Chapter 8
JULIA
T he sight of the burning beam barricading the door hammered home the severity of her predicament. The walls closed in around her, both literally and metaphorically, as her path to salvation was engulfed in flames.
Panic surged within her, not just from the encroaching flames but from the thought of never seeing her family again. She desperately vowed to survive despite the inferno that roared around her.
Smoke swirled around her, thick and acrid, clawing at her throat and stinging her eyes. Dropping to her knees, she crawled, each movement a battle against the smothering embrace of the inferno.
Her gaze darted around, searching for a solution. She needed to escape this room before she went up in flames with it.
The window across the space was inaccessible, flames crumbling the curtains into flaming heaps. She’d never be able to get to it.
It wasn’t an option. She glanced at the door again as she tugged her shirt up to cover her mouth and nose. It would do little to stop the smoke, but it provided some relief.
The burning beam blocking the door made it impossible to use it to escape.
With determination battling her rising fear, she reached for her phone, its weight a lifeline in her trembling hands.
As she dialed 9-1-1, the reality of her situation set in.
She tried to stop her panic from rising but as the dispatcher answered, she realized she was likely placing the last call of her life.
Tears filled her eyes as she struggled to speak.
“Are you there? What is your emergency?”
Her instinct to survive kicked in, and she answered. “Yes. I-I’m trapped in a fire. I’m at 538 Silvertree. I’m in an upstairs bedroom.”
“Can you find a clear way out?”
“No. No, the curtains are on fire at the only window, and there is a flaming beam blocking the door.”
“I’m sending police and fire now.”
A shriek escaped from Julia as a boom resounded as the fire pushed through a new boundary as it consumed more of the house.
“Ma’am, stay on the line with me as long as you can. I’m here, okay?”
“Yeah. I…”
“Ma’am?”
Julia pulled the line away from her ear and stared down at it. Another call popped onto her screen from Alex. She furrowed her brow as a text message followed. Sunshine? 911 call from your phone? What’s going on?
She typed a desperate message back. I’m trapped in a fire. Lydia lured me here.
Alex answered immediately. Answer your phone.
His call popped up again, and she took it, abandoning the emergency dispatcher for someone more personal.
“How bad, kid?”
“Bad,” she answered, her voice cracking. “I don’t think I’m going to make it out of here.”
“Okay, calm down. I know that’s difficult, but you’ve got to look around for a way out.”
“There’s no way.”
“Video on,” Alex requested. “I’m patching Ava into this call. She’s an excellent escape artist.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks as her shaky hands turned on her video. She barked out a cough before she covered her nose.
“Hey, Alex, what’s–”
“No time for pleasantries, Sparky. We have a major situation here. Are you seeing this video feed? Sunshine has found herself in a rather tricky predicament. Any advice?”
“Oh my God, Julia. Uh, yeah, turn around, give me a view of the entire room.”
Julia spun in what she hoped was a slow enough circle, the growing flames and heat making her more uncomfortable. She tried to squash her panic down, but she couldn’t stop herself from shaking. “I’m sorry. I’m shaky.”
“That’s okay, Julia. We’re going to find a way.”
“I mean, the curtains are almost out,” she said, her voice hiccuping with a sob. “I could go for the window.”
“No, no, no, no, no,” Ava answered. “Do not break that window. The influx of oxygen is going to make things worse. Where’s the door?”
“It’s behind that beam.” She choked on the smoke again, coughing. “Sorry, the smoke’s getting thick.”
“Okay, drop as low as you can and cover your mouth with your shirt. Shallow breaths. We need to move fast before you pass out. ”
“The door is locked,” Julia offered. “I could pick it, but…”
“No, we don’t have time for that.” Ava’s firm voice brought her some level of comfort, though not nearly enough. “Give me another look at the room. As slow as you can.”
Julia nodded as she sucked in shallow breaths and slowly turned the camera around. She couldn’t help but wonder if Ava’s soothing words were meant to lull her into a more comfortable state in which to die.
She pressed her lips together until they hurt, her features pinching. She would never see her family again. She’d just found them. She’d wasted so much time in the past two years, and now that things had finally come together, it had all fallen apart.
She couldn’t stop a sob from escaping her lips.
“It’s okay, Julia. We’re going to get you out of there,” Ava said.
She sniffled, causing another choking cough to ripple through her. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, but can you turn back just a smidge to your right?”
Julia shifted her camera back.
“There,” Ava said. “What is that?”
“Candleholder, I think,” Julia answered through coughs.
“Is it heavy?”
“I’m not sure.” Julia hurried toward it and lifted it. “Yeah.”
“Good. What’s the layout of the house? What’s on the wall to your left?”
“Another room, I think?” Julia said.
“Put the phone in your pocket, but keep it on. Take that candelabra and smash a hole through the wall.”
Julia bobbed her head as she slid the phone into her pocket and lifted the heavy iron item. Gripping the candelabra with both hands, Julia summoned all her strength and swung it at the wall. It dented it, but didn’t break through.
She whacked it again. Then again. And again. Each strike was a testament to her determination, the metal’s impact against the plaster a rhythm of her refuse to succumb.
She smashed at the wall with as much fervor as she could in a desperate attempt to save her life. Finally, the wall gave way. She bashed it a few more times, opening the hole wider.
“Okay, I’m through,” she said as she tugged her phone from her pocket and eyed the hole she’d made. “There’s fire in there, too.”
“That’s okay. Climb through, Sunshine. You may be able to get to the door there.”
“Right,” Julia said with a nod as she shoved the phone into her pocket.
