Chapter 26: Two Children Trapped
The moment I stepped into the apartment, a wave of scorching air assaulted me, slamming into my body like an invisible wall. My vision wavered slightly from the sudden, extreme shift in temperature, the heat pressing against my skin even through the protection of my suit.
The living room was empty. A sofa lay overturned, its fabric already blackened at the edges, thin curls of smoke rising lazily from the charred surface.
The curtains hung in tatters, half-consumed by fire. Their frayed ends still burned faintly, shedding glowing embers that drifted down and scattered across the floor. Small flames crept along the walls, licking at peeling paint and leaving behind dark streaks of soot and blistered plaster.
“Help! Hic! Help!”
The cry was thin, strained by smoke and broken sobs.
I froze, holding my breath for a second and focusing past the crackling of burning wood. The sound wasn’t coming from this unit. It was from the one next door.
Without hesitation, I turned back toward the balcony and leapt across to the neighboring apartment. The concrete floor beneath my boots was already cracked from the relentless heat. I forced my way inside, slamming my shoulder into the door until the hinges snapped and the door crashed inward with a heavy bang.
The smoke here was far thicker. I could barely see more than a few meters ahead. My eyes stung and watered, but I dropped low immediately, moving quickly toward the source of the crying, which was now clearer—yet disturbingly weaker.
It was coming from the bathroom.
I didn’t waste a second. I kicked the door in. The wood splintered and tore free from its hinges, hitting the tiled floor with a dull thud.
Inside, two small children were curled up in the corner, clutching each other tightly. The sink faucet had been left running, water spilling over and soaking the floor—perhaps their desperate attempt to protect themselves from the spreading fire.
Their faces were smeared with soot, their hair damp and tangled from sweat. Their wide eyes locked onto me, fear and confusion reflected in their trembling gazes as they stared at the unfamiliar white-clad figure in the doorway.
“W-what…” one of them whimpered, the young boy’s voice shaking uncontrollably.
“I’m getting you out,” I said briefly, forcing my voice to sound firm and reassuring beneath the mask.
There was no time to explain. I lifted them both at once, one in each arm. Their bodies were light—far too light for a situation this heavy. They clung to my suit desperately, as if I were the only solid thing left in a collapsing world.
The fire had begun to spread into the hallway. Sections of the ceiling gave way, fragments of wood and sparks raining down around us. I moved quickly, hunching my body to shield their heads as flames lashed out from the walls. The heat scorched my back even through the suit, pressing against me like a living force determined to consume everything in its path.
When we reached the balcony, I didn’t hesitate.
I jumped.
A blast of hot wind struck my face as we plummeted downward. Panicked screams erupted from below as people realized we were falling.
Several meters before hitting the ground, I fired a web toward the side of the building to slow our descent. The line snapped taut, absorbing the force of our fall, and I adjusted our momentum before landing steadily on the asphalt.
Firefighters rushed toward us immediately, their arms outstretched and ready.
“There are two more!” I shouted, carefully transferring the children into their grasp.
Hysterical sobbing broke from the crowd as a woman collapsed to her knees, pulling the two children into her arms as if they might disappear if she loosened her hold even slightly.
But this wasn’t over.
Four… maybe three more were still trapped inside.
Without waiting, I shot another web toward the second-floor balcony and propelled myself upward faster than before. This time, I didn’t return to the same unit. I burst through the main door of the second floor and entered the shared hallway.
The smoke here was suffocatingly thick, limiting my visibility to only a few steps ahead. Flames from the third floor were beginning to crawl downward, licking at the ceiling and causing the paint to blister before igniting. The sounds of snapping wood and shattering glass echoed in every direction, forming a relentless symphony of destruction that weighed heavily on the mind, pressing against my focus as the building threatened to collapse around me.
“Anyone still inside, shout!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, my voice ricocheting down the narrow corridor.
The seconds dragged on like hours. My breathing grew heavy, each inhale scraping against my throat. The heat was becoming unbearable, pressing against my skin as if the air itself had turned into a furnace.
Then, faintly, a sound reached my ears from one of the units at the far end of the hallway.
A weak voice. Fragile. Desperate.
Without the slightest hesitation, I sprinted toward it, ignoring the burning debris that rained down around me. Sparks drifted through the air like fiery snow, and small tongues of flame licked at the ceiling above.
Without slowing down, I rammed my shoulder against the door from where I had heard the voice. The lock split apart under the impact, and the door flew inward with a heavy crash that echoed beneath the relentless roar of the fire.
Thick smoke burst out immediately, stinging my eyes and clawing at my throat. Inside the soot-covered living room, a woman lay helpless on the floor, her body trembling as broken coughs tore from her chest between ragged breaths.
Her face was deathly pale, a stark contrast to the black streaks of charcoal smeared across her cheeks. Her hair was tangled, parts of the ends singed and curled from the intense heat. Ash clung to the strands, dulling what might once have been its natural shine.
Her eyes were half-closed, her gaze unfocused and glassy, as though her consciousness was slowly being dragged away by the merciless heat and the air that no longer held enough oxygen. Every breath she took sounded thin and hoarse, barely there.
I didn’t waste time speaking. In a situation like this, seconds were far more valuable than words. Carefully but swiftly, I lifted her into my arms.
Her body felt light—too light—and the heat radiating from her seeped through my suit. She was still breathing, faint but steady enough to give me a reason to move faster, to refuse the thought of being too late.
The door leading back to the corridor was already being consumed by flames. Red tongues crawled wildly along the walls, devouring paint and wood without mercy. The path we had taken was no longer an option.
The only possible escape was the balcony.
Without hesitation, I kicked the glass door leading outside. It shattered into countless shards, fragments scattering as a blast of hot wind surged outward from the burning room.
With the woman secured in my arms, I leapt from the balcony. The scorching afternoon air slammed against my face, carrying the sharp scent of smoke and ash. We plunged rapidly toward the ground, gravity pulling us down in a dizzying rush.
Just before impact, I fired a web to slow our descent. The strands expanded and caught against the building’s structure, stretching under our combined weight and holding us for a split second—just enough to lessen the force of the fall. I landed steadily, knees bending to absorb the remaining impact.
Firefighters immediately rushed toward us. Without unnecessary questions, they took the woman from my arms, laying her carefully onto a stretcher and fitting an oxygen mask over her face.
One of them checked her pulse while another ensured the evacuation path remained clear. Their movements were quick and practiced, honed by countless emergencies like this.
Without looking back, I shot a web toward the second-floor balcony and climbed swiftly. Time was not on our side.
“Hey! Is anyone still inside?” I shouted as soon as my feet touched the scorching balcony floor.
There was no answer—only the furious roar of the flames and the sharp cracking of wood splitting apart as it burned. The temperature felt even more punishing now. Heat pressed in from every direction, turning the air into an invisible wall I had to force through with every breath. Even my suit couldn’t fully shield my skin from the biting intensity.
“Hey! Anyone! Is there anyone here?” I continued shouting as I forced open each apartment door one by one.
Every door revealed the same grim scene: empty rooms choked with smoke, furniture reduced to charred skeletons, or walls beginning to collapse as debris rained down. No cries. No pleas for help. Only the relentless thunder of fire and the crash of falling objects.
After making sure no one remained on the second floor, I returned to the balcony. From there, I fired another web toward the third-floor balcony and began climbing upward.
The muscles in my arms tightened as I pulled myself higher, the heat from below rising relentlessly and chasing me toward the floors above.
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