TOUCHED

TOUCHED - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Ducking through the shattered door and back into the furnace, I scanned the seats, evaluating the last survivors. The first thing I noticed was the older man was gone. I couldn’t see him. I crawled up the stairs, keeping my head under the lowering ceiling of smoke. The flames were licking the seats that had held the boy and girl. Opposite their seats, in the pocket I had last seen him, there was nothing. He was just gone.

That was bad.

My fear that I would leave him to burn alive was replaced with the fear that he had escaped and intended to turn me in. I scanned the interior one last time to be sure. The overturned seat where he had been was my confirmation that, for better or worse, he had escaped the bus.

I swore violently to myself as I coughed into a sleeve.

I turned to the next closest person, the young man in black. I didn’t have to go far. Even in the smoke I could see him convulsing in his seat. His eyes had closed and he was as good as gone.

The wails of the last woman brought me back to my senses. I scrambled past her to the one who had been impaled. Her eyes fluttered, fixing on me as. I took her hand as I saw the flames start to lick her feet.

“I can’t save you!” I shouted against the noise of the flames. “You are going to die but I can end it quick. It’s that or burn.”

“Please just make it stop.” She choked, spluttering blood. “I’m so scared!”

“I know, hold on.” I said as I turned to the last remaining occupant. She was still knocking out pieces of glass to clear a space big enough to crawl out of.

“Keep working!” I shouted across the aisle. “I’m coming for you next!”

I turned back to the woman in front of me, hating what I was about to do.

I released the one hand I had been holding and reached across her body, gripping the side opposite me. Each hand was an equal distance from the luggage rack that jutted wickedly into her left side. I pulled abruptly, with all my strength, using my feet for leverage. The woman screamed in agony as her body slid towards me several inches.

I couldn’t free her, the seats were folded in around her too tightly but it was enough to accomplish my goal. With the wound in her side no longer plugged by the rail she trembled in shock. I took her head in my bare hand and supported its weight, my other hand clasping hers, kneeling beside her reclined seat.

I felt her flinch and jerk as the flames around her trapped legs climbed higher. Through the bare hand holding up her head, I could feel her life force. I could sense her panic, pain and will to live even as it drained away. On instinct I pulled at that life force with mine, drawing into myself.

“Relax, let go.” I cooed over the noise of the fire, trying to comfort her she bled out. “You’re not alone. I’m right here. Just let it happen. It’s okay to let go. I won’t leave you.”

I kept siphoning away her energy as quickly as I could, watching her eyes. Her lids grew heavy as I pulled at what remained of her and muttered calming words. Within seconds she stopped crying. After another moment her whole body sagged into my hands. The life force faded away until there was nothing left to feel. I let go, closing her eyes before turning away. A glance at her Guardian confirmed what I already knew. She was done suffering.

My pulse pounded in my ears, my chest heaving from the lack of breathable air and what I had done. I turned to the last surviving victim in the bus, fearing the worst. She had made some progress but it was not going to be enough. She had abandoned the tool I had given her and she was frantically trying to force her way through one of the spaces. I grabbed the metal bar and pulled with all of my might. Nothing moved.