Up in Flames

“Help! Can anybody hear me? HELP ME!” A weak thumping sounded from inside the apartment.

I pushed the door in, standing back in case the inferno exploded with the oxygen influx. When the crackling stayed steady, I stepped into the apartment. Flames licked up the sides of the wall, and a cross beam had fallen in front of a door, jamming it closed.

Over the crackling and popping, I heard the thumping. It was coming from behind the blocked door.

“Hey!” I yelled. “Are you in here?” I tapped the door, keeping my hand as far from the fire as I could.

“Yes . . . there’s another . . . door,” the voice said, growing weaker.

I stepped back, took a deep breath, and zipped up my sweatshirt. Then I raced forward and took a flying leap over the burning cross beam. I landed safely on the other side.

The rest of the apartment was up in flames, and there was smoke everywhere. I could barely make out the bedroom doors, one right in front of me and one to my left. The one to my left had to lead to the room with the blocked door.

I stumbled into the bedroom, wheezing. There was a door on the other side, just as the voice had said. I tried it, but it was locked. I flipped back the deadbolt, and it swung in.

A girl, no more than 20, lay crumpled on the floor, smoke swirling above her. As I scooped her into my arms, I caught a glimpse of the door I’d opened. The deadbolt only locked from one side. Somebody had locked her in.

Swallowing back my anger at whoever had done that to her, I carried her back the way I’d come. When I came to the fallen cross beam, I jumped over it as best I could. Unbearable heat burned at my legs and ankles as they skimmed over the flames.

I stumbled the rest of the way out of the apartment and back to the ground floor. I set the girl down on the pavement outside. Someone sprayed a fire extinguisher on my pants and shoes. I registered the freezing sensation, and then everything went black.