HOW DID YOU SAVE MR. JONES' LIFE (2)?

CHAPTER SEVEN.

DAWN'S POV CONTINUES.

Hurriedly, I dashed towards the large figure lying motionlessly across the floor.

With a brief struggle, I turned the body over and was met with the sight of an unconscious, middle-aged man.

Without wasting a second of wait, I placed my fingers over his nostrils, his warm ragged breaths serving as an affirmation of him still being alive.

On confirming he was alive, I began tapping and shaking his shoulder frantically, in a bid to wake him up so we could both get out of the building in time before it exploded, and collapsed upon us.

Every nook and cranny of the place, other than the little corner we were situated at, had been engulfed by flames, and it was quite clear that if we didn't make our way out of here in time, we would both be consumed by said flames in a matter of mere moments.

" Sir! Sir!" I called out hurriedly in between shaky breaths, my digits trembling as I tapped the man frenetically but to my absolute despair, the man remained completely unresponsive, lifelessly lying upon the floor like a log of wood.

Immediately, I was struck with hypertension, the feelings of dread and impending doom within me becoming profound. 

A torrent of thoughts swirled through my mind, causing my head to spin, as I began to desperately wrack through my brain for a way out of this terrifying situation.

' This is not good ' I thought, my heart throbbing within my chest with a violent rhythm.

I knew couldn't just abandon this man to die, and save myself. My conscience simply wouldn't let me.

" But he is not waking up" Moon reminded me before disappearing again.

Indeed she was right.

He was completely unresponsive, not displaying even a momentary sign of consciousness.

And he was too heavy for me to carry out of this building all by myself. 

' This situation was getting worse' I thought, pursing my lips firmly, the tightness in my chest making breathing a laborious task for me.

My lungs had been long filled with the strong, acrid smell of smoke and soot.

Objects, already set ablaze, could be seen falling here and there, tables, books, files, cabinets...

My eyes were already red and teary, due to severe irritation from the thick soot that had filled the air. 

The smoke was so strong and overpowering that it made each breath I took a painful experience.

At this point, my heart was already drumming frantically, and my concentration had begun to wane.

I decided to try my best to ignore everything else and put all my focus into waking the man up.

I began tapping him frantically again, feeling the scorching heat from the surrounding walls of flame prickle and creep over my skin.

The nearby sounds of hissing and crackling as it rapidly consumed all it came across, flooded my ears, instilling in me a level of fear beyond quantification.

" Please sir, wake up" I pleaded, almost bursting into tears but still got no response.

Desperate, I scooted closer to him, placing my lips right before the man's right ear, and with every ounce of strength in my being, I yelled.

" We need to leave now!"

I guess that got the job done as fortunately the man coughed back into life, his eyes slowly fluttering open.

He turned, gazing at me with squinted eyes, seemingly trying to get a clear view of my face as his vision was most likely still hazy and blurred.

My ears picked up the wails of sirens outside, meaning either the cops, firefighters, or ambulances had arrived at the scene.

I let out a sigh of relief as all I had to do now was find a way to get us both out of here.

" We need to get out of here sir, otherwise we will be burnt to a crisp in no time," I said to the man who was still gazing at me confusedly.

I bent and placed one of his arms around my shoulders, before aiding him up with quite a struggle, due to his weight.

It was an arduous and time-consuming task, as the man was quite weak and unable to stabilize his weight.

We were however eventually able to struggle to our feet and with haste, staggered our way out of the top floor, trying our earnest best to avoid crashing into any of the aflame objects surrounding the place.

We were wise enough not to take the elevator and risk getting caught in an explosion so we took the stairs instead.

Despite finally being out of the burning office, my heart continued to pound with an overwhelming intensity. The fire had worsened into an inferno, setting ablaze seemingly everything in sight.

We both rushed down the long flight of stairs, despite being unbearably exhausted. Getting out of this building, however, was our top priority. 

I noticed the man hyperventilating, streams of sweat cascading down his forehead and onto his face, as he was vividly out of breath.

My body ached and spasmed with overwhelming fatigue, my knees threatening to buckle with every step I took.

Supporting man's weight alongside mine was a herculean task for my small, frail form, however, I kept pushing on for I knew I could not give up— Not yet, not now.

I hadn't achieved anything in life, and I hadn't met him, so there was no way in hell, I was simply going to succumb to my fatigue and accept death.

