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It was well past 3 a.m. and Matt was lying in his bed, scrolling on his phone, trying to bore himself to sleep. Staring at short videos on a lit screen four inches from my face probably isn’t helping with that though, he thought absently, already considering if getting up to grab a book to read instead would be worth it. He sighed, not wanting to overthink yet another small decision, and got up from his bed before he could change his mind.
The book was on Matt’s desk, he was just a few paces away when-
BOOM!
-an explosion sounded. Loud, earth-shattering, deafening. The force of it sent Matt to the ground, making him instinctively roll over and cover his head with his arms. It was sudden and oh-so loud, the whole house shook with the impact. It had to have come from the kitchen, just a few steps down from his room. For a long moment, there was nothing. No sound, no sight, no thoughts. Then, after a few long moments, the ringing in his ears became louder and louder, and Matt couldn’t believe he couldn’t hear it just a second ago. He only realised he’d been clenching his eyes shut when he had to will himself to open them, even then it took a few seconds and rapid blinking for the room to stop spinning.
W-what the- what the fuck. Forcing himself back to full awareness, Matt quickly jumped out of bed and ran towards the door of his room, his mind going into overdrive, thinking about whathowwhywhere all at once, no obvious answers coming to him aside from ‘explosion’, ‘close’ and ‘danger’. He threw the door open and immediately recoiled as if struck, instinctively covering his face with his arm and coughing due to the intense smoke and heat hitting him at full force. It was also way too bright, it took Matt a few seconds for his eyes to adjust. Fire, there’s fire everywhere. it took Matt embarrassingly long to grasp the gravity of the unfolding situation, but as his brain had caught on, connecting the events of the past 30 seconds or so, his next immediate thought was of his brothers. Nick and Chris were upstairs, asleep or close to it, in one of their rooms. The fire has already reached the stairway and was still spreading rapidly, growing without mercy, no hints of slowing down. It was blocked. The fire had completely cut off the first and second floors, his brothers couldn’t escape this way anymore.
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Upstairs, Nick and Chris were chilling in the formers’ room, not yet tired enough to sleep. Nick was on his computer, casually scrolling while half-listening to Chris’ rambling thoughts as he scrolled though TikTok.
“Oh this is gold,” Chris laughed, saving the video. “Come oonnn Nick, we have to do this one, it’s soo funny, I’m telling you-”, “-and I’m telling you if you come anywhere near me with-”, BOOM!
Nick’ rebuttal was cut off by a terrifying explosion, the shockwave making him fall to the floor.
“Ohmygod, Nick!” Chris was beside him in a flash, pulling him up and close to him. “What the fuck? What. The. Actual. Fuck.” Nick gripped Chris’ arm so hard it would bruise, his breaths already short and laboured. They might not have the full picture yet but it was obvious whatever happened was bad, whatever was currently going on was bad.
“Nick, fuck, Nick,” Chris’ voice shook, eyes wide with mad panic, “he’s downstairs Nick, where the fucking explosion came from, Matt’s down there!”
Nick’s head snapped back to look at Chris, his own fear momentarily forgotten as thoughts of their middle brother filled his mind. “We have to get out of here, now!”
They both rant to the door, wincing and coughing at the smoke already filling the second floor, the explosion must have started a fire. “Fuck!” “Chris, come on, we have to move,” they yelled and cursed, sick with fear as they ran towards the staircase.
“No, no, no, Nick, what do we do?” The fire was already climbing the stairs and the smoke barely allowed them to keep their eyes open.
“Fuck-”, cough, “this is bad, we have to-”, cough, “find another way out!” Nick shouted back as loud as he could, reaching for Chris to pull him back, thinking about their next move.
Chris pulled his arm back roughly, staring at the other in horror and disbelief. “What are you talking about, dude,” cough, “we aren’t leaving Matt down there!”
“I didn’t say that!”
“Oh yeah? Cuz’ it sure as hell sounded-” “GUYS!” At the sound of their missing brother’s voice, their head snapped back towards the burning stairs so fast it made them dizzy.
They could make out a rough form through the fire and smoke, but just barely. In that moment though, it felt like everything.
