image [https://i.im.ge/2024/08/07/fuh3qK.chapter-49.png]
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Smoke was pushed from the vents into the hall and created a thick, swirling haze. The heat radiated throughout the building. “Fire department! If you can hear me, make some noise!” Christian was a few feet behind him, axe in hand. Together they paused at every door to pound on it, give a yell, listen, then move on.
Most individuals of the two-story apartment building had already evacuated or were out for the day already. The primary search had already been completed and they were on the secondary. So far, the fire has been kept on the upper floor, in the northwest corner of the building. Unfortunately, it was only slowed and not contained. Part of the problem being the new HVAC system that was recently installed. It was sucking the smoke out of the rooms and pumping it throughout the rest of the building. This kept the fire fed with fresh air and choked out the other rooms.
“Kody!” He paused as Christian put a hand on his shoulder. With a glance back, he saw Christian’s head tilted, listening. His partner straightened and started looking at the door numbers. “Just in, woman pulled up and says there is a bedridden grandma, 15A. This side of the fire front, but the spread is starting to pick up. Signs of the roof sagging. Only known person unaccounted for.”
Kody nodded, “Let’s get going then!” Together they started to hustle down the hall. Their ragged breaths echoing in their masks. The heat intensified as they pushed forward. “9, 11, 13, shit.” They rounded the corner and paused for just a moment. Kody threw his hand out and pointed just down the hall. “15! But we got a bank!” Christian tapped his shoulder twice before keeping touch with Kody’s shoulder.
As they pushed into the heat, the smoke thickened and dropped away from the ceiling, reducing visibility. The snap of flame as it roared just above and head of them, the crackle and hiss as the hose from outside pumped water onto the fire. Kody reached the door and pounded on it. “Fire department! Can you hear me!” After a breath, a faint clanging rang out. A test of the door, “Christian!” and Kody stepped out of the way as Christian moved up.
With a few whacks, the lock was broken and they pushed open the door. Heavy smoke filled the room. “Ma’am, keep making noise! We’re coming to you!” The clang sounded again, and Christian pointed. Following the sound, Kody led the way to the bedroom. One the bed was a frail, old woman. An oxygen tank ran a line to her face, which she had placed a hand rag over. In both hands she held two metal bedpans.
A creaking groan sounded outside the apartment, followed by a thunder snap of wood and flame. Heat and smoke was pushed into the apartment in a wave. “Kody! Hallway collapsed. We’ve been cut off!”
“Christian, we’re gonna have to move fast.” Already Kody was at the bed. Grabbing the edges of the blankets, he swaddled the old woman. His heart hitched for a moment as he lifted her. She was so small and light. He hoisted her up into one arm and picked up her oxygen tank with the other. “Clear the window.”
“Dude!”
“It’s our only way out.”
Without another word, Christian crossed to the window and with a sing, shattered it. He used the axe to clear the surrounding glass. Already they could see activity outside.
Kody marched over, thrust the tank through and started to clamber out. Before he even cleared the sill, hands were taking the elderly woman. He tumbled to the ground and scrambled out of the way. Christian right behind him.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
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“Hey, did’ja hear?” Christian sat down on the worn-out couch across from him. The man looked nearly as worn out as the couch. His curly brown hair was still wet from his postfire wash off.
“’Bout what?” Kody had already sunk into his own couch. The rest of the crew had spread out about the fire house. It had been a rough fight, but they had won out against the fire in the end. Most of the building still stood, though was deemed a hazard for the time being until it could be inspected more thoroughly.
“Some scientists crying wolf again. This time it made the news though. Seems most stations took up the story.”
“What is it this time? Climate change raising the oceans again?” Kody sipped on his cold coffee, the remnants of his half-eaten breakfast he had to leave behind that morning.
“Nah!” Christian chortled. “Some world ending asteroid or somethin’. Like them click bait stories.”
Kody snorted and rolled his eyes. “Hardly seems newsworthy. Those things are always off by a huge distance.”
“You’ve read ‘em?”
“You haven’t?”
Christian groaned and shook his head. “Come on man! There ain’t no zombie ‘pocolypse. No super volcanoes. The moon ain’t exploding.”
“Says you.”
“Says science.”
“Weren’t you just laughing at science.”
Kody grinned as Christian threw his head back in exasperation. “Damn preppers.” The brown-haired man muttered, loudly, under his breath.
“Turn it on.” He nodded towards the television on the wall. “Let’s see if they’re still running it.” Christian shook his head but picked up the remote and flicked on the TV.
The news was already playing. “That would be 101955 Bennu, correct?” Asked the older male host. His teeth flashing unusually white against his spray tanned skin. Next to him sat his co-host, a slightly plump black woman. Everything about her spoke of her professionality as she smiled at the individual seated across from them.
“Correct,” Stated their guest, a tall, thin man with short brown hair and an overly pronounced Adam’s apple. “Now Bennu, while the asteroid considered most likely to impact the Earth is a potential threat, the chances of it hitting are 1 in 2,700, or so. Not counting the hundreds of years before it is even estimated to occur.”
“So, what is going on then, if Bennu is not a concern, as you were saying, that has not only NASA, but ESA, JAXA, and even the Chinese agreeing that something terrible is happening?” Nothing about the female host’s tone suggested amusement. She was taking this man seriously. Kody sat straighter as he watched the screen, ignoring Christian’s teasing groan.
The scientist sighed and sat forward. “It is called RBH-1. So far, they have proven to be only hypothetical. No one has ever been able to confirm their existence. We’ve had conjecture and theory, but…” A sort of defeat seemed to settle over the man, and he sagged in his seat. “A rogue black hole. It won’t hit the Earth directly, or even enter the solar system. It won’t have to. It will pass close enough to disrupt everything. To the point we don’t actually know just how bad it is going to be.”
“Do we have anything to even worry about then?” The male host interrupted. His fake smile was still plastered on his face. Kody instantly disliked the man. “If it isn’t even going to enter our system…”
“Oh no. We do. The gravitational force can already be seen affecting Pluto and it isn’t even close by, astronomically speaking. We can experience anything from extreme weather to the Earth itself being ripped apart. Nothing will be the same, no matter at which end of extremes we experience.”
The male host chuckled, “I think we can survive some bad weath-,”
The scientist made a face. “I don’t mean some wind and rain. I mean hurricanes in the middle of Russia. Earthquakes as the ground itself fights against being pulled apart. Which in turn will trigger volcano after volcano. The very air can be ignited as lightening storms of such ferocity strike every square mile between here to Timbuktu!”
A silence settled in on set. Kody and Christian exchanged a glance, the latter now paying much closer attention. The male host looked annoyed and went to open his mouth. His co-host put her hand on his arm. A finger was to her ear as she listened intently to the silent message she was receiving. Her eyes widened slightly, and she turned to look at the camera directly. “Ladies and gentlemen. Our program is being interrupted to broadcast a nation-wide message from the President of the United States, broadcasted from…” She cleared her throat, “From Raven Rock Mountain Complex. He will be joined by the Commander of NORAD, from the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.” Before she could say another word the studio was cut off. Instantly it was replaced by the President, standing at a podium.
“My fellow Americans…”