Chapter 10: Hallucinating Reality

Maria's robe which was soaked with water a while ago began to feel hot with the fire around trying to lick it. She coughed dryly when dark fumes filled her nose and tried to weaken her body. But she pushed forward, not slightly intimidated with the scorching fire on her way.

"Villan!" She called out loud upon reaching the area where the man said that Zeronis went to get his men out. Smokes blurred her vision but she shook her head, fighting hard to stay conscious. She covered her nose with the hem of her damped robe, exhaling air in there.

"Villan! Where you at?!" she called once again, barely avoiding the descent of wood girder from the top. She exclaimed in pain when another burning shard flew directly to her arm's skin. There were many tiny holes on her jammies now after shards of burning woods reached her.

She walked further inside that wing, alerting her eyes to catch any movement on every corner. There were occasional bursting of bottles from the heavy fallen metal racks on the floor. Doubling up, she cough hard now when the smoke became richer in the most inner part of that wing.

Thinking that she entered in the wrong wing, she swiveled her body towards the barely recognizable door. She thought to have only a few minutes before her lungs would start to react severely to the level of toxins emitted everywhere.

To be certain that she cleared the area, she shouted his name once again and listened carefully amidst the noises around.

Maria coughed hard once again, barely getting unpoisoned oxygen from influxes of dangerous gasses in the atmosphere. When she was certain that no one was answering her, she thought she caught something at the wall on the corner of that wing.

A figure, weakly leaning over the damaged wall surrounded with the myriad of collapsed structures.

She zeroed her eyes towards the man, her chest knocking hard on her chest, nervous of what condition she would find him in. It was him! It was Zeronis, blankly staring at her. As if he was witnessing something impossible unfolding before his eyes.

Maria began to move where he was, halting every now and then when the metal purlins began to fall one by one, further obstructing her way.

"Villan! Can you move?!" She shouted, rounding up from the heap of hot purlins deformed by fire on her way.

There was no answer that made her lift her gaze back to him. He was following her movements with his eyes and yet his face appeared to be not registering anything around him.

"Villan! Get a grip of yourself! Move!" Maria yelled loudly.

As if her bellows were all he needed before he snapped back from a trance.

Fire. The cold cellar which was once cold became a hot furnace that melted metals and burned woods into splinters. The place was collapsing and Zeronis was even caught up in it. A heavy girder hovered on his left leg and one of the angled members pierced through his left arm too. He tried removing the trusses off him but he had spent all his strength in such a futile attempt.

Then the smoke began to make fill his head, that it made him hallucinate of things of the past. Then he began to wish for something so earnest that he thought that he was granted a little heaven before he gonna pass on any minute now. That image of her in white robe and pajamas, standing there and screaming for his name. It was surreal and yet stupid.

Why would she come in such hell wearing only that?

But he followed her every moment, entertained at the image that his mind created before him.

But the image became distorted and her face contorted in an angry look as she screamed at him countless times.

"Move, Villan! Move!" She yelled once again and exclaimed her pain when she wasn't able to dodge a few fallen objects from the ground.

His eyes turned alert and trained sharply towards her when he realized that he wasn't imagining it.

"GET OUT! GET THE FUCK OUT!"

Zeronis strength came back as he tried pushing the girder off him again despite the pain all over his body.

Maria wasn't listening to any of his words when she continued to move forward to his location.

"DON'T COME HERE! PLEASE! DON'T COME HERE!"

Zeronis was thrashing helplessly while he witnessed the crumbling of everything around. He didn't really mind if the cellar will be brought down to the ground along with him in it. But not when she was there.

"I've been calling out for your name. You should have answered me." Maria went on, assessing his current situation. She winced upon seeing the reason why he remained pinned down helplessly in that corner.

"Leave me alone. Just go. Just go, please." he begged in rasped voice, coughing up with dried air he sucked out in desperation.

"I can't do that, Villan," Maria said, turning away from him to search for something.

"I'll be fine here. Leave before it's too late." Zeronis continued on but the woman only bent down into something on the floor.

Maria recoiled her hand away from the hot piece of metal when it burned her a little. Shaking her pain away, she took off her robe, used to pick up the metal from the floor. She then returned to where Zeronis was, got a head-size defragmented concrete wall to use for dislodging.

There was another collapse near the door and any minute now, the exits shall be covered which will trap them both and left for dead.

"I said leave me," Zeronis growled in anger now. When she appeared to be not listening, he grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her towards him. " You can't help me. Leave now before it's too late."

"I can help you, Villan. Now, zip it and try to exert some force when I lift this bloody thing off you." Maria snarled back.

"Fuck you." He muttered helplessly, his nails slightly digging on her flesh, wanting to hurl her out from there if he was only able.

"Be angry you want but first we should get out. Both of us." Maria said, freed herself from his grip, and bent down in a squat with the metal on her hand. "On my signal, Villan. On three, alright?"

Zeronis had no idea why being calm became apparent on her facade as she instructed him as if everything wasn't literally on fire.

"I won't forgive you if you hurt yourself," he muttered.

Maria only shook her head to him. "Let's talk later. On three, alright, Villan?"

Zeronis nodded to her.

"One, two, three!" Maria exerted all her strength into lifting something a hundred times heavier compared to her weight. She felt like her shoulders and arms were about to snap in two but she resisted the urge to rest when the object moved a little.

Zeronis channeled his power to his right arm, not wanting to make her bear all the weight herself. He hastily dragged himself backward when there was enough space to move. He had freed his legs, one injured while the other was obviously abled.

Maria ran on his side, helped him extract himself from the protrusion of angled truss member piercing his flesh. He let out a grunt upon the searing pain on his wounded shoulder. She was quick to tear the hem of her already damaged pajama and covered his wound when the blood flowed abundantly.

"Leaned over me, Villan. Stand up, soldier." Maria was on the left side, intending to be his limbs. They both began to move, rounded up when something fell from above, blocking their path.

"I didn't know you're stubborn." He said, fighting over his consciousness, limping on his steps. he didn't really want to put all his weight on her but he had no other option.

"I am actually a really big pain in the arse. Quickly now, this way, big boy." Maria maneuvered their way mostly herself.

"First soldier and now, big boy. I wondered what comes next."

"Let me think about it," Maria answered and still managed to prevent them from incurring damage from the fire around. "Someone's coming. I think it is that angry and big guy. Over here! We're here! The way's block!" She called out upon confirming that it was the guy in the field who came for them.

Maria and Zeronis stopped in a less dangerous area when the men from the outside were working out on unblocking their way out.

"What an exciting vacation," Maria muttered.

"I apologize." He said.

"What's life without some mishaps?" she chuckled and catered himself when he tightened his hold around her shoulder.

"Then you will forgive me if I dare do this," Zeronis said, cupping both of her cheeks, and gave her a lingering kiss on her lips just before she had the chance to say anything...