“Matt!”, “Oh my god, Matt!”, “Are you okay?”, “What the fuck’s going on?!”, the two started shouting, voices breaking with coughs. They edged as close to the stairs as the situation allowed, their heads turning from the rising fire to the faint image of their brother.
“Guys, there’s no time, we have to get out of here now! You can’t use the stairs, can you go through a window or something?!” Matt shouted back.
Nick and Chris glanced at each other, communicating wordlessly, their momentary relief at finding out Matt was alive replaced by utter panic as they realised none of them were nowhere near safe yet.
Chris recovered first, “We’ll go through my window, we can reach the tree from there and climb down!”
“Shit, yeah, that’s a great idea,” Nick agreed eagerly, remembering the large oak tree growing on that side of the house, knowing this was the only option they had besides jumping straight down and possibly killing themselves in the process.
Downstairs, Matt’s chest felt a bit lighter, coming to the same realisation Nick did and knowing his brothers’ chances suddenly looked that much better. “Okay got it, I’ll meet you two outside!”
“What about you, Matt?!”, Nick shouted back, worry for his younger brother increasing now that he and Chris had a solid plan, while Matt was on his own.
“I’ve got this, don’t worry-”, cough, “I’ve got more options than you!”, Matt shouted back, trying to sound more confident than he was. Though what he said was true, given that he was on the ground floor, he still didn’t have a solid plan, and the fire was growing more and more intense by the second.
“Okay then go! Run, get the fuck outside now!”, Chris screamed back desperately, wanting to encourage Matt, as the flames came close enough to force him and Nick to move back. This was it, they couldn’t hear him anymore.
“Come on Chris, we have to trust he’ll be fine,” cough, “now we’ve got to go, let’s move,” Nick cried, everything in him screaming to get them both out of this hell.
“Shit-”, cough, “I’m going, Nick, fuck, come on!”, Chris could barely force himself to focus, his thoughts still preoccupied with Matt. Not knowing what the other was planning, if his anxiety will kick in and leave him frozen in place at the wrong moment, if he’ll be able to make it out … God, Matt could die, he could die scared and alone, he should be with him, helping him … “Fuuuck”, Chris growled in frustration. He hated feeling helpless more than anything, especially when his family was involved.
Nick knew his brother well enough to know what was going on in his head, so he had to be the one to remain level-headed, thinking for the both of them. Its not that he wasn’t worried about Matt, of course he was, but he was equally worried about Chris, he had to survive too. His focus needed to be on getting them out, he had to trust Matt can take care of himself for now. He had to …
The two held on to each other for support, grabbing the other’s arm and shoulder, as they made their way back to Chris’s room. They knew their time was limited, the fire was already spreading across the second floor and even Chris’ room would soon be cut off by the flames. They absolutely needed this plan to work, because once in that room, they wouldn’t be leaving it through the door anymore, it was through the window or not at all.
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Downstairs, Matt walked a few paces ahead, further into the room. Still coughing, he strained his eyes to see through the rising smoke, turning in all directions, desperately looking for a way out. The fire had fully engulfed the kitchen and most of the living room, but while the hallway leading to the front door was almost completely covered by thick smoke, if he made a run for it, Matt could still make it outside. There, got it, Matt thought, filled with no small amounts of relief at spotting his escape route.
He started making his way towards it, carefully at first, having to dodge burning furniture and falling debris, all while straining his eyes to see anything. His throat was burning, it was practically impossible to breathe, he had to get out now. But just before he was finally far enough to start running, a resounding crack! stopped him in his tracks. His eyes immediately sought out the source of the noise, spotting the large, growing line appear on the ceiling above their living room. Right under Chris’ room. Small pieces of debris and dust were already falling through. Oh no, Matt’s heart jumped to his throat, all blood draining from his face as he remained momentarily frozen, despite the unbearable heat. No, nonono, this is bad, this is soo bad, Matt panicked, knowing both his brothers were trying to escape through the window of the room that was about to lose its floor. Nick and Chris were about to lose the ground bellow their feet, they were going to fall through, with the debris, and fire, they were going to die.
