Property of the Mafia

[13] New Enemies

"Everyone, get out of the house NOW!" I screamed, and the men around me all suddenly turned towards me, in complete shock. It only took a few seconds for them to see the growing flames outside. The group split off in all directions, some leaving to warn the uninformed while others fled outside. A few had gotten out extinguishers in hopes of slowing down the fire, if at least by a little bit. Their actions seemed to be futile as the fire continued to spread.

In a matter of seconds, people poured out of doors and corridors like a frantic river current, flooding the hallways and leaving through the doors in a panic. I soon found myself standing alone in the lounge.

The fire grew steadily, gulping down the east side of the house ravenously with incredible speed. I watched from the window as the flames started to work their way towards the west end.

The west end?

... Leon.

"LEON? LEON, WHERE ARE YOU?" I shouted desperately, sprinting through the hallway as I headed for the west end. Since most of the family had been making calls in the lobby, Leon may have been one of the few located in the west end. Had someone gone to warn him? I could feel my paranoia growing exponentially as a dull, smothering heat began to settle in throughout the house. If I didn't find him soon, the fire would have soon spread across the entire front of the house. Urgency and fear fuelled me as I ran past the open doors, peeking into each one for an instant to verify if Leon was inside. I couldn't seem to find him anywhere.

"Linette?"

A voice from down the hallway caught my attention. Leon burst out from behind a closed door, shirtless and sweaty with a towel draped around his neck. "What's wrong?"

"There's a fire! We need to get out, now." I responded in panic, glancing behind me to see if the flames had reached our hallway. I could faintly hear voices in the distance. I guess everyone hasn't evacuated yet.

"A... fire?" Leon repeated, his voice lifeless and stunned. His eyes suddenly widened and he sprinted away from me, running towards the staircase in the wrong direction. He seemed to be focused on something else besides his life... again.

"What are you doing, the door is that way!" I shouted after him, now standing at the base of the staircase as he continued to run upwards. Leon turned back at me briefly before he sprinted around the corner of the floor.

"You go first---I need to get something!" He responded fluidly. Before I could respond, he had vanished from my sight.

I was tempted to go after him, but I knew better than overestimate my abilities again. The last thing I wanted to do was slow him down. He did have his pride and business---I couldn't just intrude all the time. Besides, Leon could protect himself way better then I ever could. I... just needed to trust in him a little more. He was strong. I knew that.

With a final glance to the empty stairwell, I darted back towards the main entrance, though the same hallway I had come in. Out of the blue, one of the hallway doors flung open, and a billowy trail of smoke seeped into the hallway a few metres in front of me. The outline of a figure was faintly visible through the smoke. Huh? A person?

I had realized too late. The wind was knocked out of me as I collided with the figure, and was violently thrown to the ground, rolling back a few metres as I was enveloped with smoke. My eyes stung as I struggled to breathe.

"Oww... what the hell?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes as I strained to see, my eyes rimmed with tears. I could feel traces of ash at the edges of my eyes. 

"Damn it..." The voice grumbled in front of me. I couldn't make out who it was, due to the smoke and my impaired vision. Whoever they were, they were dressed head to toe in black, and seemed to be in pain.