by Danika Kane
Bam! Slam!
“God, no!”
The sound of screaming from behind him forced Caldre to look around. A rumble from deep within the bowels of the building came a booming sound, shaking the entire house.
“Have to get out of here.” Draper tugged his arm again.
“No, I can’t.” Caldre struggled to get back to the door as a series of booms shook everything around them. Debris was falling everywhere and for a few seconds he could do nothing. He was completely and totally frozen to the spot. “I…” He was strangled, his throat closing up, his eyes watering as smoke filled them. Fighting harder, he was lost to the need to save as echoes and screams swirled around him in a wild calamity of sight and sound. He was vaguely aware he had wrapped his hand around the doorknob to the door.
“No!” Draper moaned.
Help me!
“I’m coming,” Caldre whispered and turned his head toward Draper, everything happening in slow motion. Even in the dim lighting he could see Draper’s eyes opening wide and he reached out.
Please help me. Don’t let me die!
The words were terrifying, haunting him to the point he shifted forward and knew he was twisting the knob.
Boom!
“No!”
Draper’s agonizing voice raced past him just seconds before a bright flash was suddenly in front of his face.
“No!”
You’re dead. You’ve become one of us. And only I can guide you, save you from the flames of death.
“What?” Caldre shifted and raised his head.
You know exactly what I mean. You were destined to become one of us. You’ve always been one of us. Now you can join me in immortality.
He heard the laughter but was unable to find the source of the voice. A mist of red surrounded him, keeping him from seeing anything. “Who are you?”
The man who’s always been in your dreams. I’m the one who you’ve been seeking, knowing what you are and what you were destined to become.
“What do you mean?” Caldre was chilled to the bone and with every step, breathing was becoming more difficult. Why was his body so tense, yet his arms and legs shaking? He pushed forward into the smoke.
Come to me. Succumb to me and I’ll take you exactly where you want to go, where you need to be.
“What? Where?”
Heaven and Hell are one in the same. The man behind the deep and very sensuous voice laughed again.
Caldre was so drawn to the voice, the almost overpowering need to find out what he was talking about, he was fraught with emotions. Tears slipped from his eyes and while he tried to wipe them away furiously, they continued to fall. The deeper into the fog he went the more frustrated he became. “Where are you?”
Here. There. Everywhere. I am all around you and will never leave you. I am the man who you belong to. I am the only man who can tame you, control the beast living within you.
The voice was getting closer. Caldre took several long strides forward and the air seemed to take a frigid tip down. He breathed out and the frost lacing his breath was almost more terrifying than the inability to see. He struggled to take another step forward and another. “Help me.”
I am helping you by setting you free.
“But who are you. Why? What is happening?”
Come closer. Come to me, heed me and become mine. We will take on this world and the curse shall be broken. I will be in charge, controlling what is rightfully mine.
The curse? What curse? Caldre knew he was getting closer by the deepening of the man’s voice. The deep tone was rich and so sensuous. He slowed his strides, tipping his head to look at the various designs the fog seemed to be weaving in front of him. Faces and shapes huddled around him, getting closer and closer until he was suffocated. He could hear voices, chants pulsing around in a tight circle, with every second growing closer. Terrified, he held his arms and counted to ten, trying to calm his nerves. “Where are you?”
Here. Come here.
Caldre heard the total command in the man’s voice and as the whispers grew in intensity, he became powerless to fight the need, the burning and very exhausting desire to be with this man. He took a step then another until the smoke started to lift. Something was changing and he was emotional, his heart filling with pride and love, joy and the need for salvation. All his life he’d longed to belong, share the man he truly was and the very one he’d been hiding for so many years.
Come to me and be the man you need to be. Only I can give you what you need. Only I can save you from the very burden you’ve been carrying.
The voice seemed to be getting more distant. Panicked, he reached out into the smoke, unable to see anything in front of him. “No! Help me! Please don’t let me die!”
Come now.
“Yes. God, yes!” Tears turned into sobs and for a few seconds he remained unsure he could find his way through the muck. Now completely unable to speak, he crept further into the dimness, excitement surging through him. He knew he was going to meet his salvation.
As the chanting increased in volume, filling the dense space, a wave of pure peace washed over Caldre. The feeling was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. Remaining breathless, he took what he knew would be the last step toward his future, a very powerful moment. Breaking through the crimson mist, he held out his hands. “I’m here. Take me.”
“And I plan on taking you.”
From where Caldre stood, he could see the viciousness of the look crossing the man’s face as he advanced and opened his mouth.
“Welcome home.”
“No!”
“No!”
Jerked awake, Caldre shifted as a flash of pain washed over his body. Had he been screaming? A roaring sound as timbers crashed floated over him. There was no doubt the sound was a wave of fire engulfing a building, taking the place down to the core. Unable to move, he struggled to see, to even focus and after a few seconds realized he was being half carried. There wasn’t a part of him that wasn’t aching and he couldn’t make out anything in front of him, the smoke was so thick.
