Chapter 229: Burning Down

Adrian and Ray glare down at their enemies from up the stairwell, the latter pulling off one of his leather shoes and chucking it at them.

He misses, and somehow, his motion causes the whole floor to hitch downward, buckling under their combined weight and the weakness of the building. From below, Keith and Evelyn roar with laughter before disappearing from sight. 

"The stairwell isn't stable. We have to get down fast..." Adrian muttered as he wrapped an arm around Cassidy's waist to support her weight.

"Hang on, Cassidy. Please, manage for now."

"It's alright, Adrian. I got this. Just focus on what we're gonna do."

Ray takes over as Aira's protector for the time being. He hurriedly rushes them down the stairs, trying his best to keep his motions steady so as to not upset the stairwell further. It's their only chance of getting down safely.

"Why now...?" Cassidy asked aloud, hobbling after them while her husband kept her upright. 

"They couldn't have premeditated this or something, right? We were never planning to come here-"

"They've probably been watching us..." Adrian speculated, mentally hitting himself for only realizing now. 

"They were probably waiting until we were vulnerable enough to strike."

"This is all my fault..." Aira bemoaned dejectedly.

"If I hadn't gone without permission, then this wouldn't be happening."

Cassidy reached out to pat her head in reassurance. She then told her, "Hush, Aira. This is nobody's fault. We just have to focus on getting out, okay?"

Aira nods, sniffling. Right then, yet another round of gunfire began. 

"Freaking bastards!" Ray cursed out loud, wrapping an arm around Aira and hoisting her away from any stray bullet openings.

The fire is causing the metal to heat up. Her hands are turning red from touching the railings. She shoves them in her pockets.

In the distance, the blaring sound of a firetruck can be heard. 

"We're saved...!" Ray cheered, both at the sound of the firetruck and at the prospect of landing on the second storey.

"Now, we just have to-"

"Fifteen minutes are up, folks...!" Evelyn announced through a megaphone, carrying a button of some sorts in her hand.

"Sayonara, bitches!"

All of them went frozen still in aghast shock. She went ahead and pressed the detonator. That's when a small bomb implanted along the sidewall goes off.

"Shit!"

Ray pulls Aira to his chest as they're blasted off the landing, his tight grip on her not faltering for a moment.

The force of the explosion causes the entire stairwell to detach itself from the building with a deafening screech. Cassidy's hands clutch tightly at Adrian's shirt, pulling him into her as they get blasted off the stairwell too.

"Cassidy! Hold on!" he screamed as he held onto her. 

Ray hits the pavement headfirst, a beyond terrified Aira clinging on to him. It's now raining cement and plasters, red-orange flecks dancing around her and burning her where they touch her skin. The sound of the firetruck is closer now, but it doesn't put her at ease in the very least. 

Disoriented, Aira attempts to sit up after a while when everything seems to have settled.

Ray has to squeeze his eyes shut at the dust and debris surrounding them. He brings his stinging palms up to his face, his eyes watering as he tries his best to clear his vision.

"Sir Ray...?!" she croaked when the hands that had been holding on to her so tightly slacken.

"Sir?!"

There's no response from him. Distraught, she clenches her fists in his shirt, trying to shake him awake and calling him over and over again. When she still didn't receive an answer, she turned, her hands grasping at smoke.

"Big sis...?" Aira whimpered, wishing her voice could be amplified, but all it did was crack.

"Big sis, where are you? Sir Adrian?"

She coughs, inhaling smoke. Her lungs squeeze in her chest, constricting painfully. With her remaining strength slipping away, she then falls to her side.

"Help! Help, please!" she pleaded weakly.

Her voice is so small. Her body is so fragile. The sky above her is a storm of soot and embers, making her feel even more powerless. 

"Big sis! Sir Adrian!"

She blinks her tears away, but the plume of smoke around her is thick and dark and brown. And when she turns back around, she can't see Ray anymore.

'No! No, I can't lose sight!'

Blindly, Aira reaches out, her arms scraping against something decidedly metal. She hisses at the pain that courses through her limbs, but she continues to crawl anyway. Ray needs her help.

"Big sis!"

Her tears feel hot on her cheeks. That's not right. Water is supposed to be soothing, supposed to be cold.

"Big sis! Help me, big sis!"

She calls and calls and calls and calls.

It's happening all over again. It's just like the orphanage back then - her home that had been burnt down before her very eyes. It's the same as before. It's repeating, tormenting her once more. 

Aira had lost her mother and pseudo-siblings then. She can't afford to lose her family now as well.

Her throat is coarse, her tiny voice even tinier as it comes out in a rough rasp. Her palm touches cloth.

"Big sis?"

Wrong. It's just Ray. 

He looks like he's sleeping. And there's a pillow under his head. She wants a pillow too. She wants to curl up in Cassidy's arms and sleep forever.

"Big sis..." Aira whispered, drowsy.

"Sir Adrian... Asher... Bryan... Damien-"

"Hello...?!" a voice then suddenly called through the haze.

"I could've sworn I heard a kid in here!"

"Occupants are saying there were still people trying to escape through the stairwell before the building collapsed!"

"Goddamn...! Hello?! Kid?! Can anyone hear me?!"

Aira struggles to fight against this sudden exhaustion that's threatening to pull her under. It's hard to breathe. It's hard to think. It's hard to say anything. 

"Big sis... Where's big sis...?"

"I heard something!"

Aira falls face-first into Ray's chest. She coughs, trying to keep her eyes open. 

"Kid!"

Then, there's a hand on her back.

"There's a kid in here! Her dad too, I think!"

"Hey! Hey, kid! Stay with me!"

'He's not my dad,' was what Aira wanted to say then but could no longer do so as she already fell unconscious.