Caught In Flames

by Natalia Banks

  She looked back to see Ty and Jesse scrambling on the deck, screaming at the captain to go faster, waving his massive arm forward. Even at that distance, Sarina could make out the terror in Jesse’s face, and despite the roar of the engine and the pounding of her own heart, Sarina could hear Jesse screaming .

  The boat sped on, Sarina’s legs beginning to quiver with fear. They didn’t lack strength, but they weren’t prepared to be standing on the precipice of disaster either. Suddenly Sarina’s weight felt precarious; she spread her legs just a bit to better support her. Sarina knew that to fall to the side at that point was to fall into the painful and horrible jaws of death .

  Unfortunately that was the moment her left hand slipped, her right the only grip on life itself. But Sarina refined her grip on the tow-line handle and leaned back just a bit, a good way to increase her speed. There was no other recourse than to try to outrun the shark, and one glance behind her told Sarina this was a failing strategy .

  The fin was getting closer, the dark figure of the shark visible beneath the white froth of her water ski’s wake .

  Closer…closer …

  But the boat charged on, Sarina’s hands and legs held, the constant conflict of her weight against the water pulling on the tow of the boat, keeping her out of the shark’s terrible wrath .

  Can’t keep this up, Sarina told herself. How long? When will it strike? How close now; how much longer ?

  But the shark didn’t strike, and the farther she went, the more Sarina had to wonder if the creature hadn’t simply tired, outrun by the faster boat, its terrific might no match for the inventions of man .

  But she was wrong, and when one massive black and white orca breached the surface just a few yards to the side of the boat, Sarina realized what had truly happened. The boat sped by the orca as it leapt out of the water, only crashing back to the surface as Sarina raced past it .

  The killer whales must have scared the shark away , Sarina realized while yet another big whale jumped up out of the water on the other side of the boat. It seemed to float above the surface before coming crashing down in a white eruption of spray and froth as Sarina sped past. It was a surreal moment as Ty and Jesse looked around in amazement as the boat sped on and a plentiful pod of orca jumped up on either side. It was like they were boating through a hallway of flying whales as they broke the surface in silent salute, the creatures falling back as Sarina raced past. She was amazed and delighted beyond words, a moment she was happy to share with Ty and Jesse, and one she would never forget .

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sarina

  S arina didn’t really know what to say after such a spectacular day on The Sound, but her main concern was for little Jesse. The child was said to be exuberant, playful and happy, but she closed up around Sarina, and after such a frightening encounter, the child was even more retracted, hiding behind her father, hugging him, burying her face in his side .

  On the boat ride back to the dock, Sarina was breathless and flush, unable to fully calibrate her approach to Jesse. “My gosh, that was…that was something , wasn’t it?” Jesse nodded, slightly encouraged by Sarina’s cheerful example .

  Jesse asked, “Weren’t you afraid ?”

  Sarina didn’t have to think about it for long. “Sure I was! I mean, it was scary being in the water with that shark, and all those whales too, but…it was amazing too—all those whales jumping up on the sides of the boat. My gosh …”

  Sarina could see the fear slip away from Jesse’s expression, the kind of admiration she had for her father now reflected in the smile she offered Sarina, and that was more than Sarina could have asked for .

  Ty said, “Y’know, the indigenous peoples of the area—the Tulalip, Swinomish—they revere the big predators—bear and orca and wolves—think they have special powers .”

  “They do,” Sarina said. “Whales can communicate with each other from halfway across the world, recognizing exactly who is saying what to whom .”

  Jesse’s eyes went wide. “Is that true, Daddy ?”

  “It is true,” Ty said. “But I meant more supernatural powers. Polynesian cultures, like Hawaiians, believe that sharks are reincarnated relatives .”

  “Really? Is that true ?”

  Ty shrugged and huffed out a little laugh. “That’s the legend anyway .”

