A Fire That Burns (12 page)

Watching him turn around, Austin was confronted the devil again. This
time he looked ready to attack, ready to kill her with his words. This time he
was ready to finish her.

“You're sick, you know that?” Tyler spoke up, his brow furrowed,
"It's always about you, Austin. Well for once it’s not, so quit with the
lying and accept responsibility for your God damn actions! You pushed her and
she lost my baby and you think that by making some sob story you’ll make it all
okay and justified - well it won't. I'll make sure you pay for what happened
with Natasha however much she fights it. No one will ever believe your lies,
Austin, so quit trying on me. And if I were you, I wouldn’t run off. You’re a
wanted woman."

Fear ignited in Austin in an instance, “You don’t mean that. I didn’t do
anything to her!”

“Oh, I can and I will. You seem to forget my position in the local PD.
Do not even begin to doubt what I am capable of when I need to get things
done,” Tyler told her almost threatening. He hated doing this, really he did,
but he was reacting to her news and he was in denial. There was no way he could
live with himself if her words were truthful, especially when Natasha claimed
the same.

“I thought you loved me,” Austin managed as she tried to halt her tears.
“You told me you still loved me and now you’re doing this? You couldn’t have meant
anything you ever said if you’re doing this.”

And Tyler spoke the words that would haunt him forever. Especially once
his grief melted and disappeared. "I guess I lied. You should be familiar
with the term. I can never love you again after this, I hope you see that. All
I see when I look at you right now is a woman I hate. You ruined my life once
with leaving and now you're ruining it by being here. I hate you, Austin, and I
never thought I'd mean that, but I do. Why don’t you just do
us
all a
favor
and disappear again?"

“Because this is my home as well,” Austin fought back fiercely. This was
her hometown, where she grew up, where she had fallen in love. “And because I
didn’t do what Natasha said I did! I didn’t push Natasha because she was never
pregnant!”

Tyler ignored that last comment as she said it. He didn’t want to
believe he was the foolish one. It was better to lash out than admit the
probable truths. “You gave up your home when you ran away,” Tyler said as he
headed to the door of their makeshift house. “Maybe you should just do that
again. You won’t be missed this time around.”

And with that her heart took it last beat before dying completely. She
watched him leave and did nothing but
try
and stable
herself against the wall nearest to her. Her legs were like jelly, shaking at
the weight of her body upon them and she failed. She just allowed her body to
sink down the wall with her hands starting to tear through her hair as she
sobbed. She just cried out everything that was in her system, the six years of
her life she had wasted by just existing and realized that she
really
 
had
lost
everything.

Austin didn’t even try to make an attempt to head home. She just sat
there against the wall, crying out her heartache, trying to decide what was
next for her life. There was no way she could stay here now. No way
she could
finish the house and there was no way she would be
able to take the blame for something she hadn’t done.

The sun had already set when she finally began to wipe her tears away
and try and make some semblance of a plan. She was feeling exhausted and light
headed and just resulted to curling up on the floor. She didn’t want to leave
the only piece of Tyler she had, regardless of how tainted it had become. The
headache pounding away against her skull told her to sleep, and as she caved,
she gave herself to the memories of the past, before ever taking a pregnancy
test, before even thinking she could be getting a family of her own. She was
back on the beach with Tyler proposing all over again.

Closing her eyes cost her dearly as she was unaware of the black smoke
beginning to claw the ceilings as it poured throughout the house, engulfing it
with each new
smoldering
puff. The glow of the fire
beginning to paint the walls as it began to eat away at the house around
Austin’s unconscious body.

Chapter Twenty-One

WHEN
Austin woke up she
felt a shortness of breath and an aura of disorientation overwhelming her.
Immediately she felt the heat around her as the flaming fingers stretched out
ready to take a grip on her and smother her like it had the house. Trying to
find some calmness within the chaos she quickly realised the breaths she was
inhaling were heavy and humid in her chest.

Pushing herself up onto her hands and knees, Austin felt so weak she knew
she had to use the wall to pull herself up to her feet. She found herself faced
with fire as it climbed the walls, crawled the floors, grabbing
 
a hold of anything it could, quickly
entrapping her as it raced to ignite her body. She quickly climbed to her feet,
feeling how shaky her legs were already and she tried not to panic. She was
trapped, scared to move anywhere and come in contact with the fire that burnt
around her, destroying everything her and Tyler had made together. Trying not
to admit defeat before she had attempted to make a go for survival, Austin
looked around for her best plan of an escape.

The door seemed so far away as it stood illuminated with the orange
glow, the heat distorting her view in waves. It seemed so distant and quickly she
was caught short – the last time she looked at that door, Tyler had left,
hating her for everything. Now looking at it, she hated how everything had
happened, how far away her escape was.

