Everyone Learns Faster On Fire
Chapter 8: 4th June 2004, 11:40 PM
“Frank?! What are you doing?” Jake shouted, trying to pull the smaller man back. “You’re insane!”
There was only one thing he could do. There was no question about it. If no one else was going to rescue Gerard, then he would have to go in the burning wreckage himself.
A million and one thoughts ran through his overly-active mind. What if Gerard had fallen and hit his head? What if he was lying unconscious in a ring of flames, oblivious to the fact that he was suffocating because of the smoke? What if he had got his leg trapped and was fully aware that he was going to burn alive?
Frank pushed all his emotions, fears and every inch of sanity to the back of his drained mind and began sprinting back to the inferno, ignoring people’s desperate cries for him to stop.
‘Gerard is my friend. I can’t just stand back and watch him die.’
Without even thinking about doing it, Frank’s feet took him the house as fast as they could. By now, flames had engulfed the entire ground floor, and now the rancid black smoke had invaded the first storey. Frank took off his hoodie and covered his nose and mouth with it, preparing himself for the venomous fumes and intense heat that he was about to experience.
He anxiously pulled back the front door which was hanging off it’s hinges. Before him, all he could see was black. A thick cloud of black smoke had completely obscured the hallway from his vision and he struggled to see metres in front of him.
He battled on in the direction of the staircase, not having a clue whether they were stable enough to hold his weight or not. He wasn’t even sure if Gerard was upstairs, but if he had been downstairs, someone would have surely helped him out.
He tentatively stepped on the first stair. There was an almighty creak and for a second, Frank thought he was going to fall straight through the floor. But the plunge did not come, and the young man could feel nothing except his heart trying to beat itself out of his chest and the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He took a deep breath from behind his hoodie and continued on up the stairs as fast as he could.
Flames danced around him, and the heat was so intense that it felt like his skin was simmering. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, and began clouding his vision, mixing with the salty tears that he just realised were now escaping from behind his squinted eyelids.
“Gerard!” He called out, hoping for some sort of sign that his friend was alright. When no reply came, he continued on up the staircase, reaching the top just before another burst of flames erupted behind him, missing his back by mere inches.
Frank was so scared. He couldn’t stand the thought of his friend suffering somewhere in this deadly inferno. He struggled on down the smoky hallway, wondering where the hell Gerard could be. He hoped to God that he was not downstairs or anything, but most of all, he hoped and prayed that he was still alive.
He pushed open the door of the first bedroom and peered inside. There was no flames, but the smoke had got in through the gap under the door, turning the walls and white bed linen a murky grey colour. There was no sign of the missing man in here.
The fumes were getting almost unbearable now, and Frank’s eyes were beginning to sting really badly. The hoodie was not acting as a good enough barrier between his nose and mouth and the polluted atmosphere. His dry mouth tasted like a bonfire had been burning on his tongue. But he was determined to go on.
‘I’m not leaving this house alive without Gerard, even if I die in here..’ He vowed.
Frank had been back inside the blazing house now for almost 10 minutes, without any sign of Gerard. He was just about to give up any remaining hope of seeing his best friend alive again, when he suddenly heard the most beautiful sound he had ever heard over the crackling of the flames, drifting across master bedroom.
“Burning on just like a match you strike to incinerate
The lives of everyone you know.
And what's the worst you take,
from every heart you break,
And like the blade you stain,
Well I've been holding on tonight.
What's the worst that I can say?
Things are better if I stay.
So long and goodnight,
So long and goodnight.”
“Gerard!” Frank gasped and ran over to the direction in which the beautiful sound of his singing was travelling from.
He came to a small en-suite bathroom, and to Frank’s amazement, Gerard was sitting curled up protectively in the corner between the shower cubicle and the sink, rocking back and forth trying to comfort himself. A wall of flames erupted suddenly in front of Frank, causing him to reel back and almost trip over a burning beam of wood that had just suddenly detached itself from the ceiling.
“Gerard!” Frank cried, viciously wiping the falling tears from his eyes. “Don’t worry! I’m gonna get you out of here!”
Gerard looked up in confusion. Frank guessed he didn’t really know what was going on, either from the alcohol he had consumed or the shock he could have been experiencing.
The smaller man took a cautious step towards the doorway of the little bathroom. There was no way he could reach Gerard without burning himself or getting his clothes caught on fire. The wall of flames was just too high and too intense. It was physically impossible for a man of his body structure to jump that high.
That was when Frank had a sudden brainwave.
