Till Death Do Us Part

I'm heading home from work, feeling completely exhausted. Today was a long day, I had to write a bunch of important papers. I'm excited to head home so that I can see my beautiful daughter and husband.

I live in the middle of no where, the closest person lives five miles away from us. Barely any cars drive down our road.

Humming along to the radio, I turn a bend and my eyes immediately widen. In front of me is my house, burnt up into flames.

I immediately slam my foot on the brake and open the car door. I jump out, staring at the house wide eyed.

Without hesitating, I begin running towards the house, ignoring the heat coming from the flames. I rip open the front door and look around the house frantically.

Amy, where's Amy? Where's Nathan? I pull out my phone and immediately dial 911. The smoke burns my lungs and I cough violently, I put my shirt over my mouth to try and protect myself from the poisoned air.

"911 what's your emergency?" an operator says from the other line.

"My name is Katherine Park, my house is 987 Fisher Road. There's a fire and I can't find my husband or daughter!" I say in a panic.

"987 Fisher Road." I hear the operator on the other line mutter to someone. "Okay ma'am, we will be sending fire trucks and the ambulance right away. For now, stay as far away from the house as possible. Don't go inside." the operator says.

My eyes widen. "How long do you think it will take?"

"Around fifteen minutes, ma'am."

I feel something inside of me sink. "I can't wait fifteen minutes!"

"Please wait ma'am. We'll be there as quickly as possible."

I shake my head and hang up. I can't wait fifteen minutes! They'll die! Sweat drips down from my forehead as I stare into the blames. The heat burns my skin.

Without wasting anymore time, I dive into the house. I run towards the stairs, the blistering heat makes my skin turn a deep shade of pink.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I get to the top and rush to Amy's room. I swing open the door and the sight in front of me breaks my heart.

Nathan is sitting on the floor in the corner, trying to stay far away from the flames that are cornering in on them. Amy is in his arms. He notices me and his eyes widen.

"Katherine, get out of here! It's not safe!" he yells.

I shake my head. "I'm not leaving you!"

I walk towards the burning flames that are trapping my husband and daughter in. Taking in a deep breath, I jump through them. I let out a pained scream when I feel the flames lick at my skin. My skirt is on fire and I quickly smack at the flame, putting it out.

I rush over to them and pull them into a hug. I hear Amy sobbing, the sound breaks my heart.

"Come on, we've got to get you out of here!" I say, grabbing Amy.

I lift her up onto my shoulders, trying to keep her as far away from the flames as possible. Taking in another deep breath, I cross through the flames once again. I grunt at the pain.

Looking back at my husband, I watch as he takes a step closer to the flames. I can see fear in his eyes.

Just as he's about to take another step closer, the floor beneath him gives out. I let out a cry as he falls. I put Amy on the ground and rush over to the hole. Nathan is clinging onto a floorboard.

I look down at the fiery depths. If he falls, he will die.

I lean down, extending a hand. "Take my hand!" I yell.

"You won't be able to hold me. Get out while you can!" he yells back.

I shake my head. "I'm not leaving you!"

He grunts and takes my extended hand. His full weight pulls on my arm and I nearly fall into the hole. Gritting my teeth, I use all the strength that I have and pull him up.

He only gets lifted by a couple inches. I let out a frustrated cry.

"Stop, I'll pull myself up the rest of the way!" he yells.

I watch as he places his other hand on the floorboard, he lets out a grunt as he pulls himself up. I move back slightly, pulling his arm.

Finally, with one last tug, he's securely back on the floor. He lifts himself up and rushes over to Amy, he picks her up in his arms and grabs my hand.

We run, run as fast as we can down the fiery hallways and to the staircase. The entire downstairs is lit up into flames.

We run down the stairs, skipping a couple steps at a time. We rush to the front door and into the front yard.

I make it a couple of feet before I collapse. I look down at my legs, seeing burn marks and welts covering them all the way up to my thighs. I cough, my lungs burning from the smoke.

Looking back up at the house, I watch as it begins to slowly fall apart. My home, the home in which my daughter grew up in.

I feel tears fill my eyes and let out a sob. Where are we going to live now?

"Honey, come here." I hear Nathan say.

I look back to see him a couple feet away from me. He has Amy in his arms and holds her securely to his chest.

I crawl over to them and rest my head on his shoulder. In the distance, I hear the sound of sirens getting closer to us.

"It's okay, we're out now. We're safe." Nathan says, running his fingers through my hair in a relaxing manner.

I let out a breath, feeling completely drained of energy. My entire body is sore and burning.

Together, we watch the house as it burns, holding each other as we cry.