Seconds later he was burst into the outside and daylight, a shimmer of sun streaming down. “What?” Suddenly, he was suffocating. He clawed at whatever was in front of his face and tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
“Caldre!”
The beckoning was behind him. “What?” he managed.
“Are you okay?”
He blinked furiously. What the hell was going on? Screaming and sirens were blaring all around him. Exhaling, he steadied his shaking body. Then he turned around to face where they’d come from. Flames and thick black smoke billowed into the air and he was taken back to the moments before. What the hell was going on?
“Come on before it blows.”
Caldre took a step forward.
Boom!
Chapter 6
“What in the fuck were you thinking?”
Caldre cringed as he sucked down more water and leaned against the paramedic’s van. The cold steel of the rescue unit gave him chills, but they were nothing like he’d experienced before. There were so many minutes that he couldn’t grasp onto, his mind leery of the truth. A smattering of echoing screams remained in the back of his mind and reality was a difficult grasp at best for him. Darting glances back and forth across the horrific scene, he stared down at his hand, the bandage wrapping the injury, a reminder he was very much alive. And fucking stupid as hell.
Help me.
The two words remained, filling him with dread and a moment of pure terror. There was a flash of a face, an echo of a voice. “What the fuck is wrong with me?” The question asked under his breath, he shifted and rubbed his leg. Everything was aching. He deserved to feel pain. Something had gone very wrong.
He remained quiet as he scanned the scene. The mess and horror was evident by the charred timbers and the twisted metal that had once been houses and automobiles.
“That’s a damn good question and I’m beginning to think there’s an em
otional issue going on with you.”
“What do you mean?” Emotional? The insinuation was clear. Captain Wilson was beyond pissed. He’d never heard the man’s voice this ugly in his entire career.
“Cut the crap, Parker. You could have gotten half the members of the squad killed with the freaking stunt you pulled, let alone yourself. My God that was an amateur move at best.”
“What?” Caldre was still reeling from the total loss of the building and a nagging feeling a traumatizing event had occurred in the middle of the fire. He was exhausted, his entire body aching, and all he could remember was the sense of loss.
“Son, if you really don’t know then we have some issues. You almost got yourself killed trying to open that door. Draper and the other men said you heard a voice, someone calling for help. It was all Draper could do to get you out of there before you twisted that knob. Then you’d all be dead. Your actions could have endangered the lives of your fellow firefighters. Whatever happened in there, you blanked out and froze. Granted, I know it was hot as Hades and an intentional fire, I’d bet my career, but your behavior shocks the hell out of me.”
Caldre blinked several times. “A backdraft?” That was the only explanation that made sense. An accelerant used in such a way that the fire devoured air and combustion. As soon as a whoosh of air hit the space, a roaring fire would erupt. Everything in its path would have been torched. He shivered from the realization of the tragedy that could have ensued. He’d been so drawn to the door, as if a voice had indeed been calling him.
“There is no doubt in my mind from what Draper described. We’ll need the arson boys to figure all this out, but I am a betting man and I’m going to guess this was set for a particular purpose.”
Groaning, Caldre glanced toward the charred remains. “Did you find any victims?”
“Still too hot to go in right now but if there was anyone inside, they were dead long before you almost opened that door. The back half of the building was all ablaze.” Captain Wilson shook his head as he patted Caldre on the back. “We’re going to have to talk about this but rest up.”
“I heard a voice.” A full minute ticked by and Caldre concentrated on the way the other firefighters were slowly getting the flames under control.
“I think you believe you did. No one else heard anything, Caldre.”
He glanced up at his Captain and could see more than concern in his mentor’s eyes. There was real fear. “I swear I heard something. I did. There was a man there and he was in need of help.”
“Well, if that’s the case then we’ll find remains but the shit’s too hot right now.”
Caldre nodded, questioning his sanity. “I understand.”
“Look, you’re okay and the rest of the team is, too. You’re safe.”
Safe? Caldre polished off the bottle of water and knew the ache in his throat would match the anguish in his heart and mind for a hell of a long time. Something had happened in the fire, an unexplainable break with reality. He was utterly petrified. What exactly had he seen or heard? God, he couldn’t think straight. Had he almost endangered lives? Closing his eyes, he leaned against the back of the paramedic’s unit, wishing he could change the outcome of the entire day. Come to me and be the man you need to be. Only I can give you what you need. Only I can save you from the very burden you’ve been carrying.
He was haunted but the manifesto of what the words meant remained.
“You scared the crap out of me, buddy.”
Jerking his head up, Caldre couldn’t look Draper in the eyes. How the hell could he? “What can I say?”
“I worry about you.”
“I’m fine.”
“As evidenced by almost obliterating yourself in a fire. I don’t know.” Draper leaned against the side of the van, keeping his eyes on the remaining fire. “You scared the fucking piss out of me. And you know why?”
Caldre looked up at him slowly. He’d never really had a best friend, never thought about wanting one. Until now. “I’m so sorry.”
“I know. I just care about you, buddy. I just care. I could see how upset you were. You were so convinced someone was dying in that fire. God, you made me shiver. I would have gone in there with you. Jesus.”
