TW: lots of fire and panic, mentions of death towards the end :)
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Lex jumped across another gap, a small grin on their face as they shot across the roof, hearing Jackie getting farther and farther from them. Whether he was letting them win this race or they were genuinely faster, they weren’t sure but they didn’t care either way; being chased was fun and this was the first time all night Jackie had let them run off.
They were both quickly skidding to a stop though, when they noticed the plumes of smoke coming from the apartment building in front of them. “Clear out the first floor-” Jackie ordered quickly, stepping back so he could get a running start into one of the building’s windows.
Alex didn’t wait to see if he’d make it, jumping to the fire escape and sliding down to street-level. Glass shattered above them, and they hoped it was Jackie but knew better than to look up, instead following his lead and smashing the window next to them. Smoke immediately billowed out into the open air, but they took a deep breath and held it as they entered the room. A quick search had them realizing the apartment was empty, so they made their way to the main hallway.
There were only 6 apartments on the floor, so they made quick work of the next 2, finding both empty. On their hasty path towards the 4th, they passed a fire alarm that was shooting sparks from it, the lever completely missing.
They didn’t have time to dwell, so they continued along. They finally established the first floor was totally clear, so they took the stairs two at a time to the third floor. It was then that they finally registered that the flames were neon green and scaling upwards along the walls. Their breath hitched as they heard someone scream from one of the rooms at the end of the hall, quickly taking off to the sound.
The apartment door was hot, so they knew the fire was right on the other side, but they kicked down the door anyways, quickly stepping back so they didn’t get burned by the escaping flames that had been crawling up the doorframe. Just on the other side of the door was a young man, coughing and shaking, his eyes wide and teary. Lex sucked in a sharp breath, ignoring the burn in their throat as they leapt over the door and through the flaming frame, landing just in front of the man.
He went to ask them something but cut himself off with a coughing fit. Lex didn’t wait for him to come down from it, quickly grabbing him and hoisting him over their shoulders into a fireman carry. He yelped, or close to it, clinging tighter to them as they leapt back over the door. The flames along the frame licked at both of their clothes, the man screaming as he felt the heat through his jeans. Lex couldn’t feel it through their costume, but looked down to make sure they were clear.
They made their way back to the stairs as quickly as they could, avoiding the long lines of flames that almost appeared to.. Be snaking towards them? The guy was whimpering, his chest jerking as he tried to hold back his coughs, so Lex jumped back down the stairs, two at a time, almost carelessly. The flames along the first floor had gotten worse, the walls were creaking ominously as the wooden beams inside them burned.
Alex’s heart sank as they heard, running even faster to deliver the man outside of the building. There was a crowd outside, a few people on their phones, talking to who Lex hoped was emergency services. A couple people took the man off of Lex’s back, a gasp resonating through the crowd as several windows blew out on all three floors.
“Everyone stay back until more help gets here!” They shouted, running back inside without waiting for a response. The smoke had gotten thicker, the flames louder and bigger, and Lex’s chest was screaming again. They couldn’t stop, couldn’t wait for the fire department, so they rushed back up the stairs through the haze of black clouds. They threw a quick glance into the floor Jackie had landed on, anxiety doubling as they noticed the flames seemed worse there.
Still, they had to keep going, so they ran back up the next flight, seeing knee-high walls of fire everywhere along the ground, in front of the doors, and everything about this was off, but there were people yelling for help behind at least three of the doors, and there wasn’t enough time, they had to fucking move-
Another door went crashing down as Lex threw their shoulder against it, the people inside the apartment screaming. The hair on Lex’s neck stood on end as they ran up to the trio, noticing the two little kids being held protectively against their mother’s sides.
“I can take them, we gotta evacuate!” They yelled over the roar of the flames, the flames that seemed to be closing in on them and the room, the mother was crying, ushering her kids to Alex. They picked the two up, clutching them to their sides awkwardly as they then gestured for the mom to follow. They rushed back through the apartment, the mother skidding to a halt as she noticed the door had been engulfed, just in front of the doorframe. Lex didn’t notice she had stopped, using her momentum to leap back over the flames, quickly turning as if to catch the mother.
“Go! Get them safe!” She was yelling, but Lex took a step towards her.
“I won’t leave you!” These kids wouldn’t end up orphaned if they could help it. A cold shiver ran down their spine despite the heat of the flames, and the kids were coughing into their hands
“Please! Come back for me once they’re safe!” She took a step back further into the apartment, and Lex sucked in a shaky breath. Their anxiety spiked harder as they registered why they had shivered: someone was watching them.