Matt felt bile rise up his throat, watching helplessly as the fire climbed up the walls, the flames from the couch and closets growing impossibly larger, as if reaching for the ceiling. If it succeeded, if the fire spread to the ceiling, it wouldn’t hold, the structural damage was too much, the whole ceiling would give out. Nick and Chris would die. A few seconds stood between their escape and death.
That just couldn’t happen, there’s no way. Something pulled in Matt’s chest, it hurt in a far more painful way than any amount of smoke inhalation could cause. What can I do, what the fuck do I do?? He was desperately looking around, wishing for something, anything that could help. The two upstairs would need at least a few minutes to escape from Chris’ room, but at this rate the floor could be gone before one or both would get out.
The fire can’t reach the ceiling, Matt thought, I won’t let it. In such situation, even a few seconds could make a difference. Anything he did or didn’t do could mean the difference between life or death. Okay, I know what I have to do, now how do I do it? How do I stop fire from spreading? Matt turned back to look at the bathroom door, his first thought going to water. No, won’t work, not enough time. Okay, what else? What affects fire? He racked his brain, desperate to think of something. Fire spreads faster on wood and fabrics, not useful now, what else… He tried recalling any memories relating to fire. The most recent was at their friend’s birthday party, they blew out the candles to stop them from burning. If I could blast it with enough air I could redirect it… wait… air! The answer was air! Fire needed oxygen to burn, it would be drawn to it. It might only buy him a few seconds, but that was all he needed.
He finally had an idea, there was no more time to waste. With his arm covering his mouth, Matt rushed back towards his room, straining to see through the thick smoke, coughing and dodging flames from all sides as he did so.
He first kicked open the door to the bathroom as he passed it, then turned and proceeded to do the same with his bedroom door. Oxygen attracts fire. Matt didn’t have time to turn back and check if this had any effect, he continued with his plan. Opening up new rooms, sources of sudden oxygen should theoretically draw the flames in that direction, diverting them away from the ceiling, even if just for a few seconds. He ran towards his bed and yanked the covers off of it, holding it with both arms and then sprinting back out towards the living room.
He only made it a few steps before sudden, scorching pain exploded over his right side, making him stumble and lose his footing. “Aaagh!” Matt couldn’t help but cry out, caught off guard despite paying attention to his surroundings before. Everything from his leg up towards his arm and shoulder felt as if stabbed a million times with blazing needles. It hurt, it hurt so bad. It seemed his plan worked, the fire was in fact drawn in his direction.
He forced his eyes open again, not noticing he shut them in the first place, and rolled over the blanket he brought with him, trying to stifle the flames eating at his flesh.
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Upstairs, Nick and Chris huddled close by the open window, assessing their situation.
“So what now? Do we jump?” Chris instinctively looked to his more opinionated brother for guidance.
Nick sighed deeply, running a shaky hand over his face. “It’s too far, Chris, and we’re too high up to reach the thicker branches, the teeny tiny weak-ass twigs up here wouldn’t hold our weight, we need to get lower and closer somehow, jumping is too much of a risk.”
Chris let his eyes roam over the tree, thinking about their options and becoming increasingly angrier, his fear and anxiety taking their toll. “The only things we have available are what we can find in my room, it’s this or nothing, Nick!”
That much was obvious and Nick didn’t bother responding, her just started pacing the room, looking (praying) to find anything useful. After a moment, Chris sighed and joined him, unable to just remain still and wait.
But that didn’t last long, as their attention was suddenly drawn to the crackling by the door. “Oh fuuck.” The fire has reached Chris’s room. “Fuck, come on Nick, we really are out of time now!”
The room was unbearably hot, breathing felt impossible, everything around them was creaking and squeaking, they knew they were down to seconds, a few minutes at most.