“There wasn’t anyone there at all? No one?”
Draper shook his head. “I don’t know, man. No one saw shit the fire was so hot, but you can never tell.”
“I swear I heard something.”
“I know you think you did. The guys know you did.”
“And I let all of you down. Jesus fucking Christ.” Caldre remained on edge.
Silence.
A shiver trickled down Caldre’s back.
“You didn’t let anyone down. You believed there was a victim and you were ready to die to save that person. There is no way you let us down.”
“I don’t know…”
Draper held out his hand and he turned his head to face Caldre. “But I think you let yourself down. There’s something happenin’ inside of you. Just be careful whatever it is doesn’t bite you.”
The words chilled him. Draper was right. He needed to figure out what the hell was going on with him. Seeing ghosts and demons was bad enough, but victims? Caldre didn’t have the words that would soothe anyone, including himself. Anger furrowing deep within, he looked away from the fire. The haunting words remained, buried in his psyche.
“Well, anyway, glad you’re okay.”
“Thanks.”
“Whoa, over here!” the firefighter called from a distance.
Draper shifted and craned his neck. “Think they found something.”
“Shit.” Caldre rose to his feet. He realized he’d never even told Draper about his Empath skills. The ability he’d never fully embraced and today he was praying to God he could rid himself of the entire aspect.
“Stay here. I’ll go find out what’s going on.”
“Not a fucking chance.” Caldre trailed behind him, his leg aching like a son of a bitch. The closer he grew to the house the more nauseous be became. His heart was pounding in his chest and there was a moment he was so light head he couldn’t see straight. They tramped through the watered-down mess and debris, the stench of raw burn and sewage filling the entire space. He held his arm over his mouth as they headed for a group of men who were encircled around something at the very back of the ravaged home.
“What did ya fellows find?” Draper called out as his long strides brought him closer to the men.
“It ain’t pretty.”
The voice of the firefighter was strained. Caldre struggled to go the remaining few feet.
“What do you have, Sergeant?” Draper asked, stealing a quick glance in Caldre’s direction.
“A body. A victim.”
Caldre froze. A series of visions flashed in front of his eyes. “Does anyone know who this house belongs to?”
“No.”
“Haven’t heard.”
“Yeah, I have the information,” the firefighter stated.
Caldre pushed through the group of men and women and stared down at the remains—what little there was. After a full minute of silence, he grew impatient. “You have the victim’s name?”
“I do, I got it from county records. The house is owned by a man by the name of William Forester.”
“Oh, fuck,” Caldre said quietly.
“Oh, fuck is right. Think we have a conspiracy,” Draper added.
“What in the hell is going on?” Caldre asked more to himself than anything. What he knew would be found about the murder of Sakima’s ex-business partner wasn’t a coincidence. There was no way in any level of Karma. He decided to keep his suspicions to himself, preferring to talk to Sakima. He was very much aware this could be nothing more than a set-up, given the rumor mill about Mr. Forester.
“You tell me. That was one hell of a blaze today and the identity of the victim is interesting.” Draper sighed as he wrapped the towel around his waist and shook out his wet hair.
&nb
sp; “We don’t know that’s who died in the fire,” Caldre stated but the coincidence was too great.
“No, but it was the man’s house. Pretty suspicious if you ask me.”
“Yeah, I’ll give you that.” Suspicious wasn’t the word. Could Sakima have taken out his enemy? He shuddered from the thought.
“Anyway, glad the shit is over. Damn ugly fire.”
Stretching, Caldre yanked the towel around his waist and gazed down at his bruised body. He was a black and blue mess. At least the guys knew why. “I’m really sorry I froze in there.”
“Shit happens. Stop worrying about it.” He walked toward the bank of sinks. As he stood in front of the mirror he shook his head. “I can tell you this. I’m getting too old for this crap. A desk job is looking better and better.”
“You love the adrenaline and the ability to kick some ass and you know it.”
“Evidently not as much as you do.” With a shift turn, he yanked off his towel and issued a sharp crack across Caldre’s backside.
“Ouch!” Caldre huffed as he took a stride back, wrapping the end of his towel around his hand. He lowered his stance and shifted back and forth from foot to foot. “You think you can take me?”
Draper tilted his head and gave Caldre a dangerous look. “You may be the fighter, pretty boy, but you haven’t lived in the hood, a place where survival meant living in the gutter.” He sniffed as he gazed down the length of Caldre before issuing a single growl. “Bring it.”
“Mmm.” Holding out his hand, he turned over his palm and curled his fingers back rapidly. “Come on, tough guy. Let’s see what you can do.”
Pop!
Caldre snapped his wrist, the strike catching Draper across the front of his thigh.
“Fuck!”
Slap!
Draper managed to connect on Caldre’s stomach, a grin crossing his face. “Take that.”
“You fuckin’ asshole!”
Whoosh! Pop!
“Damn you!” Draper hissed and turned in a full circle. He raised the towel, twirling it over his head. “Look out.”
“We have a fight on our hands!” Another firefighter called from the doorway.