’ said Ali, guiding him to Ed’s side.

  The second paramedic looked up, her gaze soft. ‘Come on, you can ride with us and I’ll have a look at those burns you have.’

  8th October, 1000 hours – Darlington Memorial Hospital

  Ed had been awake for hours. No amount of pleading and coaxing had made the nurses discharge her from the observation ward. She was in the bed next to Heather, and next to her was Janelle. None of them had major burns from being caught in the house, but Ed knew the risks were still there from the breathing issues. It was rare for the actual fire to kill people, it was always the smoke. Toxic fumes like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and even cyanide invade the lungs and cause unconsciousness or death before the flames even come close.

  Ed knew that they were all lucky – she’d thought her number was up when the flames had caught the fuel in the hall. Her arm throbbed from the second degree burns she’d received and her chest felt like it was in a vice, but otherwise she was relatively unscathed.

  She was still a little in the dark over what had happened after she’d gone back for Janelle – Kevin, during his brief visit the previous night, had told her Rachel had pulled her out. His face was covered in a soft bandage where his skin had blistered. But she didn’t know if Susie had died in the fire, or whether she’d escaped and been arrested by Ali. He’d told her last night he’d be round today to take a statement but hadn’t arrived yet.

  Frowning, Ed realised she didn’t even know if the crew were safe – she’d been doped up last night with painkillers and steroids to protect her lungs. She didn’t remember any of them coming to see her. Reaching for her mobile from the top of the bedside cabinet, she plugged in the station number.

  ‘Ronnie? It’s Ed. Is everyone OK?’ Her voice sounded raspy, as if she had a dose of laryngitis.

  Nodding as Ronnie replied, she heard the beeping in her ear indicating the battery was about to die. Pulling herself up to sitting, she quickly searched the cabinet to see if her charger was there.

  ‘Damn it,’ she grumbled, remembering suddenly that it was in her office at the station.

  ‘Sorry, Ronnie, I need to go. Bloody battery’s gunna die – I’ll ring back later. Tell `em all… I love them.’

  ‘Was that Mum?’ Heather’s sleepy voice, also harsh and throaty, sounded from the next bed.

  ‘No, sweetheart, it was work. Mum came by last night remember? We told her to go home to bed. She’ll be back in this afternoon. You OK? Need anything?’

  ‘Water, please.’ Heather sounded frail, shaky. Ed was worried about her. Pressing the buzzer, she alerted the nurse to her sister’s request.

  On seeing how pale Heather was, the nurse also looked worried. She pulled the curtain round the bed, and called for some assistance.

  ‘What’s going on?’ said Ed loudly, sitting up and going to push herself off the bed.

  Another nurse gently pushed her back down, ‘Stay there. I’ll come and tell you myself in a moment.’

  Grabbing her phone again, Ed pulled her mum’s number up and pressed call. Seconds later she ended the call just as her battery died, in the knowledge her mum was on her way. When the nurse who’d pushed her down stepped out from behind the curtain, she sat on the edge of Ed’s bed to explain. ‘Your sister’s airways aren’t working properly – she’s got quite a bit of mucus build-up. We’re going to take her straight down for a bronchoscopy – do you know what that is?’

  Slowly Ed nodded – it was to see what damage had been done and whether her lungs were intact or risked collapsing.

  ‘Good, she’s in the best
hands, pet. We’re gunna take good care of her. You’ll see her soon, OK?’

  Ed felt claustrophobic – she waited until the nurses had wheeled Heather past and left, then gingerly pushed herself to her feet. A wave of dizziness swept over her, but she just stood for a minute, acclimatising to the motion of standing. When the wave passed, she made her way round the bed and down to the next room in the corridor. This room was full of men – all the beds were occupied, and by the window, Kevin was sat up in bed supping from a cup of coffee.

  ‘Hey, you supposed to be out of bed?’ he asked, patting the bed beside him for her to sit down.

  ‘Probably not,’ she whispered, fighting the tears.

  Kevin just pulled her close, and the knowledge that he understood her like that already without her having to say a word caused the tears to fall. As her shoulders shook, he held her even tighter, not speaking. His lips brushed the top of her head.

  ‘It’s OK, just let it out,’ he murmured against her hair.

  Her fingers gripped the front of his hospital gown as she shook silently, soaking him with her tears.

  23

  The hospital had finally agreed to discharge Edina in the afternoon. Kevin had already been discharged by then and had popped home to get some clean clothing and have a shower. He’d promised he’d be back for this evenings visiting to pick her up if she was allowed home. But she hadn’t wanted to wait. The second they’d given her the pills she needed, she’d kissed Heather, who was doing a lot better now she was medicated for the damage caused to her lungs, and had left her there with their mum who’d insisted Ed go to Kevin’s and get some rest.

  She had intended to. She really had.

  Ed frowned a little – telling fibs didn’t come naturally to her. She’d promised her mum she’d go straight to Kev’s – but she had to see her crew first, to thank them for… well everything. So she’d grabbed a taxi to the fire station. Her mum had brought her some clothes – the ones she’d arrived in were on their way to the incinerator.