“Listen to me Gerard, you’re gonna be alright, you just have to do what I say.” He tried comforting the frightened man in the corner. It seemed so phony for him to be reassuring him, when he couldn‘t even reassure himself. He was shaking so much and could barely get the words out. “You’ve got to turn the shower on and aim it at the fire. Turn it on full blast. I promise I’ll get you out of here.”
It was a bizarre idea, but it was their only hope. The water wouldn’t put the fire out, but it would calm the flames down for a few seconds, enough time for him to quickly jump through and get to his friend.
Gerard pulled himself over to the shower and began fiddling with the dials. He aimed the shower head at the blaze and turned it on the highest it would go. The water shot from the shower like a bullet and managed to soothe the flames for enough time for Frank to leap into the small bathroom.
“Shhhh, it’s okay.” Frank soothed, wiping the tears from Gerard’s face, and ignoring the fact that he too had been crying. “We’re gonna get out of here... I love you.”
And then for the first time in a few years, Frank’s lips collided with Gerard’s. Gerard did not wriggle away or try to resist. Frank had saved him.
When their lips had parted, Frank put this friend’s arm around his neck, like he saw the firemen do in movies, and sprayed the flames with the high-power water again. Gerard was a little bigger than he was, and he struggled under his weight. But Gerard really couldn’t walk, and it was the only possible way of carrying him out of the house.
The two men struggled out of the burning maze and when they reached the stairs, they found it a strain. They had got to the few last steps when suddenly the wood gave way beneath them and Frank’s feet lost control. The couple tumbled down the remainder of the staircase and landed in a tangle of limbs and broken wood on the floor.
Frank felt a sharp, stabbing pain and a tingling sensation in his calf and he realised that a jagged plank of wood had embedded itself in his leg.
The younger man cried out in pain, but he had to go on. He dragged himself to his tired feet and heaved Gerard back onto his shoulders again.
They were metres away from the open front door. Frank could see people waiting there for them. He could feel Gerard’s laboured breathing against his neck.
And then they suddenly seemed to be flying. They drifted out of the burning wreckage and onto the dewy grass. Frank collapsed on top of Gerard, both men crying in a mixture of pain and relief.
Gerard could feel himself drifting out of consciousness, everything became muffled and his vision began to blur. People were running towards them, and Frank was shaking him desperately.
“No! Stay with me!…G-Gerard stay awake!.. I-I love you!” Was the last thing he heard Frank sob, before he gave in and let the darkness take over his mind.
There was only one thing he could do. There was no question about it. If no one else was going to rescue Gerard, then he would have to go in the burning wreckage himself.
A million and one thoughts ran through his overly-active mind. What if Gerard had fallen and hit his head? What if he was lying unconscious in a ring of flames, oblivious to the fact that he was suffocating because of the smoke? What if he had got his leg trapped and was fully aware that he was going to burn alive?
Frank pushed all his emotions, fears and every inch of sanity to the back of his drained mind and began sprinting back to the inferno, ignoring people’s desperate cries for him to stop.
‘Gerard is my friend. I can’t just stand back and watch him die.’
Without even thinking about doing it, Frank’s feet took him the house as fast as they could. By now, flames had engulfed the entire ground floor, and now the rancid black smoke had invaded the first storey. Frank took off his hoodie and covered his nose and mouth with it, preparing himself for the venomous fumes and intense heat that he was about to experience.
He anxiously pulled back the front door which was hanging off it’s hinges. Before him, all he could see was black. A thick cloud of black smoke had completely obscured the hallway from his vision and he struggled to see metres in front of him.
He battled on in the direction of the staircase, not having a clue whether they were stable enough to hold his weight or not. He wasn’t even sure if Gerard was upstairs, but if he had been downstairs, someone would have surely helped him out.
He tentatively stepped on the first stair. There was an almighty creak and for a second, Frank thought he was going to fall straight through the floor. But the plunge did not come, and the young man could feel nothing except his heart trying to beat itself out of his chest and the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He took a deep breath from behind his hoodie and continued on up the stairs as fast as he could.
Flames danced around him, and the heat was so intense that it felt like his skin was simmering. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, and began clouding his vision, mixing with the salty tears that he just realised were now escaping from behind his squinted eyelids.
“Gerard!” He called out, hoping for some sort of sign that his friend was alright. When no reply came, he continued on up the staircase, reaching the top just before another burst of flames erupted behind him, missing his back by mere inches.
Frank was so scared. He couldn’t stand the thought of his friend suffering somewhere in this deadly inferno. He struggled on down the smoky hallway, wondering where the hell Gerard could be. He hoped to God that he was not downstairs or anything, but most of all, he hoped and prayed that he was still alive.