“I will, I promise,” they yelled back, turning just in time to notice the flames had snaked closer and were biting at their costume. The heat was finally permeating the fabric, and they knew it would burn through soon if they didn’t hurry. A quick glance around didn’t reveal who was watching them, but the feeling hadn’t faded at all. Their vision was blurry and tears were streaking down their soot-covered face, so they took off as fast as their aching lungs and shaking legs could take them, stumbling down the stairs and nearly crashing to the ground outside. The kids were deposited safely, despite Lex’s knees giving out as soon as they were free.
An older woman was at the front of the group, and she ushered the kids towards her. “I’ll watch them, you need to rest-”
Lex didn’t let her finish, forcing their aching body up to their feet. “Their mom is stuck, gotta get her, I got this,” their words were slurring and the haze from the smoke had followed them outside, but their heart was pounding in their chest and they had to get everyone out.
They were swaying, someone was coming to help them stand upright, but the sound of wood splintering inside the building had their adrenaline racing harder, giving them the energy to spin and run back upstairs. There was barely a path to the stairs, but they jumped over and through what they could, ignoring the pain from sparks finally searing through their costume. Their hands were sweaty but a cold spike had settled into their stomach, and they just had to keep moving, had to get upstairs.
The second floor was nothing more and a black cloud, thick enough that Lex couldn’t actually see the flames through it, but they could hear them crackling and roaring, and more support beams were creaking and snapping below them, and they had to keep going.
The stairs were little more than a blur, panic seeping into their bones as they swung too fast around the landing rail, slamming into the cement wall; they were shaking and they couldn’t control their limbs as well as normal. They were gasping for breath as they ran up the stairs, wiping furiously at their eyes just in time to come face to face with a wall of flames taller than them.
They gasped harshly as the excessive heat slapped them in the face, taking a step back down the stairs as the gasp finally set off the coughing fit they had been fighting since they got into the building. They searched desperately for a way around the flames through their cloudy vision, not seeing anything but the flames and smoke. There were people yelling, screaming and begging for help, and Alex tried to push themselves up, but the flaming wall had gotten closer, forcing them back down the stairs.
Heat seared at the back of their neck, making them notice a new wall of fire had formed on the landing too; they were cornered and the walls were closing in. The wall in front of them jumped towards them, a large tongue flicking towards their face, eliciting a scream as they rapidly backed away. They were too aware of the fire behind them, their heart racing as it closed in further.
There had to be a way out, someone had to be coming- a dark figure was at the top of the stairs, just behind the wall of flames. “Get back! Help’s coming!” They didn’t know that, but they wouldn’t risk more civilians. Distantly, they realized the figure shouldn’t have been as close to the flames as they were, but another round of coughing dislodged the thought.
The walls were still closing in, and Lex’s heart was in their throat; the figure hadn’t moved, seemingly watching them as they struggled for breath, the remaining tenants were screaming, nothing more than panicked sounds as the fires raged around them all, and their mind was racing, clinging desperately to any hope they had that help was-
All at once they remembered their comms, tapping into Jackie’s channel. Their voice was raspy and hoarse, every word hurting, “Need help- please.” There was a long moment of silence, static and flames the only response. They were surrounded on all sides by the fire, and it was too close, far too close. The heat was unbearable, and they were coughing more and more as the smoke finally pushed its way into their lungs fully.
They switched channels quickly, hoping Ace was awake to answer. They were quickly coming to terms with this being the end, and their heart was clawing at their throat, pounding nearly out of their chest. They couldn’t die here, they had to save the people, had to fucking get out, where was the fire department- was the figure getting closer?
Ace answered just as another coughing fit took over, his first words were that the fire department were already en route, and would be there within the minute. Despite themself, Lex breathed a small sigh of relief, their body still tense. They might not get out, but everyone else still had a shot-
The wall of fire behind them singed the hair on their neck, and they jumped forward, their legs giving out quickly. Ace was calling their name, begging for them to respond, to hang on, to pull their shirt over their mouth. Lex realized they should’ve done that far before now, and now they couldn’t get a grip on the neck of their costume.
The flames were practically on top of Alex, licking at their whole body, burning through their costume. They ducked their head between their arms, finding it ever-so-slightly easier to breathe here.
“D-dad, love you, love you all-” they forced the words out, tilting their head to the side to cough. He had to know, the three of them had to know, Alex needed them to know before they- The figure had gotten closer, still just a fuzzy dark shadow, silhouetted by the flames. Something was wrong; the person looked like they were on this side of the flames.
Lex’s trembling hand reached out, to touch them? To see if they were even real? Before it gets close, it falls limp against the concrete stairs as they gasped, desperately pulling what little air there was into their lungs.
Were they really going to die here, alone and with people they hadn’t saved? Their vision was darkening, another twinge of panic racing through their veins. They heard a cruel laugh blend with the scream of the flames, and then-