“I know! Fuckshitfuuckdamnit fuuuck!” Nick groaned in frustration, his fists clenched tightly, arms shaking at his side. It seems they would have to risk it after all, but the fall really would be too much if they missed or couldn’t hold on. We could break our necks, or our spine, legs, arms, everything, our heads could crack open, come oonnn, there has to be something else…
Nick’s eyes betrayed his internal panic, darting all around the room, while slowly walking back to the window. He could already hear sirens in the distance, knowing it was the firefighters rushing to help, but they wouldn’t be fast enough to help them. What can we use, what would- “There! Chris,” he shouted, interrupting his own internal monologue in excitement, “we’ll take your mattress, we can throw it on the ground. It’ll at least cushion our fall if it comes to that. Come on quickly, motherfucker, help me!”
The younger was beside him in a flash, equally eager to get a move on things. The fire was spreading and rising mercilessly, half the room was already burning, not to mention the goddamn smoke.
They were both coughing, straining their eyes to try and protect them from the smoke, sweat soaking their clothes. “I got this end, lift there!” Chris instructed, already lifting the lower end of the mattress. “On three, we throw as hard as we can, get ready, one, two, three-” With some effort, they managed to hurl the mattress from the window, watching it hit the ground and bounce, more or less exactly where they wanted it, under the tree.
“Okay got it, let’s go now!” Chris’ patience was at its end, the fire was close enough he could feel his skin burning from the heat alone, his lungs were screaming at him, and he felt himself starting to get dizzy.
“Yeah, fuck, I’m coming, just gotta grab one more thing!” Nick quickly grabbed the blanket from the ground, jerking back and hissing as the fire lightly grazed his arm. “Tie this to the bed frame, we can lower ourselves closer to the lower branches!”
The idea was solid, they could lower themselves and jump from there, using the wall as a sort of springboard. Chris surprisingly didn’t waste time arguing, just helped Nick tie the sturdiest knot they could manage. No time to test it, they’ll just have to trust it’ll hold their weight.
“Okay got it,” Nick yelled, taking the other end of the make-shift rope and throwing it out the window, “come on, you first, go!”
Nick grabbed Chris by his back, pushing him forward to the window before the other had a chance to protest. The truth was, Nick had felt the floor creaking and shifting beneath them, he worried it’ll give out at any second. They wasted a few precious minutes with his plan, if things go south, he at least needed to know Chris was safe.
Just as Chris was holding himself by the window sill, the floor of his room shook violently, a loud craaaack freezing them in their place. Nick didn’t know if it was the fear messing with his head or he could actually see the ground shaking. The floor was about to give out.
“Oh Fuck!”, Chris yelled, panicking, not wanting to leave Nick behind despite the situation.
Nick was having none of it. “CHRIS GOO!!” He screamed at him, as loud as his burning lungs allowed him, pushing him further out the window and forcing him to start climbing down the rope.
This goddamn floor just needs to last a few more fucking seconds, come on, give me this, please, don’t let me die because of three measly seconds, Nick thought to himself, one leg already on the window sill, ready to climb down the moment Chris jumped. They needed to do this now, if the floor broke while Nick was hanging from the rope attached to the bed, he’d fall just the same.
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Fuck, fuck, fuck, everything burns, it hurts so much, Matt cried in his head, the worry for his own safety suddenly back after he pushed to the side before. He braced himself and wanted to stand back up, but at this point the smoke and flames were intense enough to force him back down to the floor. He’d have to crawl, as close to the ground as possible.
What am I even still doing? His plan included diverting the fire, first by opening up a new oxygen source, diverting it from the ceiling, then throwing his large duvet over the most intense flames, stifling them, then pulling it away. How long has it been? Did Nick and Chris make it out yet? Could he risk stopping and hope they made it? At this rate it’s not certain he’d make it out anymore. He forced himself to crawl a bit further, his lungs burning more with every short breath he managed to make, needing to see the state of the ceiling.
The crack was growing, it wasn’t just a singular line anymore, but a thousand smaller cracks spreading throughout the ceiling like vines. The cracks and rumbles were audible even through the flames, it would give out any second now. I did what I could, Matt thought, they should be out by now- “Oh Fuck!”, “CHRIS GOO!!” His brothers’ muffled screams could be heard from the floor above, effectively cutting off Matt’s train of thought.
