(junior year)

Fire.

. . .

All I see is fucking fire.

Anywhere I looked, it was as if it was all happening in slow motion. People ran around. Coach barked orders. Buckets of water poured on the burning building.

And I stood there like a goddamn wuss, rooted on the spot in the middle of the field - unable to move my fucking ass.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I fucking refused to acknowledge it. This had to be a dream. It fucking had to be. No way in hell could the football department building be up in flames. The odds of that happening was so slim.

I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again.

Black smoke now covered the sky, blocking the sun.

Fuck.

"Adam!" a senior yelled. It sounded so far off the distance, which was weird since he was only twenty feet away from me.

"Where's Adam?!"

"He's not here!"

"Shit! He didn't make it out!"

"Coach! Adam's still inside!"

"Help is on the way!"

"There's no fucking time!"

"He'll die in there if we don't do something now!"

My feet moved on its own. Before I knew what I was doing, I was running towards the burning down building. I saw someone carrying a bucket of water, and I immediately pulled off my jersey jacket. As I passed him, I grabbed the bucket from him and poured the water on myself before throwing it away.

"Where ya going, Oz?"

"Oz, stop!"

"Get back here, Oz!"

"Oz!"

I heard my name being called several times but I ignored them and continued to run. A couple of seniors tried to block my path. Being a helluva strong running back, I managed to slip past them. The yell of my best friend didn't escape me.

"Be careful, man!"

I could hear the worry in Alfie's voice, but I didn't look back.

I pulled up my wet shirt to cover my nose and ducked into the entrance. There was literally fire everywhere that I had to squint my eyes. I quickly headed to the locker room because where else the fuck was I supposed to look? It wasn't rocket science.

"Adam?!"

I kicked opened the door, because it was on fire so no point using the fucking knob. I coughed a little, accidentally inhaling some smoke. I rapidly walked down the isle, checking each row and dreading to see an unconscious body. All I saw were our football uniforms and gears literally turning to ashes.

I swallowed a lump in my throat, ignoring the pang of pain I felt against my chest and sting at the back of my eyes. I shook my head and focused on the task at hand.

"Adam! Where the fuck are you?!"

Swearing under my breath, I got the hell out of there and went straight to the gym. A long piece of burning wood crashed down in front of me, making me jump in surprise.

Holy shit, that was close.

I leaped over it and went on my way. I didn't even realize that the droplets of water on my skin were already being replaced by beads of sweat. That wasn't good.

"Adam! You fucking better be in here, man!"

As soon as I entered the gym, I groaned at the sight. Half the ceiling collapsed. A part of me worried that Adam might be buried under all that mess, but then I saw movement by the barbels.

"Adam?"

"God?"

I would've laughed if it wasn't so fucking crucial right now.

"No, it's Oz!" I yelled, dashing over to where he was.

"Oh, thank fuck! I'm still alive, then!"

When I got to him, I almost sighed in relief. Almost. Because then, my eyes caught sight of how fucking screwed we were.

"I'm stuck," he grunted, stating the obvious.

"No shit."

Adam's legs were buried under the fallen ceiling. Damn it. I wasn't sure how I'd be able to pull that thing off of him. It looked too fucking heavy for me to just lift it up.

I looked around, searching for things I might be able to use. I saw a pole, immediately walked to it, and removed the weights. I turned and pushed a metal bench near his legs. I placed the pole on the bench with its tip under the debris.

"Adam, you still with me?" I asked, making sure he didn't pass out.

He nodded. "Yeah - Yeah, I am."

"Okay, listen. Crawl and pull back your legs as soon as you can."

"Got it."

I gathered all my strength and pressed down my end of the pole. It only moved a little. I paused to crack my knuckles, before trying again. I wrapped both my hands on the metal. This time, I didn't stop pushing down. I growled, my jaw clenched, and the veins in my neck probably made a scary ass appearance right about now.

Finally, it lifted up. Adam swiftly crawled back like his life depended on it. As soon as I saw his feet out of harm's way, I let go. I panted for a moment, before realizing all I could breathe in was smoke. I coughed pretty bad after that.

"Let's go," I croaked, grabbing his arm and putting it around my shoulders.

Not wasting any time, we made our way out as fast as we could.

"I think I have some broken bones," he whispered.

Fear was clear in his voice. I could practically imagine him dreading the future - his football scholarship, his career.

"Wouldn't be the first time," I replied lightly.

"It never hurt this bad."

I didn't say anything, trying to see if we were close from escaping this fucking hell.

"Fuck, I don't want it to be over."

"Shut the fuck up, Adam," I snapped, already having a hard time catching my breath. Shit, I needed some clean air. Stat. "Focus on getting out of here alive first, will you?"

He coughed. "You're right."

Damn right, I am.

My vision quickly started to blur, while my skin felt like it was burning from the heat. I blinked, trying to refocus my eyes. White spots began filling my sight. Crap, I was about to pass out. Not fucking now.

As if on cue, I finally saw the exit through the clouds of smoke. With everything I had, I pulled myself together and hurried towards the door. I didn't risk breathing anymore.

C'mon, we're almost there.

I blinked, shaking my head.

Just a little more.

I huffed and pulled up Adam beside me.

I won't fucking die this way.

It was the slowest five seconds of my entire life.

But we made it. We fucking made it.

The moment we stepped outside, firemen instantly swarmed us. From the looks of it, they just arrived. About damn time, dickheads.

They yelled something over their shoulder, making me realize that the paramedics were here, too. They took Adam from me and carried him to a stretcher.

"Do you need to lay down, kid?" a fireman asked, looking straight to my eyes.

"No," I mouthed, unable to shake my head for fear that I might puke from dizziness.

"Here," he said, placing an oxygen mask on my face.

I didn't protest. Instead, I closed my eyes and welcomed it.

AH, AIR.

Holy fucking shit, that feels good.

"Feeling better?"

I opened my eyes and made a thumbs up with my free hand.

He nodded, looking impressed. "That was brave, kid. Not many people would willingly go in there like that."

I only shrugged.

His praiseful tone did nothing to my ego. I wasn't sure why I didn't feel like a hero. Maybe because in reality, I was far from it? All I knew was, my adrenaline was wearing down and I was starting to feel beat.

The fireman smiled a little, as if he knew how I was feeling. I noticed light wrinkles on his face. He must be in his thirties or something.

A paramedic lady came out of nowhere and lead me to the ambulance to check on me. I let her, wanting to rest my legs for a few minutes.

I saw the team stood at a distance, helpless as they watched our sanctuary literally turn to ashes. Coach was in front of them, shaking his head grimly. The whole student body were watching from the other end of the field, not allowed to come any closer.

I noticed my friends and girlfriend studying me a few feet away as I passed them. They looked about ready to smother me.

I glanced over my shoulder to the fireman. He saluted to me, then turned around to do his job. My eyes wandered to the building that served as a safe haven for the past years.

Not it was burning down to the ground.

What the hell could've caused this fucking mess?