A Mass Murderer - Coffin for the living (ADDITIONAL BOOK INCLUDED ) by Sara Wood Read Free Book Online Page B

do my best to get her down the ladder without killing us both.” He didn’t sound like he was kidding. It was precarious at best. I remembered what the woman said about her family. I couldn’t leave, even though I could see the flames licking across the ceiling and following the path of least resistance.
    He finally had her over his shoulder with her arms latching onto his neck. She had awakened for a moment and was able to help herself. They went down that ladder slowly and that was when I felt the floor beneath me begin to buckle underneath my weight. He was at the window again and I gave him the baby swaddled in a colorful blanket.
    I moved just in time, as the floor gave way and a burst of fire streamed up from below. It was exactly where the ladder was situated against the window and going back out that way was not an option.
    Chapter four
    I could have panicked, but instead I believed that I was on a righteous course. I had this feeling that this was exactly what Milton had been talking about. If I wasn’t around, she would’ve been sucked into the fire that raged from below. She was in the exact same spot where the floor had disintegrated. I felt like I had a reason to live and it had nothing to do with finding my heart.
    “Can anybody hear me? I’m here to help, but I need to know where you’re at. If you can say something or make some kind of sign.” I couldn’t get over the way that a complete stranger had decided to do something. I guess you don’t know what you’re made of, until you’re put into a position to find out for yourself. “Please, I need to know where you’re at.” I stopped and listened. The only thing I could hear was the sizzle of the fire stretching its wings and destroying everything in its sight.
    There was this tapping sound. At first I had mistaken it for something that was happening to the house. It suddenly dawned on me that it was more uniform, like somebody was tapping to get my attention. It was working and I was making my way towards the door on my hands and knees. I could feel the heat on my palm. I was about to reach for the doorknob, when I thought better of it. I saw a tee shirt on the floor and I wrapped it around my hand, before pulling the door open. The hallway was full of smoke, but I did not see the fire, so that gave me hope that maybe the fire had been limited to the other floor below.
    Holding my sleeve over my mouth, I crawled on my knees and one hand, until I came to a door that was open just a crack. I heard whimpering and I looked in to see that there was a dog. It was a black lab, no more than a puppy and it was shaking and terrified beyond words. Through the smoke, I could see a small pair of hands holding onto its fur. I was finally able to see the little boy and the man that was lying beside him.
    I went to check the man, only to conclude that he had already expired. I didn’t know how long he had been dead, but I was chastising myself for not being quicker. I had to stop thinking like that. The little boy and the dog depended on me to find them a way out. I went to the window, opened it slowly, so to avoid feeding the fire. I had it open enough that I could get out, but the drop was not going to be easy by any means.
    “Colby… Colby… Colby.” I called his name, hoping that he would hear me over the fire and the roar of the sirens that were getting closer by the second. I couldn’t wait for very much longer and the doorway had been consumed and was making its way into the room. I managed to lift the man and carried him to the window.
    “I’m here…you’re not alone.” I looked down to see his face. He had carried the ladder all the way around to the back of the house. He placed it up against the window and then he climbed, until he was able to carry the man over his shoulder like that of a fireman. I knew that the man on his shoulder was not going to survive, but he still deserved the respect of not having to burn in the fire. Once he was