  “I like that legend,” Sarina said, “I like the idea that our…that the one’s we loved but lost are still around somehow, that they can see us and even protect us if necessary. I mean, you have to admit it’s pretty weird how those whales jumped up out of the water like that, one by one, as we boated along, and after saving my life from a big shark like that? I mean, I guess these things do happen in nature, but still…it’s a nice legend .”

  Jesse thought about it, finally nodding enthusiastically. “Yeah, me too .”

  * * *

  J esse waited in the car while Ty walked Sarina to the door. “I hope everything’s okay with your grandmother .”

  “I’m sure she’s fine. I’ll pop over there in a few minutes, bring her home .”

  They arrived at the door and Ty gave Sarina a kiss. It was a sure and certain kiss, all confidence and power without any sense of intrusion or effort. Their faces simply pulled toward one another with a pure and natural gravity, lips drawn by a mutual attraction, a common desire, a growing need .

  There was little that Sarina wanted more than to progress beyond that kiss, to revisit their passionate night in the hotel room. But she had responsibilities to Billie just as Ty had to Jesse, and this wouldn’t be the night for them to indulge in their gathering lust, and there was no need to explain .

  But he did say, “I can arrange an overnight sitter for Jesse tomorrow night .”

  Sarina smiled. “I think my grandmother should be okay, as long as she doesn’t leave the house.” Sarina thought about it a bit more, sad that such a melancholy thought should be such a pressing and recurrent problem. But all Sarina could do was smile and say, “I’ll call Mrs. Johnson—see what I can do .”

  Ty smiled and they kissed again—a delicious moment, a silent commitment to return, and a promise of great spectacle to come. Sarina almost shuddered with the power of her growing feelings for Ty, with his nearness and charisma, his size and strength. He seemed to block out everything else, both figuratively and literally .

  After the kiss, Ty pulled away slightly, his mighty hand delicate under her little chin, palm flat and smooth against her cheek .

  In a voice very low and gravelly, rumbling out of his great thick neck, Ty said, “She walks in beauty like the night, of cloudless climes and starry skies; and all that’s best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and her eyes. Thus mellow’d to that tender light, which heaven to gaudy day denies .”

  Sarina could feel the breath pulled from her lungs, her lips silent and quivering, her ears engrossed, her soul entranced .

  “One shade the more,” Ty went on, reciting a great poem Sarina only vaguely recognized but already loved every word of, “one ray the less, had half impair’d the nameless grace, which waves in every raven tress .”

  His great hand found the side of her cheek, tracing its gentle curves and finding the single, sentimental tear that simply couldn’t hold on to the corner of her eye any longer .

  “Or softly lightens o’er her face where thoughts serenely sweet express how pure, how dear their dwelling-place.” Sarina didn’t dare speak; she could hardly breathe. “And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, so soft, so calm, yet eloquent, the smiles that win, the tints that glow, but tell of days in goodness spent, a mind at peace with all below, a heart whose love is innocent .”

  * * *

  “P oetry, Gram,” Sarina said as she buzzed around her bedroom the next day, searching through her closet for a better dress than the blue backless she’d worn before. “Keats, at least I think it was Keats. ‘She walks in beauty like the night…’ or something, amazing. I gotta Google that.” Sarina sorted through her dress
es again, as if one more round might produce, by some kind of magic, a dress which hadn’t been there before .

  Billie sat on the bed while Sarina carefully inspected herself in the mirror, “You look lovely, dear. He’ll be snared .”

  Sarina rolled her eyes, then looked down at her shabby jeans and T-shirt. “Gram, I look awful. And I’m not trying to snare him…that’s just an ugly way to put it .”

  “Call it what you will,” she said, “but I call it love .”

  “Isn’t that a pop song ?”

  Billie gave it a little thought with a cock of her head. “If not, it certainly should be .”

  “Maybe you should write it .”

  “Sure, I can write a song but I can’t spend the night without a babysitter .”

  Sarina stopped and turned with a slump, crossing to sit down next to her grandmother. “It’s just for now, Gram. We’re doing a watch-and-wait thing, remember? If things go smoothly and we don’t have any more mishaps, we’ll let Mrs. Johnson spend a little more time on her own. Sound fair ?”

