Work Text:
Now that all the kids are out, I try to find an exit. I walk, smoke clouding my vision. Everything is a blur of screams and sirens and voices. My heart is beating. I'm trying to breathe, but all I take in is ash and smoke. The fire is raging with heat, my skin burns where I touched the flames.
Then time seems to slow as the building collapses, and a piece of timber falls down on me, hard. I can't help but scream. My heart is beating faster than ever. I can't move. And the pain is unimaginable. I realize that I'm stuck here, trapped. No!, screams a voice inside my head. I don't want to die. Not like this. Not surrounded by fire and burning heat. All I want to do is get out. But I can't. I can't move. It's hopeless. I close my eyes, finally accepting defeat.
That's when I hear a voice. And then the sound of someone coughing. It must be my imagination, I think. But the sound grows louder, and louder. I hear footsteps. Someone is coming! That's when I realize they're calling my name. Wait, I recognize that voice. Dally! I want to tell him I'm here, but my mouth won't move. Then the sounds grow fainter and fainter, and I know I'm close to losing consciousness. But in that last moment, I hear someone whisper "I got you," and feel myself being lifted from the burning flames. I may be the only person who knows, but Dallas has a heart. He just saved me.