“Call for help right now! I’m on my way!” Dustin said urgently before hanging up the phone. He floored the gas pedal and raced toward Harmony Healers.
With no time to waste, he ran the red lights, zipping like a lightning bolt. A drive that usually took 20 minutes. became a ten-minute drive instead.
When he arrived at the scene, the fire department was still on its way. Harmony Healers stood engulfed in a furious blaze. The first floor was gone, and the flames were creeping up to the second floor.
Despite neighbors helping with water buckets, their efforts felt like a drop in the ocean. At this rate, the fire would. reach the third floor in less than five minutes!
“Quick! We need more help!” Brooke shouted, holding a fire extinguisher in his hand and spraying it frantically. His clothes were in tatters, his face smudged with soot, and he had burns on his skin. He looked absolutely worn out.
“Dr. Busch! Is Mr. Shaffer safe?”
“Cinna is still inside, and the fire has gotten out of control! We’ve done all we can, but we can’t put it out! What should we do?” Brooke’s face twisted with anxiety and panic. His extinguisher ran dry, leaving him helpless against the raging inferno.
“I’m going in to save him!” Dustin didn’t waste time talking. After taking a deep breath, he charged into the raging fire.
“Dustin! Have you gone mad? Get out of there! You’ll die!” Brooke was taken aback, yelling in shock. But the flames had already swallowed Dustin, and Brooke sighed heavily. “It’s all over. Everything is ruined now.”
“Oh my God! Did someone just go in? Who’s crazy enough to do that?”
“Did you really see that? Who’d dare to dive into this massive fire? They’re practically asking for death!”
“I saw it too! Someone went in. That’s insane!”
Dustin’s fearless act left the onlookers speechless, temporarily forgetting the fire. As the seconds ticked away, the fire roared on.
The second floor had crumbled, and the flames were on the march to the third. The searing heat forced firefighters and volunteers to retreat.
Everyone knew that the Harmony Healers were beyond saving. The fire had burned down the finest clinic in South City, and the whole town watched in sorrow as it turned to ashes.
Just then, two fire trucks finally pulled up. Firefighters spilled out, and Brooke hurried toward them as if he’d found saviors.
He was limping, his face dirty and covered in burns. “Quick, there are two people inside! Please, you have to help them!”
“There are people inside?”
The firefighters gazed at the flames consuming Harmony Healers and fell silent. With a fire this big, anyone inside had slim chances of survival. Their priority was containing the damage.
“Why aren’t you going inside? There are still people in there! Save them!”
“Sir, we’ll do our best to rescue them. But you must understand, with a fire this size, anyone inside is unlikely to survive.” A firefighter spoke with regret.
As he spoke, there was a loud crash, and a window on the third floor shattered. Then, a figure wreathed in flames leaped from the third floor, clutching a soaking wet blanket.
His fearless descent was like a scene from an action movie.