  “What choice have I got?” That gloom returned to Billie’s happy air, driving it back under the shadows. “Things won’t get better …”

  “They will if we stay positive, Gram.” Sarina wore a stern expression, asserting what little authority she had. But she could feel her power growing, her confidence and strength rising to the fore. She’d need that more and more, Sarina realized, and though she didn’t like it, there was nothing about it which felt unnatural or against the grain .

  “What about the girl,” Billie asked, “she any better ?”

  “I think so, actually. It’s hard, because I keep hearing how happy she is. I guess it has something to do with me,” Sarina contemplated aloud .

  “She doesn’t want to lose another mother,” Billie said with surprising frankness, impatience in her creaking voice. “There’s no mystery to it, dear .”

  “No, I get that, Gram, I really do. But that’s something she’s going to have to get over, either with me or with the next woman Ty meets. And I think I’m making some headway there, little by little. I think if I show her that I’m not afraid, maybe she won’t be so afraid for me .”

  Billie nodded, a bittersweet smile twisting its way onto her face. “The way you’re doing with me ?”

  This stopped Sarina in her tracks. She hadn’t expected to hear it, and she had never thought of it that way. But there was something to what her grandmother was saying, Sarina couldn’t deny it. But she also couldn’t immediately wrap her head or her heart around it, much less address the issue her grandmother was raising .

  And when the phone rang, sending that jangling concern through Sarina’s body, there just wasn’t any more time. It rang twice more before Sarina reached the nearest phone, in the kitchen .

  “Hello?”

  “Miss Dunne? Miss Sarina Dunne ?”

  “That’s right .”

  “This is Herb Richards, Ty King’s neighbor; we met last week .”

  “Yes, I recall.” Sarina had been terribly disturbed by the old man’s eerie warnings about Sarina’s ill intent and the possible damage she could do to the King family. Now that she was making progress with Jesse, not to mention advancing into a more complicated relationship with Ty, Sarina was glad enough to be able to have a few minutes to gently put the old man in his place .

  But he said, “Ty asked me to let you know that he’s been called to an emergency, and he won’t be able to see you this evening .”

  Sarina’s blood ran cold, hairs standing up on the back of his neck. “An emergency? How bad? He was called in to reinforce the others ?”

  “He’s on the way now .”

  Sarina thought about Jesse, about how she clung to her father, relied upon him, and about his own fear of slipping away from her. She asked, “Is there anything I can do ?”

  After a long, mean little silence, old Mr. Richards said only, “You can pray .”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ty

  T he five-story brownstone on Boylston Avenue was burning from the fifth floor down. The flames had caught a nearby poplar which sent burning leaves riding the wind down the street, threatening to spread the beast to the far corners of the block. It was a tenement block, low-rent housing that went ignored for years by slumlords and junkie tenants, overrun with rats and erosion .

  The first crew had been fighting the blaze, a pair of high-pressure hoses hitting the roof and the top floor of the cleared building; the residents and other neighbors, locals and pedestrians were gathered out front to watch in fascinated horror .

  Ty approached from the second engine in full gear. He looked the building up and down, instantly able to assess. We can stop the beast at the third floor, but the building’s going to be a total teardown .

  But a young woman ran up to him, looking up in desperation and panic, eyes wide, hands clinging to his arm. “I don’t see Mr. Sanderson!” Ty could only shake his head in confusion, until she explained, “He’s always in his apartment, but I don’t see him out here .”

  “You sure he’s in there ?”

  “He’s a shut-in; he never leaves !”

  Ty looked over the burning building. “What unit ?”

  “Three-B. ” But by the time she added, “Be careful,” Ty was already running into the burning building .

  The building was hot, though there wasn’t yet too much smoke. Ty glanced around the narrow hallway to the central staircase, the apartments wrapped around the landings. Ty slipped his axe back into his belt and started up the stairs. At the top of the first flight, he could already feel the increase in temperature, smoke getting thicker. Ty looked around and called out, “Fire department! Seattle Fire Department!” No answer came back beside a flutter of black ash that fluttered down from the burning flight above. Ty looked up to see the thickening smoke above him, the glow of flames casting the gray churn in a faintly orange loom .

