Fire Scene

It’s 4 am. I wake up abruptly, to the worst, most horrifying smell. I only smell this rarely, and I detest it. But, I’m too tired to pursue it, I’ll wait till it goes away.

4:20 am. How has it only been 20 minutes? That lethal smell hasn’t gone away, in fact it’s gotten worse. On top of that, I keep hearing these loud voices. “It's only a dream,” I mumble. 

4:30 am. This time, I widened my eyes, having this weird premonitory feeling of the suspicious smell. The voices only got louder. “Mom!” I called out for her. I was expecting to hear “Nolan, what?”, but I didn’t. I took a deep breath; wanting to calm my nerves, only to smell something burning.

4:35 am. I threw on my slippers, and rushed through the motel room my mom and I have been staying at. The staff were snarky, and often had a cigarette on them. 

4:40 am. Half awake, I’ve looked through the room twice. Nothing. “Where could she be?” I said apprehensively, “Where would she go?” I rushed to the door, but before I could even leave I saw the most dreadful view. 

4:47 am.  It’s the kind of view you would never pay for, the sort of image if you saw on the news you stand feeling bad, but never cared for. It was a fire scene. Shock, fear, anger, disgust, worry, and a burning anxiety took over me. It even caused me to stay and inhibited me to the door. “How?!” I roared, I thought of my mom, the image of her was enough that it stimulated me through the door.

4:55 am. Rushing through the two story motel, I searched through the first floor. “Mom!” It struck me hard like a rumble, the supreme heat of the fire. “Mom!” I called for her once more. We have to get out of this disaster!

4:50 am. I passed the vending machine. I often find my mom here. It’s an issue of ours; we often randomly find ourselves at the vending machine, early in the morning. It was a bad habit we joked about, relishing the moment. This wasn’t the same situation. 

5:05 am. I’ve officially searched half of the first floor. No mom, the unfathomable fire began to start to travel closer to me. I started to sprint through the motel. This couldn’t be it, “Mom!” Tears started to fill my eyes. But it wasn’t fear nor sadness, I was the extreme feeling of the fire, as the smoke started to insulate the area.

5:15 am. “This couldn’t be it!” I whispered, I contemptuously said to the motel. I stood there, at the entrance. This time, tears streamed down my face, true raw emotion. The last time I truly cried was when I was 11 years old. It’s been 4 years since, and I despised it. Utterly and truly, wanting to stop, though I couldn’t. I squeezed my eyes shut, and tightened my hands till they made a small ball. “This is so childish,” I muttered. Tears, still pouring down my face.

5:25 am. “Hey kid, oh my god! Kid! It’s alright, are you hurt?” I look up, from the corner of my eyes I see a man running towards me, no, it's a fireman. He deliberately kept running, with a safety kit. I shook my head, trying not to cry even more. “Alright, just tell me are burned or hurt? Can you move?” I nodded my head; forcing myself to stop crying. 

5:35 am. Over the exhausting 10 minutes, he asked me questions wanting to appease me. Like my name, age, and favorite food. He just nodded his head the entire time. Finally, he had me situated in an ambulance. He did a few things to check on. “Hey, it’s ok buddy you're doing great!” He said cheerfully, expecting me to break down again. While I swear I was ok, he could still tell I wasn’t; most likely due to the glum face I wore. 

5:45 am. “Ok Nolan. You're all good.” The fireman smiled, I reluctantly smiled back. “Thank you Mr…” I trailed off, realizing I don’t know his name. He laughed, “Mr. Thomas”. “Thank you Mr. Thomas.” I said, wanting to seem nice. 

5:48 am. “Nolan, is there any adult you're able to go to?” Mr. Thomas said, concerned. “No. I-I can’t find my mom. I’m not sure if something happened…” I answered looking down at the floor. Mr. Thomas’s smile finally fell. “Shoot, I can look around. Try and see if anyone knows you.” Mr. Thomas said reassuringly. I nodded my head. “Stay put, please.” I nodded my head once more.

5:55 am. I got bored, having to sit around, just sitting in an ambulance doing nothing, really isn’t great. Finally, I popped out of the ambulance, looking around a few times. It was kinda busy, around 4 other firefighters. The fire was finally out, I sighed in relief.

6:00 am. The area generally became much calmer, with firefighters not having to rush as much. I turn around to see the other ambulance close to me. I heard a lady loudly crying, “Ma’am you must calm down. Your son may be somewhere, we just have to change our perspective. He’s close, please don’t worry. ” I hear a medic saying. Curious, I took a few steps closer, wanting to see who was so upset. 

6:03 am. The lady kept loudly crying, screaming “Oh, how could I!” The moment I heard this I turned immediately. That voice sounded familiar, too familiar. I ran to the ambulance. “Mom!” Could that be her voice? “Mom!” We both lock eyes, running to embrace one another. “Oh Nolan, I’m so sorry” My mother exclaimed. 

6:04 am. “Where were you mom?” I asked. “I left early in the morning for a soda from the vending machine. But, I smelled so much smoke. I called for the fire department. Though when I explained to them, and that you were still there, they wouldn’t let me get you! So this firefighter, Thomas, went to try and find you! ” My mother tearfully explained. “Oh mom!” We embraced each other one more time. Tears streaming down both of our eyes. “Can we get a soda?” I lachrymosely asked. She chuckles, “Sure.”