@oftomorrow
Bucky had noticed a whiff of smoke as she made her way home from school, but she hadn't thought much of it -- at least, not until she saw the plume of dark smoke rising high in the air. That meant a big fire, and fire was bad news. So she picked up her pace, breaking first into a jog and then into a sprint.
Saint Barbara, please, she prayed silently, not our building. Please, let it not be our building. But her prayer went unanswered, for when she rounded the corner by Mr. Schroeder's butcher shop, she was met by the sight of black smoke belching from her tenement, the top floor of which was in flames.
Quickly, Bucky ran through a checklist of her family. Her mother and father were working at the store. Sarah had gone to an after-school art class at the Children's Aid Society. Mary was at the park with Dottie and Midge. But Kitty spent Thursday afternoons with Mrs. Slonimsky across the hall, who looked after her until Bucky got home. Had they gotten out?
Bucky needed to know, so she pushed her way through the growing crowd of gawkers, searching for either one of them. But she had no luck, not even when she began calling their names. In her panic, she turned too quickly, caught her shoe on a crack in the pavement, and tumbled right into—
—Martha Kent. Thank the Lord. Bucky might not spend so much time with Clark these days, because she could tell that he was hiding something big from her, and she couldn't deny that that lack of trust stung a bit, but Mrs. Kent was a sharp lady. She'd know what was going on.
"Mrs. Kent!" Bucky gasped. "Have you seen my sister? Have you seen Mrs. Slonimsky?"
Mrs. Kent's face was creased with worry as she shook her head, and Bucky felt her stomach drop. Not Kitty. Not her baby sister, the little miracle who had come along to bless the Barneses after Joseph and Eileen had died. Anyone but Kitty.
She shoved through the crowd in a desperate burst of speed, ignoring Mrs. Kent's shout behind her, and darted through the stairwell door. It was a crazy thing to do -- she knew that -- but the fire engines weren't here yet. Bucky couldn't even hear the far-off clang of their harsh bells. By the time they arrived, it might be too late.