  Ten minutes tops before the fourth floor’s consumed , Ty calculated, wasting no time crossing to the second flight of stairs. He took them quickly, heavy boots hitting the wooden stairs as he pushed higher. The smoke got thicker and the air hotter, more embers falling from the inferno above, some still burning as they fell faster past him .

  Ty could feel time running out, so he took the next flight faster, eyes protected by his goggles, though nothing could protect him from the heat. As he hit the top of the stairs, his boot smashed through the floor. Ty’s leg sank into the dilapidated floorboards, weakened by decades of rot and neglect .

  He was thrown to his back, one leg in the hole, the other jutting out awkwardly over the stairs, unable to get a foothold. His trapped leg dangled, nothing beneath it for support. Ty reached up, but he was like a turtle on its shell, and Ty knew that if he didn’t correct his position and pull his leg out of that hole, he wouldn’t last another ten minutes .

  Ty pressed one gloved hand onto the rotting floor and the other on the top stair. Ty pushed hard, the extra fifty pounds of his rig not doing him any favors. He gritted his teeth and pushed, palms slipping, leg slowly pulling up out of the hole. Broken wood tore into his skin through his protective canvas suit. Ty slipped, falling back to where he started. But that didn’t stop him from pushing again, even harder, the backs of his arms flat against the floor and stairs. But he was running out of time, and that old shut-in could even then be suffocating. There was no time to waste and no time for weakness .

  Ty pushed up and crawled backward, pulling his leg free of the hole and rolling over, grabbing the banister and pulling himself to his feet. Stepping carefully around the hole, Ty crossed down the hall, following the unit letters on the doors: H, G, F …

  The smoke got thicker, the air even hotter as he found unit B . Not bothering to call, and not fearing a backdraft because the fire was still one floor above, Ty stepped back and threw a hard kick into the door and it flew open in front of him. Ty ran into the room, calling out, “Seattle Fire Department! Hello? Hello!” Th
ere wasn’t any sign of anybody, though a quick glance around the apartment revealed a human figure, facedown in the hallway, an arm outstretched as he’d tried and failed to crawl to safety .

  Ty scooped him up in the classic fireman’s carry, hoisted him over both shoulders, arm around one leg and one arm, hunched forward to support his weight. Ty turned and carried Mr. Sanderson across his smokey apartment and into the hallway, smoke getting even thicker. Ty carried the old man down the hall, bigger chunks of falling wood and plaster collapsing around them, the ash heavier in the air. The old man would suffocate if he didn’t catch fire from the falling, burning debris. But as he reached the end of the hall to the stairs, he had to stop at the hole which he’d created on the way up. The floor was compromised, and Ty’s weight was increased by at least a hundred pounds .

  Ty stepped carefully around the hole, knowing that to fall through it again would mean certain death for himself and Mr. Sanderson, and Ty wasn’t about to let that happen. The floorboards creaked, Ty’s weight subtly sinking, challenging the rotted floorboards. But they held as Ty carefully took the top step of the flight and began carrying the man swiftly down the stairs .

  The second floor passed quickly, the air almost breathable, one or two little flames trying to catch a foothold as Ty stomped past and down to the first floor. He could feel the man’s strained breathing against his shoulder blades, but he knew the old shut-in’s life was still on the edge, and his wasn’t the only one .

  They made it to the bottom floor, and Ty had a good footing carrying the helpless old man to safety just beyond the apartment building’s front doors .

  But a burning beam fell from the roof of the lobby to block them, just inches from crushing them or pinning them in a fiery, torturous demise. The wave of heat was sudden and powerful, Ty stumbling back. The beam landed diagonally, leaning against the wall, and blocking their path. Behind them, the heat and ash and smoke and fire were only getting worse, getting closer, getting ready to cook them both alive .