“Where’s Captain?” Brie asked him, scanning the crowd of people. She was certain he would know where Sir was.
“He hasn’t returned yet.”
Brie frowned. “Have you seen Mary?”
“Nyet, Mrs. Davis.”
Brie stood up again. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing!”
“But you will,” Titov insisted, pushing her back down.
“I can’t lose them all…” Brie whimpered. A feeling of helplessness washed over her as she stared at the entrance billowing with smoke.
Titov assured her, “I’ve worked with Captain before. He will not jeopardize his team.”
While Brie knew in her heart that what Titov said was true, it didn’t quell her growing fear as she watched the fire burn even brighter.
Brie’s heart leapt with joy when Mary finally emerged, leading four young women out. All five were struggling to breathe after inhaling the thick smoke. They were immediately led to the triage station.
“Mary, where’s Sir?” Brie shouted from where she sat.
Mary pointed back toward the building.
Brie frowned, panic setting in. Several minutes later, Captain walked out with Master Anderson and Baron who were leading nine more people to safety.
Captain stated proudly to everyone assembled, “We’ve got them all.”
Brie held her breath as she waited for Sir to emerge at the tail end of the group. When he didn’t show, she slipped out of Titov’s grasp and ran headlong toward Captain, screaming, “Where’s Thane? Where’s my husband?”
Shaking his head, Captain wiped the soot from his face. “I thought he made it out before me.”
Master Anderson immediately volunteered to re-enter the burning building. Brie whimpered when Captain answered, “No! It’s not safe.”
Instead, Captain headed back to the entrance himself to find Sir.
Brie cried out in relief when Sir suddenly emerged from the dark smoke, bare-chested, using his shirt to cover the face of a tiny baby cradled in his arms.
“Thane!” Brie sobbed, racing to him.
He handed the infant to a medic but refused care for himself. Pulling Brie into his arms, he told her, “I couldn’t leave once I heard a child was missing.”
She looked up at him through her tears. “I’m just grateful you’re safe…”
The medic caring for the baby asked, “Where’s the mother?”
Sir looked sadly at the baby, “I was told she passed away several days ago.”
Brie glanced at the dark van that housed the man responsible for this evil and raged, “May he rot in hell forever!”
Looking back at the building, Brie watched with satisfaction as the flames consumed it. It was fitting that this hellish place should be consumed by fire.
However, it was surreal how the inferno continued to grow while the rain drenched the forest around it. It felt as if God Himself wanted to rid the world of the evil bound up in this place.
Sir kept his arm tightly wrapped around Brie as they watched the entire building collapse, the fire gutting it from the inside out.
Mary walked up to them but avoided eye contact with Brie when she asked the medic, “Will the baby be okay?”
“His vitals are stable, but he is severely underweight. With proper care, however, he should recover.”