Is That Smoke?

They slept so soundly in their beds, off in a dream land of wonderful things. Surely better than what this world has to offer. All four family members were in such a deep sleep, so blissfully unaware, no one could yet warn the other of the impending danger. Such a simple accident of a stove being left on, a gas one, with those blue flames still going. Another accident of a cat knocking over a roll of paper towels by the stove, giving it the fuel to start a fire. Smoke started to rise, the feline hissed and ran. The little thing scratched on it's owner door, but twas in vain for the noise wasn't enough.

The cat, who's name is baby because the two year old girl couldn't say much else, began to meow. Yes this woke the father... eventually. By then the fire had time to spread down stairs. Items like flammable rugs, carpets, paper, and makeup burned and went up in smoke. The perfume kept downstairs only fueled it further, each one going off like a Molotov cocktail. The glass shrapnel from those exploding bottles burying themselves in the dog that was smart enough to be close as he barked at it, hoping it'd stop. Another very large piece went into his eye, gouging it out and was swinging due to still being connected by a string of nerves to the socket. The rest embedded themselves in his skull, taking him out slowly yet quickly with only enough time to yelp.

The flames, bright and hot, had gone from their origin of blue to a variety of oranges and reds with the occasional green due to a nameless chemical. Taking over the bottom of the house, the flames danced up the stairs. Each pirouette leaving more damage in it's wake. Father stood at the top of the steps, slack jawed and awestruck at what looked like a sea of fire burning downstairs and was quickly coming up. Once it finally registered with him that it was moving, the flame licked at the toes and ate the flesh and toe nail like a fat kid with ice cream. He gasps, hurting only momentarily, then focuses on getting his family out.

But half the house is on fire with the other slowly going up in flames, they're about two and a half stories up. Ladders? No, that wouldn't work. Only one way out, let's pray the drop doesn't hurt. He reaches the kids first and one is awake with wide, fearful eyes. The other one is asleep in his bed, snoring like a drunken sailor after a long day.
" Is that smoke?" the awake one, Daniel, whimpers. His dad nods, himself unable to speak.

Slowly Daniel gets up, his little body trembling and goes to wake his brother sleeping in the bed next to him. Aaron is already awake, laying there as he tries to pretend that nothing is going on. He only opens his eyes when Daniel shakes him gently and gets out of bed asking,
" What's going on?" Like he doesn't already know.
" Fire." the younger whispers. The older's fears are confirmed, but he does not show this and only sighs.

There's a loud burst from down the hall, an explosion if you will, and what sounds like a horrified scream silenced. The children's eyes widen, looking to their father. That muffled scream sounded a lot like their mother and immediately he knows what they're thinking, it's the very thing they're trying to deny.
" She's fine, probably just saw a spider as she climbed out of the window."
The excuse is flimsy and they know it, but they'd rather buy it than face the truth.

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" Henry?" Alisa asks, very fearful. Her husband had gone out of their bedroom to get the kids after seeing smoke from the bottom of the door. There's a ladder underneath the bed, you know the type they hook onto a window in an emergency such as this, but does she remember? I think not as she just lays there for five minutes, waiting for Henry as sleep tries to reclaim her. The flames are dancing still, creeping through the crack underneath the door and into her room she shared with the love of her life.

Finally Alisa arises from her bed and gasps when she sees the door burning, well that exit is blocked dearie. Quickly she makes her way to the bathroom adjoined to the bedroom, there on the wall is a window to the outside. Fingers pry at the rusted lock with no avail, it won't open. The hammer laying by the toilet seems ideal in busting the lock, so that's what she does. With it smashed, Alisa gets the window open, but it's just not good enough. The flame was a tad faster than she, running up behind her.

Boom goes the can of hair spray, the intense heat didn't mix well with the pressure. What did we learn earlier with the dog and the perfume bottles? Generally when something explodes, the pressure intensifies and the liquid tries to expand, in which breaking the object(s) into many little pieces. The force of the exploding hair spray can took those tiny pieces and embedded them into the small of her back. She screams with all she can, almost slipping off the toilet.

BOOM! There went another can, causing a third to explode as well. Alisa's screams are silenced, another piece of shrapnel lodged into her throat. Fire creeps up her body, engulfing the fabric of her nightgown. It's hot and drives very intense, blinding needles of pain into her. Before she lost consciousness, her body made it halfway out the window.

So close yet so far, better luck next time.

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The big orange flames sealed off the kids' door, trapping the three inside. In his haste to get out, Henry opens the window and ushers his kids to it, pushing them out without thinking. He's still not thinking as he jumps out of it himself, doesn't even wince when he hears a loud crunch of bones. Henry's staring at the sky, he can't even move his head. His neck is broken and it's hard to breath. He tries moving it to the side to see if the boys are alright and his vision goes white. A few seconds go by before the kids can be seen, the older impaled on the horseshoe spike and the younger has blood pooling beneath his head on the concrete beside the older.
His last vision before he fades is of his wife, her charred body hanging out the window.

But wait, what about the baby?