He rushes in from the fire filling out the background around him, looking a mess, but like my dark angel.
He scoops me up off the floor and holds me.
“Aiden,” I gasp, holding on to him.
“Come, we can’t waste any time. It’s really bad out there.”
He helps me stand and grabs the sheet off the bed, throwing it over me. he goes under it too and slips an arm around me to move through the door but we stop when we see just how bad it is.
Before us is only fire. If we go that way, we’ll die. There no questioning it. it’s the path to death and I somehow think of Dante’s Inferno again.
I wonder if this was what he felt like when he say the fires of hell blazing like they were ready to consume your soul.
“Fuck, we can’t go through,” Aiden grates out.
He looks to the window and then at me.
In one swift move he takes the sheet from me and gets another from off the bed and ties them together.
“We’re going through the window.”
“will that hold?”
“I will make it hold.”
He goes over to the curtain, tears that down too and ties it to the sheets.
He reaches for me and ties the end to my waist.
“What about you?”
“Don’t worry about me. I need to get you out. Come.” He grabs my arm and pushes me to the window.
Holding me steadily he helps me out the window and then I’m going down.
“Aiden you have to get out.” I call back but he doesn’t answer. He just continues lowering me down.
The sheet snags and tears when I’m nearly half way then it rips and I’m falling.
I scream and land hard on the solid path feeling broken again, but nor caring because all I can think of is him.
The sheet tore.
He stares back at me as the fire fills the room in a whoosh. He climbs out the window and manages to lower a little on what remains of our makeshift but it’s not far down enough when another explosion knocks him flying and the building crumbles.
I fall backwards and call out for him amongst the smoke and debris. I push up on my elbows and try to get up, looking around for him frantically. I can’t see him anywhere.
“Aiden!”
I brave the flames storming out of the building and try to find him.
Then suddenly arms surround me out of the smoke. It’s him.
Smoke covers his face and all I can see are his eyes and his mouth moving, but he’s okay.
“Come lets go.” He slips his arm around me and picks me up when I stumble.
I take the opportunity then to curl into her chest and allow the rapid beat of his heart to soothe me as he carries me away from the nightmare that nearly claimed us.