Chapter 144 – Trial (2)

A siren, earsplitting, reverberated through the narrow alley.

A loudspeaker, crackling with static, urged people outside.

But the car owners remained inside. The firetruck couldn’t enter. The hose was too short. The hydrant was malfunctioning.

These snippets of conversation, this chaotic scene, seeped through our front door.

So I…

Bang!

…made the same choice.

Maybe this time…

Just once more. One more day of happiness. Then, I would let go.

With this resolve, I crawled to the neighbor’s door and gripped the handle.

“Ugh…hic…hngh…”

Sizzle. The burning metal seared my skin. Acrid smoke filled my head, the stench of death choking me.

“Mom! Mom! It’s hot! Mom!”

Crackle, crackle. The screams of the elderly woman with dementia.

“Aaaaaah! Kyaaaaaah! Mom!”

Her frenzied cries spurred me on. I wrenched the doorknob. Squelch. The melted skin of my palm tore away as the door burst open.

A blast of heat slammed into me, searing my lungs.

“Hngh…hic…urgh…”

I choked on smoke, swallowed ashes, and crawled inside.

Burning. Unbearable heat. My back screamed in agony. My hands stuck to the melting linoleum, skin peeling away. Shards of glass dug into my knees.

“Aaaaaaaaah! Kyaaaaaah!”

Every inch forward brought more screams, more burning, more glass embedded in my flesh.

“Moooooooom!”

Stop.

Stop it.

Stop screaming.

Please.

Just…

…tell me where Mom is.

I forced my eyes open against the searing heat. No. I fought the pain, forcing my lids up.

And saw her. Pinned beneath a fallen bookshelf, unable to move.

“Aaaaagh! Aaaaaah!”

Drenched in gasoline.

Engulfed in flames.

Her wrinkled face melted, flesh sagging. A shard of glass protruded from her eye, oozing a gruesome mixture of blood and fluid. Her lips were gone, replaced by frothy, pink bubbles. No teeth. No tongue. Just the remnants of a melted tongue, bubbling blood, and screams that no longer formed words.

Then, a pause.

Amidst the dying screams, her unseeing eyes rolled toward me. Her shredded lips curled into a grotesque parody of a smile. Blood and a frothy mixture of blood and something else bubbled out with a shriek.

“Aaaaaaaaah!”

Horrifying. Disgusting. Revolting. I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t want to see it. I wanted out.

Gagging, bile rising in my throat, I crawled. Blocking out the sounds, the sights, the sheer horror. Past her screams, past her death.

To the bedroom door. Mom’s room.

I pushed myself up, my raw, flayed hands gripping the doorknob.

Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot.

“Hngh…hic…ack…”

My nerves shrieked. A million needles stabbed at me.

I couldn’t hold on. Couldn’t turn it. Couldn’t touch it.

Scared. Hurting. I don’t want to. Stop. I want to stop. I could just leave.

…and it would be over.

“Urgh…blegh…hic…”

Stupid. Weak.

It’s the smoke. The smoke is making me…

No. No. No.

I wouldn’t…

BOOM!

“Noah! Shin Noah!”

Dad.

Dad’s voice.

Dad…

“Ahh…ugh…”

No.

He can’t come here.

If he comes…

…he’ll die.

Please…

…go.

Please.

Let Dad live.

Let me do this again.

Please.

I held my breath, curled up tight, praying he wouldn’t find me. Praying he’d leave. I swallowed the pain, the burning.

But…

“Noah!”

He found me.

No…

No no no no no…

“Hah… Noah. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

His voice, muffled by his gear, was gentle. His touch, soft. The wet towel, cool against my burning skin.

“Everything’s okay. Dad will take care of it.”

“Agh…ugh…”

He wrapped me in the fireproof cloth and began removing his own gear.

“No…Dad, don’t! Don’t…”

He quickly shed his suit and began reciting the prayer he always said with Mom and me.

***

“Oh Lord, when I am called to duty, grant me the strength to save a life, even in the searing flames. Let me reach the child before it’s too late, and rescue the trembling elderly from their terror. Let me remain ever vigilant, that I may hear even the faintest cries. Guide my hand to swiftly extinguish the flames. Help me fulfill my duty and give my utmost, so that I may protect both life and home. And should my time come, according to Your will, I humbly ask that You extend Your grace to care for my wife and my Noah.”

***

The prayer ended. The suit was now on me. Dad nodded, a look of grim satisfaction on his face. Even through the agony, he smiled, bright and gentle.

“You trust Dad, right?”

“No… Dad…don’t…please…”

He lifted me into his arms.

“It’s okay. Everything’s okay. Just trust Dad.”

With his familiar playful smirk, he stepped into the blinding inferno. His steps were firm, his body unwavering, his resolve unbroken. His life, burning ever brighter.

Through the belly of the beast. Crushing the fangs that barred the way. Breaking through the fiery maw. Through the choking black smoke…

…into the blue sky.

His skin was gone, raw flesh and yellow blisters oozing. Black blood trickled from his lips.

But he smiled. Bright. Gentle. Mischievous.

“I’ll be back.”

***

The flames died. The fire was out. The fire trucks, having finally forced their way in, had extinguished the blaze.

Now the car owners emerged, yelling at the firefighters, demanding compensation for their precious vehicles.

I ignored them. I ran. Stumbling, falling, rising, running. Up the stairs, through the ashes.

I arrived.

Past the firefighters searching for survivors, checking for embers, kneeling in grief before the doorway. I pushed past them, shoving, striking, screaming, until I was inside.

Black. Black. Black. Black. Black.

And amidst the black…

…a glint of silver.

Rings.

I clutched them to my chest and slowly turned my head.

“Ah.”

Something charred black, wrapped around something brown.

A corpse embracing another.

A burnt body shielding a less-burnt one.

Dad, holding Mom.

Mom.

And Dad.

My beloved family.

Burned to death.

***

A narrow alley. Discarded cigarette butts smoldering on the pavement. Tightly packed buildings, homes, and shops. Illegally parked cars lining the street, their registration numbers long faded.

A steep incline. A six-story villa at its peak. Engulfed in flames.

It began with a cigarette ember igniting dry laundry. It exploded when a woman with dementia knocked over a container of waste oil. The fire quickly consumed the entire fifth floor.

Neighbors called for help the moment they saw the smoke. Fire trucks arrived, but couldn’t navigate the narrow alley.

But a man could.

A hero rushed into the inferno.

That hero, in a fire that consumed an entire building, limited the casualties to three out of eighteen residents.

A new law was passed. A law allowing for the immediate removal of illegally parked vehicles during fire emergencies.

***

Tap. Tap.

“Hey, punk! Wake up!”

A bright, sunny morning. A familiar voice. A playful kick.

“Hurry! We have to do this while Mom’s out!”

I opened my eyes.

Sat up.

Looked around.

Picked up my phone.

Turned on the screen.

“Sleep well? Come on, let’s eat. Dad’s making doenjang jjigae for lunch. I even snuck in some brisket. Let’s eat before Mom gets back.”

[Mom & Dad’s Anniversary: D-2]

“…Ahaha…hahaha…hah…hic…”

The trial…

…wasn’t over.