1.2

Rolling onto his side, he looked for anything with a hard enough edge. He felt his way through the rubble that surrounded him, bits of broken glass and splintered wood, collapsed drywall and shattered pictures spilled out across the floor. As the thick grey smoke began to cloud his vision, he relied on his sense of touch to find what he was looking for. His hand roved over top of bits of broken house, until at last he found something long and hard. He opened his eyes. It was a metal spindle, a piece that once lined the staircase. It must have been jarred loose when the beam had fallen from above. It was still attached at one end, though loosely so. He wiggled the free end, feeling the give of the spindle. It resisted, but not by much.  

With redoubled effort he gripped the end of the metal spindle, ignoring the searing pain in his palm as the metal burnt through his skin. He tugged, throwing his weight back, and the spindle snapped free. With a surprised shout, he rolled over to his other side. Wasting no time, he raised himself to his knees and began to pound at the brittle wood with the spindle. Over and over he hammered the floor, until bit by bit the wood cracked and splintered. Finally, when there was a hole just large enough, he tossed the spindle aside and slipped his feet through.  

It was a tight squeeze, and the jagged edges of wood ripped at his suit and skin as he let gravity take control. It lasted only seconds, but it seemed to him in that moment that an entire lifetime had passed. Finally, with a resounding thud, he fell hard to the floor. He felt a pain shoot up from his ankle, sharp and sudden, and his body collapsed beneath him.  

"Jesus Christ," he cursed. He sat up and felt around his ankle. He gritted his teeth, fighting down the wave of nausea that gripped him as he fingered the bone protruding from the side of his foot.  

"Fuck," he whispered to himself. "That's definitely broken."  

As the fire raged above, Kevin looked around for the window. It was there, above the little girl's bed. He dragged himself across the floor and grabbed the bedsheets, pulling himself up. His energy almost spent, he sat for just a moment to catch his breath. It was getting hotter and hotter in here, though the room was filled only with smoke.  

It was then, in that moment of stillness, that he heard a faint rustling. Brows furrowed, he dipped his head to the crack beneath the bed. There, staring back at him, were two pale blue eyes, round as orbs, glassy with fear and confusion. The little girl lay hidden beneath her bed, golden strands of hair matted against her forehead, pale skin flushed with the heat.  

"Oh my God," Kevin whispered. "Honey, are you okay? Are you hurt?"  

She clutched at something at her side, drawing it close to her chest. She shook her head, loose bits of hair swaying around her shoulders.  

"Come on out," he urged, motioning her closer. "I'm a fireman, it's alright. Your mommy and daddy are safe outside, and I'm going to get you out too."  

"What about Jasper?" her little voice croaked, and the worry in her eyes made his heart break.  

"Who's Jasper?" he asked, softening the panic in his voice. He hadn't expected this, didn't have time for this, but he couldn't leave her here. "Is that your brother? A friend?" 

"No," she whimpered. "He's my dog."  

"Ah," Kevin said, nodding his understanding. He didn't know anything about a dog. He hadn't seen one, and in all reality the dog was probably trapped in the home, lying dead somewhere in the rubble.  

"I won't leave without him," she said softly, tears in her eyes.  

He heard the spit and crackle of flames as they pressed in against her bedroom door, and so he remembered the barking he heard on the heard on the radio background.  

"Jasper's outside with everybody else," he said, reaching beneath the bed for her. "We need to hurry, honey. The house isn't stable. We gotta go now, okay?"  

She clutched the teddy she held closer to her and nodded. She wriggled out from beneath the bed, and the two made their way to the window. He flipped the latch and lifted the frame a crack. Smoke rushed inside on the back of a cool breeze, and he covered their faces with his hands.