With this thought in mind, my resolve hardened, a fleeting surge of strength resonating through my body.

After some minutes of dragging my feet alongside the man's, whilst evading and avoiding the cascading crumbles of this collapsing hellhole, we were finally able to get out of the building.

Several eyes fell upon us as we exited the building, said eyes widening in shock at the sight of two valiant individuals who had defied the odds and escaped the dilapidating furnace, unassisted.

" Is that what I think I am seeing?"

" So brave of her"

" I can't believe someone was trapped inside"

Whispers, mutters, and murmurs filled the place, swarming into my ears but I paid them no attention as my main concern was getting the man in my care into an ambulance, rather than their inconsequential comments.

I turned back at him and realized he had already collapsed to the floor in relief.

I couldn't blame him as I would most likely have done the same if I had not determined to get him into the nearest ambulance.

Some of the nurses immediately rushed to us and helped, wheel the man to the ambulance using a stretcher.

Suddenly, the firefighters arrived and instantly sprung to action.

Even after putting out the maelstrom, it was a common doubt that there would still be anything of value left inside the building because, as it had been reduced to a scorched wreck.

After the man was placed into an ambulance, I immediately found a bench and sat, taking a while to catch my breath. My hair, body, and clothes had been scorched and I smelt like a brisket.

" Phew! I did it" I muttered to myself feeling a sense of achievement, tranquility, and relief cascade over me. It felt like a weight had finally been lifted from me— well, that was technically the literal case.

My breaths puffed in and out in heavy, ragged rhythms, and I was exhausted to the point that I felt like I'd collapse at any passing second.

Just then, a hand stretched a bottle of water before me and I was immediately taken aback by the thoughtfulness of whoever this individual was.

I looked up, and my gaze was welcomed by the smiling face of one of the nurses.

" Thank you for being brave and saving Mr. Jones' life despite realizing yours was also in danger as well" She commended with a wide beam.

 I looked at her for some moments, wondering if I was actually being thanked and commended for doing something.

It had been quite a long while since I heard such sort of words.

" Miss" She called again, a snap of her fingers, jolting back into reality. I had inadvertently zoned out before her.

" Oh, thank you " I appreciated with a faint smile, receiving the bottle of water from her.

She simply nodded at me with a smile before turning to leave.

Hastily I removed the cap of the bottle, chugging down its content thirstily.

I was awfully parched. That nurse must've been a godsend.

It was getting dark already and I knew deep within I was already in trouble. Dinner ought to have been prepared for my uncle, his wife, and Brittany but I wasn't around to do so.

Yes, I was basically their maid as I was forced to do every single chore and run every single errand within the house.

I let out an exhausted sigh as I got off the bench and headed for my bicycle.

Suddenly I remembered the delivery I was meant to make.

" Oh no!" I cried out. I had forgotten the delivery packages up there while I was trying to rescue the man.

Sadly, I looked up at the charred, rickety building before me.

" Everything would have been burnt to crisp by now " I muttered to myself gloomily, knowing I had just lost a huge amount of money which could have gone a long way for my school savings.

As my uncle had made it clear to me he was not financially buoyant enough to send me to school, putting a halt to my education, I had taken up my father's delivery business to earn some income for my well-being and save up to return school, without my uncle and his evil family knowing of course, otherwise, they would prevent me from doing so by confiscating all my earnings, like they always did.

It was one thing they were best at.

However, I had been paying for part-time lessons and secretly borrowing Brittany's textbooks, all in a bid to have things to study, so I was well-informed to some degree.

Brittany on the other hand never noticed her textbooks went missing.

It seemed like she simply bought them for decoration as she never even used them.

It seemed as though she only went to school because it was involuntary, rather than willingly wishing to do so.

At the end of each semester, the girl invariably returned back home with very poor grades, and her parents surprisingly never seemed to scold or chastise her about it but rather continued to spoil her.

Seeing such a golden opportunity being unappreciatingly wasted by a dullard such as herself, was quite a hurtful sight.

' What was I going to do?' I wondered, my lips quivering as tears began to seep out of my eyes, streaming down my cheeks.

I really needed that money and now it was all gone, all because I could not simply keep to my own affairs.

I turned to look at the torched building one last time before getting on my bike and riding my way home.