Daredevil crouched on the rooftop, feeling the winds shift slightly. His head tilted to the side, listening for any sign of trouble: a scream, arguing, a gun cocking, metal clashing...
He wasn't prepared for the assault on his senses as a loud explosion rang in his ears, causing him to wince. He could feel the shockwave, even from this far away. The acrid smell of smoke traveled on the breeze. He faced the direction of the explosion, focusing in on its location. Realization slammed into him, "Jessica," he breathed before launching off of the rooftop, landing on the next building over. He ran, feet pounding the ground, jumping from roof to roof as fast as he could. He couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the blast, but it was within Jessica's block, and knowing her, she was probably the target. As Matt drew closer, he could hear the frantic yells of people from outside of the building, unsure of how to help. The heat from the flames grew in intensity, as did the smoke. Sirens echoed in the distance, still about 8 minutes away. They wouldn't make it in time.
Acting on instinct, Matt dove onto the fire escape, climbing down to the fifth floor. He grabbed the metal bars above him, swinging both of his feet forcefully into the window twice, hearing it crack and then shatter into tiny pieces. He stood inside the dingy apartment, trying to hear anything other than the crackling of the flames and smell something besides the thick smoke. "Damn it," he cursed in frustration, unable to pick up anything. "Jessica?" he called. "Jessica!" No answer. He spun around, trying to orient himself. Normally he described what he saw as a world on fire, but this, this actually was the world on fire. Red figments danced in front of him, creating a dizzying array of patterns. The fire assaulted all of his senses. He couldn't even tell if he was in the right apartment. The weakening structure creaked and groaned; he wasn't sure how long an old building like this could withstand all of the damage it was taking on. He had to find Jessica and fast. The faint sound of coughing hit his ears, but it wasn't coming from the apartment he was standing in. He followed the noise, using his hands to feel around as he bumped into furniture and avoided walls. He hurried down the hall, coming to a door at the end of it. It wouldn't budge. Daredevil rammed his shoulder into it, the door flying off the hinges. A plume of smoke immediately blew in his face, causing him to cough as well. He covered his mouth and nose with his hand in a vain attempt to filter the polluted air. His feet kicked debris scattered on the ground. The entire apartment was overturned; this must have been where the explosion occurred. Moreover, that meant that this was probably Jessica's apartment. "Jess?!" A broken desk fell to the side, a figure covered in soot and ash sat up gagging. "Jessica?" he asked, rushing to the person's side. He knelt down in the powdery ashes, placing a hand on the person's back to help him/her sit up. Once his hand made contact, he was able to focus solely on the person beneath it, including her heartbeat, Jessica's heartbeat.
"Murdock?" she questioned, sounding confused. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving your ass. You're welcome by the way," he smirked smugly.
"Really?" she coughed. "Now's not the time to be an asshole."
He nodded, trying to take shallow breaths. "We need to get out of here." He began to scoop her up in his arms, but she easily pushed him away.
"I can't leave yet," she protested. Not that she would have let him carry her out like some damsel in distress anyways.
Matt stared at her in shock. "Neither of us will last much longer in here, we need to leave now," he stressed.
"I'm not leaving without Malcolm," Jessica said adamantly.
"Fine, you go and I'll get Malcolm."
Jessica pushed herself up off of Matt's shoulder to help her stand. "I can't..." she started, shaking her head, attempting to put her thoughts into words. "This is my fault, I won't leave him behind to suffer because of my fucked up life."
He stood next to her frowning. "This is not your fau-" he tried to assuage her of any guilt she was obviously feeling.
"Also not the time," she cut him off. "Can you hear any heartbeats in the building?"
"It's hard for me to sense anything in here."
"Concentrate Murdock."
"I have been," he said exasperated.
"Then concentrate harder!" A burning piece of the ceiling fell onto the floor next to them.
Matt stood still and closed his eyes, trying to block out the crackling flames, the smoldering embers, the intense heat, the suffocating smoke, the wale of sirens... "There's five people in the building besides us. I can't tell who they are specifically." His brows furrowed beneath his cowl. "And I smell blood. Jess, are you-"
"I'll heal," she coughed. "You get those other people out of here and I'll look for Malcolm." She couldn't let herself stop to acknowledge the fact that out of her whole entire apartment building, there were only five people still left alive.
Matt knew she was brushing off her injuries. Now that he was more focused, he could tell she was holding her abdomen with one hand and leaning heavily to one side. Her muscles and bones shifted, creaking as loud as the structure around them. He didn't want to leave her but she did have a point.
"I don't know how long this decrepit building will hold up so be quick!" she grabbed him by his suit roughly, "if the building is about to collapse then you get the fuck out of here, you understand me? No heroic martyr bullshit Matt, you get out." Her words left no room for argument. She refused to watch him be buried underneath another pile of rubble, watching him die again.
"No bullshit, got it," he wheezed out, the smoke filling his lungs. She released him.
Jessica hid her limp well as she moved towards the kitchen, wetting two washrags and throwing one to Matthew. He barely caught it in time, but it was enough for Jessica to notice. "Matt-" she began in a warning tone, about to tell him to forget about the other people and just leave now.
Daredevil knew Jessica had seen his slip up. "I can do this."
"You better be able to. Don't make me regret this," she threatened. "Keep the rag over your face to help filter the air. I'll meet you outside." Matt nodded, turning to leave. "And Matt?" He looked back in her direction. "Thanks."
Matt smiled, heading out the way he came in.
Luke put his dishes in the sink, too tired to bother with cleaning them tonight. Claire might not be too happy about that when she got home, but he knew she'd understand. The television switched over to breaking news. Luke walked towards it, his breath catching at seeing the familiar apartment building ablaze. "Sweet Christmas..." Before he could do anything, his phone rang. He grabbed it quickly, his heart racing at seeing Claire's name across the screen. Did that mean that Jessica was...
"Are you with Jessica?" he asked in lieu of a 'hello.'
"No," Claire sounded winded. "I just saw the news. I'm packing a medical bag and leaving the hospital. Meet me there."
"Okay. Be careful," he said, already heading out the door.
"You too." Claire hung up. She finished shoving things into her bag, then took off running down the hall.