Black Rose

Keep going.

I watched as the fire leapt across the couch, burning along the floorboards.

"Blake, we need to get out!" I screamed, turning and running back down the stairs. "There's fire upstairs too. We need to get Gwen and get out."

"What? No, we can save the house. Just be a little faster, Rose." He spat. I let out a scream of frustration.

"Blake you fucking idiot put aside your ego for one second. You can't fucking save it. It's just going to get hotter and faster, and soon enough we won't have a way out."

"Then we'll stay down here. Wait it out. I can afford to cover the damages." Blake said, adamant to prove me wrong. I shook my head.

"Blake," I said, my voice filled with desperation.

He finally looked at me fully, then looked up the stairs, then finally down at Jackson.

"Alright. You're right. We need to get out of here," He said, sounding almost scared.

That was all I needed to hear. I started running. But not upstairs. Back into the torture room. To help Gwen.

No matter what she had done to me, I wasn't going to leave her to die. I reached her side and tried to lift her, but failed. The smoke in the air was getting thicker, the fire raging, taking over the bed and jumping to the cupboards nearby.

I had to get us out of there, but I didn't have the strength. Then Blake came through the smoke and went to her other side, helping me lift her.

Together, we carried her out. She was awake, but weak, and tried to use her feet to help us but could hardly move. Before we went into the kitchenette I ran into what was my room and pulled the sheet to wrap around Gwen's wax-covered bare skin.

We made it back out to the kitchenette, where Jackson was still standing at the bottom of the stairs, crying. He cried harder when he saw Gwen.

"Mummy!" He cried out, running over and hugging her. Despite her pain she managed to lean down and hug him back.

The peaceful moment was shattered when we heard the loud CRASH of the bed collapsing down the hall, followed by a similar sound from somewhere upstairs.

Blake looked up at me. "Rose, we need to get out of here."

I nodded, and quickly crouched down at Jacksons side as he peeled away from his mum. I took his little hand and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Jackson, we're going to be alright but I need you to do something for me. Just like we played all day, we're going to play another game, where we crouch down and run as fast as we can. Do you think you can do that for me?"

He nodded, sniffling.

I smiled at him. "Good. Run away from the fire, okay? Run to the ballroom, and wait for us there."

"Where will you be?" He asked, scared.

"We'll be right behind you, buddy, but we have to carry mummy so we'll be slower. The important thing is that you get to the ballroom, okay?" I said.

He nodded. "Okay."

I looked up at Blake and he nodded at me. I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Blake, we have to call 911."

His eyes flashed with fear. "No, Rose. We can't. If they show up with Gwen like this..."

I sighed in frustration, "We have to! They might be able to help us! Please, we need-"

"No Rose. The phone is upstairs. It's not happening."

I set my jaw, looking down. "Fine. Let's just go then."