A full-body shiver racked through his body at the sound, snapping his head back up, eyes locking on the shaky, crumbling ceiling. They’re not out yet. He looked back to the couch and surrounding flames, noticing them recovering from his previous diversion and growing with renewed strength. He risked a glance back, seeing his room and bathroom, his escape route, quickly succumbing to the flames. In a matter of seconds, he wouldn’t be able to get to the windows there anymore.
He sighed, tense shoulders sagging. A sudden, deep calm overcame Matt. There was only one thing for him to do now. He didn’t need to think about it, didn’t even have the time to. He simply shot up, dashing for the couch, and threw the duvet over it with everything he had, then, even as the flames embraced his body, pulled it back towards him, using up all his remaining strength.
He didn’t know what happened after that. For a while, there was pain. He faintly registered a cracking and creaking sound, followed by a thunderous boom of the ceiling collapsing. There was nothing after that.
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Outside, Nick and Chris were holding on to the tree for dear life, each managing to climb the rope low enough to be in line with the thicker branches, from where they succeeded in pushing themselves from the wall and catching themselves on the tree.
“Ho-ly shit, that was crazy.” Chris heaved out through laboured breaths.
Nick was still catching his breath, in pure disbelief. He could hear the floor completely give out behind him, just as he let go of the rope and jumped. “Never-” breath, “again.”
They allowed themselves a few moments to catch their breaths, feeling safe enough, despite the tree literally being in the line of fire. They could hear several fire trucks around the house, people yelling, barking orders. The fire had fully consumed the house by now, and the fire fighters were working tirelessly to try and stop it.
“Come on, we’ve got to find Matt,” Chris recovered first, the overwhelming worry for his missing brother not letting him rest just yet.
“He should be close, he knew we were coming out from here, he’ll rush straight to us,” Nick continued, “if he left through his bedroom window he came out on the other side of the house, he should be here any second. Or if the firefighters saw him they probably forced him to stay still and get checked out.”
He tried easing Chris’ worries, and convincing himself at the same time, since he also couldn’t get rid of the nauseating feeling that came with not being certain whether one of his brothers was alive and safe.
The two climbed down, helping each other when necessary. By the time they got down, a few firefighters were already at that side of the house, rushing towards them.
“You two!”, one of them yelled as he neared them, “are you hurt? Come on, we need to get you away from here now!”
Before either of them could respond, firm hands were already grabbing them by the shoulders, guiding them away, to the road in front of their house, straight to where the ambulance was parked. After a few seconds of walking, Nick snapped back to himself. “Is Matt already here? Our brother was downstairs, he probably got out from the front door or his bedroom window on the other side of the house, did you see him? Where is he?”
Nick and Chris both tensed as they saw the firefighters exchange glances before look back down at them. “We’re not sure, if someone found him he’ll be at the front.”
As they neared the ambulance, the two anxiously looked around, scanning the surrounding area for their missing third. “Matt?!” Chris couldn’t wait any longer, the need to see the other overwhelming. “Matt! We’re here, where are you?! Maaattt?!”
“Have you seen my brother? He looks just like us… Excuse me, sir, do you know where the person who came out of the house is now? He probably came from the back… Hey! Has anyone been treated or driven away by another ambulance? Our brother is…”, Nick turned from person to person, asking anyone and everyone around for information, but so far no one knew anything.
“Sirs? Excuse me but you need to be checked out, can you follow me please?”, a few paramedics got involved as soon as they were close enough, the two were stuck in a rapidly burning house after all, there were bound to be some issues, smoke inhalation if nothing else.
“Nick! What the fuck is going on? Matt’s not here, where the fuck is he?!” Chris growled at Nick as they were being checked over next to each other. He felt like he was losing his mind, since realising Matt wasn’t here, everything started to feel hazy, like a lucid dream. There weren’t many possible explanations as to why Matt wasn’t here and some of them could not actually be reality.
“Shut up, just shut up for a fucking second,” Nick hissed back, terrified out of his mind, “let me think. I can’t focus with everything that’s going on!”
The only thing that either of them would survive happening now is if Matt came from around the corner somewhere, running up to them.
But that didn’t end up happening.