She could already feel the smoke gripping her lungs tightly and the
simplest action of drawing in oxygen was getting harder. She could feel how
tight her chest was getting and all she wanted was pure oxygen, fresh air, a
new start. She had no idea how long she was asleep for, and she couldn’t see if
there was any help outside. Whatever she knew this moment was dire. The fact
that her breathing was getting more and more difficult told her she had been
asleep for far too long and she wondered if waking up was a miracle or another
evil route in fate’s plan for her.

Why not torture the already damned a bit more?

If anyone in Point Arena knew she was in there she would be surprised if
anyone would help the town’s resident
murderer
. Ironically, she
remembered her brother commenting how everybody loved a witch hunt and here she
was in the middle of a burning building. They were finally going to find her
trialed
and burnt, and if she knew the town as well as she
did, they would be rejoicing by sun rise. It was a painful thought but, she
knew that very few people would mind her gone for good. Her mother for one,
Tyler another, and that just broke her heart even more than she thought humanly
possible. She had seen it die a horrible death at the end of Tyler’s triad, but
here it was, still suffering in her chest.

The funny thing is she would have laughed if she wasn’t so scared stiff
at that moment. Laughed at the irony of this moment, laughed at how desperate
she was, laughed at how pathetic her life had really become. She would have
laughed at her own demise if she was on the other side of the window looking in
and not living it.

And then suddenly, terror filtered throughout her entire body. The
terrified feeling took over and dread ran rabid in her veins. She cried as she
realized that she saw no escape and noticed the last place her cell phone was
sitting was now a burning wreck. She had no way of getting out of this
situation and that was what caused even more fear to rise. She was trapped and
panic did nothing to raise her adrenaline and make her just sprint through the
house to the door. She was frozen to the spot, watching death beginning to inch
closer and closer to her. She screamed for help, but between her losing her
breaths and the loud roaring crackle of the fire as it ate away at everything
it could get its fiery body onto, she was silenced.

All of a sudden Austin had so many regrets fill her and she wanted out
to make her life right. She wanted her family back, all of them, and she wanted
to tell Tyler the truth for however long it took for him to believe her, and
she wanted him to see what Natasha had put her through her entire life. She
wanted to free the burden that was locking down her heart at long last and then
finally feel free to live properly.

With desperation beginning to grab at her, Austin saw a quick exit, but
as she ran to it part of the ceiling fell through right before her. Now with
more fire beckoning to grab her, her horror was beginning to cloud her judgment
to add to her oxygen deprived mind. She was feeling defeated and weak, but she
knew if she succumbed she had no hope, but with each passing second the smoke
and heat was taking over her. The oxygen in her lungs was slowly turning into
carbon dioxide and she could feel it, she was weakening and could feel her body
giving up slowly.

Coughing, Austin tried to go for another way, but the smoke in her lungs
and the burning down her throat became too much and her body gave up. With
stinging eyes, she bent over double in a coughing fit, trying to gain some life
back into her, but it was hopeless. All of the oxygen was transformed into its
devil opposite and only carbon dioxide resided in the air around her.

That was when she gave in and collapsed to the floor as the house
continued to burn down around her.

All of her fight now
completely taken from her.

Chapter Twenty-Two

TYLER
had a feeling of
major foreboding. He had escaped to his parents and still hadn’t left. He
wasn’t ready to face Natasha – especially not after Austin’s plea at him, at her
reverent denial at the claims of her pushing Natasha and causing her to lose
their baby. There was something about the way she spoke, the way she
practically begged that made him stay at his parents’ house. There was
something in the way she pleaded, cried, the way she gave up all of her
fighting spirit for him to see her side in this that made him feel as though he
need to be here.

He just sat there, merely five houses down the street from his and
Austin’s creation. He had been deep in thought ever since leaving her broken in
the house. It took shouting voices to break completely through the barrier of
his mind. The police officer inside him, and his own personal curiosity, pulled
him to abandon his thoughts and investigate what could be causing such a stir
outside.

Looking out, he saw a mass of commotion, the shouting only got louder
and more panic stricken. Allowing his gaze to look up to where everyone was
heading, he saw his unfinished house on fire and he felt like he might as well
be in there too as he found it suddenly difficult to breath. He turned to see
that his mother and father had heard the noise, seen the chaos, and were drawn
outside, rushing towards the scene.

He said nothing as he took off running from his spot and bypassed them
entirely, gathering speed as only one thing remained on his mind- Austin. It
didn’t take long for Tyler to cover the small distance, he was quick to notice
that Jane was now being comforted by
neighbors
as her
sons all fought to keep Tom back as he bellowed Austin’s name at the house.

Tyler felt his knees go weak as his own sister came to stand by his side
as they all watched. Looking at the house, Tyler knew Austin never went home
and she was trapped in the house being burnt alive. His feeling of foreboding
was nothing more than intuition and he realized it had become a sinister
indulgent moment of reality. He knew the worst was yet to come without having
solid facts.

