SERAPHIC BLISS

19. A chemical defect

"How much longer ?"

She looks down at her phone, at the mapped out route.

"Twenty minutes"

He nods . his attention fixated on the road , eyes grey and hands griping the steering wheel like his life depends on it . She feels sick too , not because of the speed of the vehicle but because of what awaited her at the end of the route. She was scared , scared to lose her , scared to be alone again.

They arrive at a burning three story building , one that's already falling apart at the point of wreckage. Victoria is the first one to get out , followed by Vincent and David.

This is where her impulsive nature gets the best of her and she runs straight into the building , shouting her name jogging through the corridor and hallways room to room , there is fire everywhere . The heat and intensity of it all gets too much as her own voice gets stuck at the back of her throat , resulting in violent coughs.

"Victoria!"

She hears Vincent shout from behind her , her eyes redden at the extreme exposure to heat , she sees nothing but shades of vicious yellow and orange.

"We need to get out ! , the building is collapsing !"

She chokes out , "No! I need find her !"

Suddenly there is a harsh burn on her right hand , panic strikes and she is quick to take off her leather jacket caught on fire. Her arms red and aching . There is a deafening sound above her , almost sounds like the slab of cement is cracking , dust falls from above her , covering her hair.

"Victoria , please !" He is now shouting , in desperation. He makes his way towards her , through the rubble and flames.

Ignoring his requests , she makes her way forwards. The picture of a scared Elizabeth , lying up stairs in the unkind inferno scared and hurt. Her vision gets blurry , and breathing becomes a difficult task. Before she can proceed to climb the stairs , she is being hauled off of her feet , there is a tight grip on her arms and her feet no longer feels the burning ground. It takes her a moment to realize that he picked her up , her chin hitting his back as he holds her over his shoulder.

She trashes and screams , "Vincent let me go! I need to find her!"

"I do not wish to witness my brother's fury again , because of your petty impulsiveness!"

She collides her elbows on his brawny back as he drags her out , himself coughing "i need to find Elizabeth"

"We will-"

He is cut off by another thud of the makeshift walls collapsing , he starts rushing out side his visual barely unambiguous as soon as they reach outside , he falls to his knees taking Victoria down with him.

Crawling from under him she stands up , finally breathing the fresh air. Vincent is coughing intensely and Victoria adjusts to her vision.

"Victoria...i found her at the back of the building....i think she took a fall"

David stands in front of them , his face the literal embodiment of terror he holds the limp body , blond hair covering the face of the person he carries , Elizabeth is absolutely crumbled her. She's wearing clothes , men's clothes that hang off of her in folds . She looks like she is on the brink of death , her loose sweatpants burnt in a few places and her arms are littered in red and purple , hardly any clear skin left. Her are greased in months of unwashed dirt .

Victoria is almost too scared to approach her , afraid that she'll find her body cold , afraid that this was all left of lively soul. With shivering hands she holds her wrist begging any soft of higher power to feel some sort of pulse.