He pushed open the door of the first bedroom and peered inside. There was no flames, but the smoke had got in through the gap under the door, turning the walls and white bed linen a murky grey colour. There was no sign of the missing man in here.
The fumes were getting almost unbearable now, and Frank’s eyes were beginning to sting really badly. The hoodie was not acting as a good enough barrier between his nose and mouth and the polluted atmosphere. His dry mouth tasted like a bonfire had been burning on his tongue. But he was determined to go on.
‘I’m not leaving this house alive without Gerard, even if I die in here..’ He vowed.
Frank had been back inside the blazing house now for almost 10 minutes, without any sign of Gerard. He was just about to give up any remaining hope of seeing his best friend alive again, when he suddenly heard the most beautiful sound he had ever heard over the crackling of the flames, drifting across master bedroom.
“Burning on just like a match you strike to incinerate
The lives of everyone you know.
And what's the worst you take,
from every heart you break,
And like the blade you stain,
Well I've been holding on tonight.
What's the worst that I can say?
Things are better if I stay.
So long and goodnight,
So long and goodnight.”
“Gerard!” Frank gasped and ran over to the direction in which the beautiful sound of his singing was travelling from.
He came to a small en-suite bathroom, and to Frank’s amazement, Gerard was sitting curled up protectively in the corner between the shower cubicle and the sink, rocking back and forth trying to comfort himself. A wall of flames erupted suddenly in front of Frank, causing him to reel back and almost trip over a burning beam of wood that had just suddenly detached itself from the ceiling.
“Gerard!” Frank cried, viciously wiping the falling tears from his eyes. “Don’t worry! I’m gonna get you out of here!”
Gerard looked up in confusion. Frank guessed he didn’t really know what was going on, either from the alcohol he had consumed or the shock he could have been experiencing.
The smaller man took a cautious step towards the doorway of the little bathroom. There was no way he could reach Gerard without burning himself or getting his clothes caught on fire. The wall of flames was just too high and too intense. It was physically impossible for a man of his body structure to jump that high.
That was when Frank had a sudden brainwave.
“Listen to me Gerard, you’re gonna be alright, you just have to do what I say.” He tried comforting the frightened man in the corner. It seemed so phony for him to be reassuring him, when he couldn‘t even reassure himself. He was shaking so much and could barely get the words out. “You’ve got to turn the shower on and aim it at the fire. Turn it on full blast. I promise I’ll get you out of here.”
It was a bizarre idea, but it was their only hope. The water wouldn’t put the fire out, but it would calm the flames down for a few seconds, enough time for him to quickly jump through and get to his friend.
Gerard pulled himself over to the shower and began fiddling with the dials. He aimed the shower head at the blaze and turned it on the highest it would go. The water shot from the shower like a bullet and managed to soothe the flames for enough time for Frank to leap into the small bathroom.
“Shhhh, it’s okay.” Frank soothed, wiping the tears from Gerard’s face, and ignoring the fact that he too had been crying. “We’re gonna get out of here... I love you.”
And then for the first time in a few years, Frank’s lips collided with Gerard’s. Gerard did not wriggle away or try to resist. Frank had saved him.
When their lips had parted, Frank put this friend’s arm around his neck, like he saw the firemen do in movies, and sprayed the flames with the high-power water again. Gerard was a little bigger than he was, and he struggled under his weight. But Gerard really couldn’t walk, and it was the only possible way of carrying him out of the house.
The two men struggled out of the burning maze and when they reached the stairs, they found it a strain. They had got to the few last steps when suddenly the wood gave way beneath them and Frank’s feet lost control. The couple tumbled down the remainder of the staircase and landed in a tangle of limbs and broken wood on the floor.
Frank felt a sharp, stabbing pain and a tingling sensation in his calf and he realised that a jagged plank of wood had embedded itself in his leg.
The younger man cried out in pain, but he had to go on. He dragged himself to his tired feet and heaved Gerard back onto his shoulders again.
They were metres away from the open front door. Frank could see people waiting there for them. He could feel Gerard’s laboured breathing against his neck.
And then they suddenly seemed to be flying. They drifted out of the burning wreckage and onto the dewy grass. Frank collapsed on top of Gerard, both men crying in a mixture of pain and relief.
Gerard could feel himself drifting out of consciousness, everything became muffled and his vision began to blur. People were running towards them, and Frank was shaking him desperately.
“No! Stay with me!…G-Gerard stay awake!.. I-I love you!” Was the last thing he heard Frank sob, before he gave in and let the darkness take over his mind.