Seeing the Pearson brothers broke his nerves, he saw them all fighting
with themselves for what was right and he had to admit it, he was feeling the
dilemma take him captive as well. He was compelled to be like them, act like
them, and become the hero like they wanted to.

When Tom successfully fought off both his brothers’ hold on him he
kicked open the door and ran inside, smoke bellowing out immediately smothering
the front of the house. Tyler just stood stock still and felt sick. His last
words with Austin were so full of lied hate and disgust and he hadn’t meant any
of it. He didn’t want her to leave when deep down he knew she wasn’t ruthless
and horrible enough to exact harm on another person. He had spoken with hurt
and look where it had gotten them.

He didn’t want her to die never knowing that he was running scared of
loving her again. He needed to know more about her claims of being pregnant and
he needed to get verification on those. He wanted her to know that the next
time she planned to run he would be right there with her. He wanted her to know
that he had fallen too deep into a life with Natasha when it was something he
loathed with a vengeance. He wanted her to know that he couldn’t find a way to
grieve properly over the baby Natasha had lost. That something didn’t feel
right.

With those thoughts running in his mind, he had no room for sanity or
mental discussion. He ran towards the burning house only moments after Dean had
run in and knew he wouldn’t leave until he found Austin.

“Don’t!” Natasha said as she grabbed onto Tyler’s arm. “Don’t you dare
run in that house,
Tyler!
She isn’t worth it!” Natasha
watched Tyler as he ripped his hand away from her grasp, “Don’t,” she dared him
to defy her. “Why would you want to save a murderer? She took our baby from
us.” Natasha gulped harshly, begging tears to erupt in the corners of her eyes,
“She doesn’t deserve it.”

“She deserves redemption,” Tyler snarled at Natasha. “Now I’m going in
there with or without your permission. I will be saving her, Natasha, so live
with it.”

Natasha couldn’t handle that type of defeat. She turned and stormed
away, pretending to be the upset party here, and allowed Tyler to risk his life
as she realised everything was falling apart all over again. Her lies were
futile at keeping him honest to her.

“Tyler!” Tanya cried after her son as he ran without an ounce of fear of
getting killed. She felt James, her
husband,
grab her
by her arms as she tried to run after him, he held her back knowing they didn’t
stand a chance of stopping him. “Tyler!” she yelled out in a sob as she watched
her son cover his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket and entered the building
as it sat adorned in flames before them.

“He’ll be okay,” James vowed as he watched the scene in front of him. He
took his wife in his arms as she turned to bury her face in his chest. He just
needed to keep faith alive for everyone. He had to believe that this wasn’t his
son’s time to die. “He’ll be okay, Tanya. He knows what he’s doing.”

Tom and Dean felt their rescue mission come to a halt the moment they
were confronted with the burning mess before them.
 
The house was consumed with so much in fire
there was only one conclusion to this situation – anyone trying to contemplate
an exit would not have been able to get through the fire unhurt. They knew that
Austin must have been disorientated and confused because otherwise she would
have been outside with them or at home none the wiser to any of this.

Tyler ran to where he and Austin had last argued, dodging the flames
that were attracted to him,
 
without a
second thought, still fully aware of the stunned bystanders. He was met with an
angry red blaze, so hot that he could feel his entire body sweating out in
repulsion. He cast his gaze around the room trying to find her, hoping that she
would be standing in a corner waiting for her rescue, but she wasn’t. He could
hear Tom and Dean desperately doing the same but, coming up empty in their
search of the other rooms.

Moving in slightly, he caught a glimpse of her face down on the floor,
the flames slowly starting to take over her body, sticking to her side,
tarnishing her with soot and orange licks of fire. “I’ve found her!” Tyler
managed to yell out and get the brothers attention, “She’s over here!” he
continued as he bolted for her and immediately took of his jacket and put it
over her to smother the flames that were sticking to her. He gathered her
lifeless body in his arms without much thought and turned to go back the way he
had come, but just as he took the relevant steps the fire burst up and made him
step back unsteadily. He looked over the flames to where Tom and Dean stood as
they watched in equal horror and knew that survival was getting increasingly
slim.

Snapping to life the brothers quickly looked for a new way out. They
were both dazed by the image of Tyler rescuing Austin, but now it was about
them all rescuing her. This was definitely a case of do or die – more for Tyler
and their sister rather than themselves, but they were all caught up in this.

“Go to your right, Tyler, there’s a way out there!” Tom coughed as he
watched in revulsion at how deadly this was getting for them.

“If you’re quick enough you should be fine before the room caves in,”
Dean shouted coarsely as he looked to where his brother was guiding Tyler. He
looked up at the fire covered ceiling praying it would hold long enough for
them to get Austin to the help outside.