After the initial check-up, it was decided that while both of them needed their lungs properly checked out at the hospital, it wasn’t dire enough to force them to go that instant. Neither of them were willing to go before finding Matt, and the paramedics knew they weren’t winning this one.
Instead, as a firefighter and two police officers came to talk to them about what happened, both kept insisting that the most pressing thing was to find their missing brother. The house was still burning, though they seemed to have it under control now, the flames weakening by the minute.
The next few minutes pushed both brothers over the edge, the conversation was going nowhere, they were no closer to finding Matt, no one would tell them anything and their panic and terror were taking a tool on their bodies.
It lead to Nick in a one-sided screaming match with the firefighters. “You’re not listening! Why is no one listening to us, what part of our brother is still missing do you not comprehend? We need to look for him!! Nothing else matters now, we need to stop wasting time and find him!” He was as riled up as it gets, his fear and panic evolving his anger to a whole new level.
So much time has passed, and everything going on right now made zero sense. Matt wasn’t here. No one seemed to take them seriously, no one grasped the enormity of the situation. Matt still wasn’t here. Where was he? The house was still burning in the background. Matt wasn’t here. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. His chest felt like it was clawing in on itself. He kept repeating the same conversation. Matt wasn’t here. Black spots were clouding his vision. Where. Was. His. Matt?!
“Sir, I need you to calm down. I understand your concern and we’re doing everything we can, but going inside the house right now is impossible-”
“Screw this, I can’t wait anymore,” Chris pushed past the startled firefighters and made a dash towards the house, fully intending to go look for Matt himself. He didn’t manage to get far before he was caught by two sets of strong arms, hauling him back. “Shit, kid, calm down! We understand your concern but this is not happening, you’d kill yourself looking for him!”
Chris struggled in their grip, twisting, turning and pulling, all while screaming at them to let go. “No, no, stop! Let me go, get your hands off of me! I need to find him, MAATTT!! Come on, fuck, Maattt!!”
“Hey, stop, you’re hurting him!”, Nick jumped to his defence.
“Kid, if you don’t calm down we’ll be forced to-”, the firefighter holding Chris was interrupted by the crackling of his walkie. “Captain? Sir! We’ve got something. We need a medic here asap. Over.” Everyone froze, listening intensely.
The man holding Chris shot him a stern look, daring him to cause a scene now, and let him go to respond. “I’m here, what’s going on? Over.” He motioned towards the other firefighter, wordlessly instructing him to arrange for medical assistance while he talked.
“Johnson went in, sir. He found the kid-” several sharp intakes of breath, “but it’s not looking good, he was stuck under the collapsed ceiling, there’s a faint pulse but he’s definitely got a few broken bones and is badly burnt. Can’t even imagine the damage to his lungs. Over.”
The next few minutes were pure chaos. It took several men to stop both Nick and Chris from running straight to where Matt was being treated. Though it didn’t take long before they saw two paramedics carrying him on a stretcher towards the ambulance, oxygen mask already on, covered from head to toe in soot and dirt. The little skin that remained visible was an angry, uneven red. His arm and leg were bent at an unnatural angle. He looked destroyed.
Time slowed down, the sound and colours of their surroundings dulled.
That sight forever broke something in the other two, something they couldn’t get back even if Matt ended up alright. If they thought they knew fear before, … this was on a whole new level entirety. The pure, soul-crushing terror was burning through them from the inside. Their fear, panic, horror, … their guilt were more than they could handle.
“No, no, no, MAATTT, please, god, please, no,” Chris screamed after them, wailing and trashing with tears streaming down his face as he was forcibly held back while watching the paramedics rush his barely alive (dead???) brother in the ambulance and drive away.
“Let me through, fuck, let me go with him! He doesn’t like to be alone, please, I need to be there!” Nick begged and pleaded, but he was not in his right mind, too out of it to think rationally, they were both unable to calm down, so they weren’t allowed to come with in the ambulance, in this state they were a risk to Matt, the paramedics and themselves.
That’s how they ended up staring after the ambulance as it drove off, wondering if that passing glance was the last time they saw their brother alive.