Tears streamed down her cheeks again as she fought for her own survival, pushing herself through the hole she’d made. The cracked wood ripped at her skin and tore at the fabric of her clothes, but she dragged herself through, spilling onto the floor.
Smoke and flames surrounded her here, too. She hurried to pull the phone from her pocket and scan the room with it as she pushed to sit on her haunches. “Okay, it looks like…maybe a clear path to the door?”
“Go for it, Julia,” Ava said. “Touch the doorknob first. You don’t want to walk into a wall of flames.”
“Right, okay.” She hurried across the room and tapped the doorknob. With a sob, she said, “It’s hot.”
“Okay, the fire’s close there. That’s not an option.”
Julia groaned again as she twisted to study the room. “Should I go back and get the candelabra?”
Before Ava could answer, part of the ceiling caved in across the room. Julia startled at the noise, pressing a hand against her chest as her heart pounded hard against her ribs.
“Sunshine, go back to that collapse. Is it on fire?”
“No,” she answered as she panned back to the pile of debris.
“That beam stretches to the floor above. Can you climb it?”
“Uhh, yeah, I can try.” Julia picked her way across the floor. As she stepped in the middle, her foot fell through, and she plunged closer to the floor below. The phone clattered to the floor as she dropped it in a desperate attempt to cling to the floor.
With a heavy groan, she scrambled up and snatched the phone. “Sorry, the floor caved in. I’m almost there.”
“No problem, Julia. Easy does it. I know it’s tempting to hurry, but be safe,” Ava said.
Julia nodded as she inched forward, testing the floor as she went before she placed her weight on it. She finally made it to the beam and scrambled up it into the smoky attic.
“Okay,” Julia said, her voice shaky, “there’s fire up here, too, but not as much.”
“That’s okay,” Ava answered. “We’re going to need to break a window as far from the flames as possible and see if you can climb down.”
“Okay. Lucky I’m a good climber, but I thought breaking a window would make the fire worse?”
“It will. But at the distance those flames are at, you should be able to make it out. Try to assess the drop before you break it, though, okay?”
“Yeah.” Julia raced through the thickening smoke to peer out of the windows furthest from the flames. “Okay, I’ve got one, I think. There’s a balcony on the floor below. And then I may have to drop after that, but I’d rather that than be trapped in a burning building.”
“Good luck,” Ava said. “We’ll stay on the line.”
“Okay. Sorry for what may be a lot of noise.” She shoved the phone into her pocket before she used her elbow to smash the glass from the window. After kicking away the remaining shards, she stuck her head out, grateful for the clean air.
She shimmied through the opening, clinging to the roof. With a hard swallow, she eased herself closer to the edge and dropped onto the balcony below. Flames danced inside the French doors.
Julia hurried to the railing and swung her leg over, climbing onto the outside before she lowered herself into a crouch.
She stepped off, dangling in the air before she dropped to the ground below. She landed on her back, knocking the wind from her lungs.
Her features pinched as she groaned, trying to get air into her lungs again. The crash of breaking glass got her moving, kicking her legs to push her further from the house. The crackling flames filled the quiet night air as she rose to her feet.
She tugged the phone from her pocket. “I’m clear.”
“Good job, Julia,” Ava answered.
“Good. And have you found the Grantster yet?” Alex asked.
“Grant? Why would he be here?”
“Well, uh…thing is Sunshine, he figured out you were gone and I may or may not have accessed your location and sent him to you along with Detective Dynamo and Badge McGee.”
“Oh, no,” Julia moaned with a shake of her head. “I’d better find them. Hey, Alex?”
“Yeah, kid?”
“I don’t know if Grant told Sierra and Kyle where he was going, but can you go make sure they’re okay? Just tell them I’m fine.”
“Will do, kid. Ace out.”
“Ava?”
“Still here.”
“Thank you so much for that. I wouldn’t have gotten through it without you.”
“No problem, Sunshine. Happy to help.”
Julia ended the call, shoving the phone into her pocket as she made her way around the side of the house. Sirens rang out in the night air, closing in on her location.
She rounded the corner, spotting another car next to hers. A group huddled on the opposite side of it, staring at the flames that now leapt from the roof. She didn’t spot Grant.
“Ally?” she called as she took a step closer to them.
Alicia snapped her gaze toward her, her features twisting with a mix of upset and relief. “Juju!”
She raced to her sister and flung her arms around her neck. “Oh my goodness, you’re okay. Thank God.”
“I’m okay. I’m fine. Where’s Grant? Alex said he was with you.”
Alicia pulled back from her sister, her features a mask of panic. She glanced at the house. “Uh…”
“Ally…where is Grant?”
“He…went inside…”
Julia’s heart plummeted as she stepped away from her sister. “No. He went into the house?”
“He went to find you. We tried to stop him, but…”
“Ally! Why would you let him run into a burning building?”
“I couldn’t stop him! He was insane with worry. I–“ Alicia’s features scrunched as Julia shifted away from her. “Where are you going?”
“To find him,” Julia said as she sprinted toward the house.
“Julia, no!” Alicia screamed, but she didn’t listen to her sister’s pleading.
She hurried toward the burning building, climbing the stairs onto the porch as flames shot from the windows. The heat hit her like a physical slap, and she lifted her arms in a meager defense against it before she dove through the door.
Flames surrounded her on every side and thick smoked choked the air, making it difficult to see or breathe.
“Grant!” she called before she choked out a cough.
Her stinging eyes wanted to close, but she blinked them rapidly, trying desperately to search through the smoke for her husband. But one thought lingered in her mind as she scanned the space. Would she find him in time?