“Go!” Tyler told them, “Get out; I’m right behind you!” Tyler knew that
he would make it out of this house with Austin in his arms, not in a body bag.
His adrenaline rush had him fighting strong and he refused to lose a moment to
find repentance for them both.

Everyone held their breaths as Dean came out coughing heavily as he
finally managed to draw in purer, cleaner air. Likewise, they all saw Tom do
the same. They all worried when Tyler and Austin didn’t come out right behind
them. Tension rose at that moment and Tanya’s hysteria escalated for her son’s
welfare. She took a glimpse at Jane who stood alone looking almost catatonic to
the situation bestowed upon them all, her other two children nowhere in sight
right now.

Then Tyler ran out in a heroic way, Austin hung limply in his arms, eyes
closed, body blackened. He had one aim for her now, which was to get Austin as
far from the house before he contemplated putting her down and then work on
getting his lungs to clear. He didn’t care for himself much right now; he was
so consumed with making sure his plight wasn’t to bring her out dead.

“Lay her down here,” Sienna shouted as her and Daniel
came
running back from their parents’ house. They had gone to get a blanket to lay
out on the yard out of the way of the fire. She watched Tyler run towards them,
Austin still not moving. Her heart thudded hard against her chest. She didn’t
want to lose her sister but, the fear was encroaching upon her like wildfire.

    
“I don’t know if she’s
breathing,” Tyler said as he had her in his arms, her body completely lifeless,
her skin dirtied from the soot, from the smoke, her clothes partially burnt and
melted to her skin.

Tom fell down onto the cool grass next to his sister, still coughing and
began to feel her neck for a pulse. He almost caved when he felt the blood
rushing through her jugular and the pump of her heart was felt under his finger
tips.

“She’s breathing,” he told Tyler calmly to ease the man’s mind. He
didn’t need much more than that right now. “Someone get a cool, moist towel
now!” Tom called out making his medical knowledge apparent, he hated he had to
use it for his sister, but he was glad he knew what to do in this situation.

“Tom-” Tyler began as he thought to remove the clothes to clean the
burns. He wanted to do anything to help Austin the best they could instead of
just waiting on the paramedics. He needed to feel like he was still saving her
because right now he felt useless after his feat of carrying her out.

“You don’t douse burns like this with water, you don’t remove the
clothes, and you don’t touch them. You cover them with a moist cloth to help
eliminate infection and you keep checking the person’s pulse and breathing,” he
rambled off at the men around him. He was falling into doctor mode to save his
sanity. “Right now she’s got a pulse, it’s not great, but it’s not terrible. We
just need an ambulance to get here now.” Tom was shutting down reality and
focusing on what he could and that was his work. If he stepped away from the
situation enough he could handle it, otherwise he wouldn’t be any help to his
sister. She deserved
saviors
, and she needed them.

“I’ll get them,” Sienna said as she ran towards her parents’ house
quickly. There were no words to explain her feelings right now and that scared
her. She usually was so spot on with her emotions, it was what made her a
fierce character, but not now.

No one spoke as they waited. Tyler placed his hands on his head in
frustration and in doing so it helped his breathing clear. He ignored his
parents as he watched the one woman he loved never once open her eyes.
 
“Is she okay?” Tyler suddenly asked as Sienna
came back with wet cloths. Tyler was trying to keep hope alive that this was
some horrible dream, but even he knew the longer he stared, the less likely it
was a nightmare.

“Tom,” Dean said as he stepped closer to his brother.

“Tom, talk to us, what are we looking at?” Daniel asked as he watched,
he had just looked at their mom who was standing on the sidelines with Tyler’s
parents now and realized that although she was crying, she had distanced
herself.

“Tom?” Tyler pressed again nervously.

“It’s not looking good!” Was all Tom finally shouted as everything got
to be too much and the sirens burst into his
hearing.
He was overwhelmed. He felt his heart rate accelerate and his hands began to
shake as he realized that Austin might not last from the shock that her burns
would put on her body. He panicked feeling like this was his last sight of her
alive.

Everyone watched as fire fighters began to fight the blaze and as EMTs
swarmed around Austin and tended to the three men that had ran into the
building – each of which pushed off the attention. They all watched as they
assessed Austin and fitted her with IVs, an oxygen mask, tested her responses
and prepped her for the journey to the nearest hospital.

It felt like forever, that everything took on a life of its own.
Everyone watched the EMTs work, watched as the fire fighters tried to tame the
wild flames that blew from the house and the police officers tried to get
people to back away.

Tyler felt revolted when he looked at either the house or Austin, but he
couldn’t take his eyes off of Austin once they settled upon her. Nothing else
seemed to matter as much as she did and he just sent prayer after prayer up
that she would show a sign she was going to be okay.

Then by some deed given by a higher deity he got his wish. Tyler felt
like someone was looking down on them.