Sebastian

Chapter Thirty-Three

"Stay here." He ordered. "I'll be back."

I didn't have time to respond before he disappeared. I shrunk back against the cold stone of the bridge, clutching Elmer's carrier closely. I peered into it; it was too dark in the shadows we were in to see his fur, but I caught a quick flash of green as he looked around frantically. He gave me a soft meow, and I held the cage closer. I didn't want to risk talking, so I poked a finger into one of the square slots, smiling when I felt his nose rubbing against it.

I didn't know where Sebastian was, what he was doing, or if he'd get caught. I sunk down and sat, staring at the faint orange light from outside of the bridge. So much had happened in such a short amount of time, and with nothing to occupy my mind as I waited, I let the fear take me.

What would Roy do if he found Sebastian? I wasn't entirely sure that Sebastian would be able to win if it came down to a fight, and I was positive Roy would kill him in a heartbeat if he saw the opportunity. I cursed myself; I wasn't vain enough to think he was doing all of this just to get me back, but I knew that I made the wrong choice, going with Sebastian. But, in truth, I never thought Roy would pull anything close to this, to getting in by using bombs.

Where did he get them? Did he make them? Surely not, because making multiple bombs that could do so much damage had to be impossible without complicated lab equipment and safety gear and things like that. So how?

Suddenly, Sebastian was standing beside me. I shrieked and jumped away, not realizing it was him until he crouched down and touched my arm. He pulled me up and out of the cover of the bridge, and I saw him grinning widely at me. I looked at what he had gotten; he was holding large pieces of cloth, one silver and one white, and I stared back up at him, lost.

"These are fire retardant tarps. I raided several of my fire departments while they were busy trying to keep Roy's fire away from their towns," He explained. His eyes darkened with guilt. "They didn't have any jackets or pants for you. I couldn't find any. I figured that you'd want to keep him safe, if anything." He sounded like he was just as scared as I was. I could tell he'd rather have me covered, but he knew that I wouldn't back down from wanting to protect Elmer. We didn't have the time to bicker about it, either.

I nodded, swallowing. The tarps were to keep Elmer safe, and though I knew it had been my plan, I was scared. I didn't want to get burned. But I knew it was the only way to keep my Elmer with me, instead of leaving him in an entire territory that was burning. I knew that what would be some fixable burns for me would be the death of my cat, who I stupidly insisted on bringing with me. Sebastian's hand brushed my cheek.

"We can find a better way out," He murmured, even though we both knew that by now, Roy had every piece of the wall engulfed in flames. Nobody was getting out unless they wanted to be cooked in the process. I shook my head.

"Let's just get this over with." I muttered. I grabbed one of the tarps and began to wrap it around Elmer's carrier.

"I brought two. Just in case the fire burns through the first one." His voice was quiet. I nodded. After wrapping Elmer in both tarps, I looked up at Sebastian.

"We've got to go really fast, okay?" My voice was small. Sebastian looked pained as he nodded. He leaned down and picked me up, balling me up in his arms, trying to make me as small as possible. I felt his lips on my head, and then the wind as he sprinted full speed towards the wall's inferno. I couldn't see past the fire, but I knew that there was an opening beyond it. I kept my head buried in Sebastian's chest as he shot through the town we were in like a bullet. I'd made sure to wedge Elmer in the small crevice between Sebastian and I, knowing that I'd involuntarily drop him if my hands were burned. This way, he wouldn't fall. I had my arms wrapped around the tarp, and one of Sebastian's hands were curled around my head, offering as much protection as he could. I felt the heat as we got closer.

Sebastian didn't pause for a second. He seemed like he gained even more speed as the first round of flames dragged across my arms.

I screamed. Sebastian's arms tightened on me to keep me from thrashing.

The pain was beyond unbearable; it reached a brand new peak, and it felt like I was being torn into pieces, like I was being killed from the inside out. My eyes stayed closed, but I smelled it. The scent of burning flesh brought bile to my throat, and I fought to keep it down. The pain only got worse as Sebastian ran, and I barely heard him yelling reassurances at me.

I couldn't handle it. I couldn't stop screaming. The tears that were streaming down my face were almost immediately evaporated by the heat.

I couldn't tell when we were out. At that point, I wasn't aware of anything. There was a gurgling sound, followed by a strangled moan. I barely made the connection that it was me before I was knocked into unconsciousness.