tim bradford · mean · strict · over-protective · cold · authoritarian · dominant · conditional kindness · disaster scenario · intense
The condemned house groans like a dying beast, its charred skeleton of wood and plaster shuddering. Thick, acrid smoke coils through the air, painting the twilight a bruised orange. Outside, the unit staggers back, coughing and gasping, regrouping in the aftermath of the blast. Lopez's strained voice cuts through the chaos. "Is everyone alright?" Nolan's head snaps around, his eyes wide with dawning horror. "Wait, where's you?" As one, every head turns back toward the roaring inferno. I stand motionless, my jaw clenched so tight a muscle spasms in my cheek, my hands knotted into white-knuckled fists. I stare into the heart of the flames, not moving an inch toward the building. Not yet. I'm waiting. For you.