Author's Note: My god, this chapter was intense to write… Which should mean that it will be fun to read! AND it's a long one! That's all I'll say here. Enjoy!
Melinda looked up at Thomas through tear-filled eyes. "You don't have to do this." She cried.
Thomas remained beside her on his knees. "Yes, I do." He replied, his voice shaking. "I've lost everything. I have nothing left to lose. And you know what I did now, so I can't let you live."
Melinda tried to keep her breathing steady. She tried not to hyperventilate, but the pain mixed with the panic were making it difficult to the extreme. "I can help you, Thomas." She insisted, "You went through something terrible, and you weren't yourself. The police will understand that. We can get you help."
Thomas's regret seemed to vanish instantly, and the anger returned full-force. He jumped to his feet. "I don't want your help!" He yelled. He stormed across the room and left through the door. Melinda heard it lock behind him. She put her head in her hands and broke down in tears.
"Thomas Hart recently bought a condo on the outskirts of town." Carl told Jim, who now stood beside him in his office. "I have a couple of my men driving by to check the place out. If the car is there, or if anyone seems to be home, we're going in."
"How dangerous is this guy, Carl?" Jim asked. "I mean, what are we up against?"
Carl turned to his computer, which was displaying Thomas's police records. He shook his head and sighed.
"Honestly, Jim… I've got nothing. Up until this whole arson investigation, Hart's record is clean. He doesn't even have any traffic violations."
"But he might have killed his wife and kid." Jim stated.
"Speculation." Carl said. "There's no real evidence pointing to him. In fact, a guy at his office says he was working that night. That's why we released him."
"And his brother's death?" Jim asked.
"Appears to be a terrible accident." Carl replied.
Jim sighed in frustration. "Then why take Melinda?"
Carl shrugged. "I've seen it before. Sometimes people who are wrongly accused of crimes just snap; become violent; start actually doing the crimes they were accused of…. Or worse."
Jim ran a hand through his hair and clenched his jaw. "How long will it take for your men to check out his place?"
"Should be hearing back any minute now." Carl said.
Melinda was too weak and tired to even cry anymore. She was almost accepting the fact that her time may be up. Now she just lay on the cold floor, shaking and trying to stay awake. Her stomach felt badly bruised where Thomas had kicked her; she felt lightheaded, her vision was blurring, and her mind felt fuzzy from sustaining two head injuries in less than a week. She touched the side of her head, and realized that some of the stitches she got after the car accident had broken. She could feel blood trickling down the side of her face. She took a deep breath and winced. Lying on her side, she curled up the best she could to keep warm. She was about to close her eyes when she felt someone watching her.
"Michael?" She whispered.
He appeared next to her, sitting on the floor with his back against the wall.
"I never meant to kill them." He stated.
"What happened?" Melinda asked.
"We were having an affair… Me and Tom's wife, Carrie." He explained. "I knew he was working that night, so I went over there to be with her. Tommy Jr. was in bed, and we decided to start a fire in the fireplace. We weren't paying attention, we were too busy fooling around, and the fire got out of control. It hit the carpet, and I don't know… The whole house went up. Carrie told me to get out, she was gonna get Tommy and she didn't want him to find me there. I was in a panic, so I listened to her. I got out, and I waited in my car. But they never came out…"
"How did Thomas kill you?" Melinda whispered.
"After what happened, I needed to get away. I drove to the cabin I own near the lake…" He said. "Somehow, Thomas figured out I was at his house the night of the fire. When they let him out of jail, he found me at the cabin. We got into a fight, he knocked me out, and that's all I remember…"
"Michael, you need to go into the light." Melinda sighed, "What happened wasn't your fault. It was an accident."
"I can't." Michael responded.
"Why?" Melinda asked. "What's keeping you here?"
Michael didn't answer her, though. The door flew open again, and Thomas rushed in. In his hand was a gas can, and without even acknowledging Melinda, he began to pour gasoline all over the floor. Maybe it was pure adrenaline, but Melinda found the energy to act fast. She scrambled up, and began running for the door. Thomas reacted. He dropped the gas can and grabbed Melinda by the arm as she flew by him. Melinda screamed and tried to wrench herself away from him.
"Michael, please!" She screamed. "Help!"
Michael mustered up whatever power he could, and threw himself at his brother. Thomas went down, and Melinda was able to break free. She ran through the door and to the stairs. In her hurry to get out, though, she tripped three stairs from the top and fell. She put her arms out to break her fall, and she felt her right wrist snap with the impact. Delayed by the pain, she was barely back on her feet before Thomas was right behind her. She made it into the dining room before he tackled her to the ground. With Thomas pinning her down, she screamed again and tried to drag herself out from under him. She saw Michael flash by, but when she looked up he was gone. Thomas held Melinda down firmly underneath the weight of his body. With one hand, he pulled a matchbook out of his pocket. He pulled out a match and struck it before tossing it several feet behind him. Melinda could hear the sound of the floor igniting. She tried even more desperately to wriggle free. Thomas quickly grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head against the wooden floor. Melinda's vision went dark. She felt the weight of Thomas lift off of her, but it didn't matter. Again, she was unable to move. In her fading consciousness, all she could think of was Jim.
Jim and Carl were still waiting in Carl's office when the phone rang. Carl answered right away. In less than a minute he hung up the phone and jumped to his feet.
"The car is at the condo." Carl said. "The address is 2132 Rowling Road. We've got the warrant, and we're going in."
Carl and Jim ran out of the station to a squad car outside and took off. It was a 15 minute drive to Thomas's condo and 10 minutes in, a call came in on the radio that sent Jim's blood running cold:
"A fire's been reported at 2132 Rowling Road in Grandview. I repeat, a fire has been reported at 2132 Rowling Road in Grandview. All personnel in the area report."
"Melinda." Jim gasped.
Melinda refused to give up that easily. She clawed through the fogginess of her brain, and forced herself alert. She pushed herself up with her uninjured hand, and looked around. The fire was spreading quickly, and smoke was filling the house. There was one possible door to lead her out of the room, and one large window about 10 feet away. The fire was more aggressive near the windows, so seeing the door as her best option, Melinda crawled towards it. As she slowly made her way over, she heard a crack overhead. A split second later, a huge beam from the ceiling came crashing down right in front her. Melinda laid back down quickly and covered her head. With the smoke getting thicker by the second, Melinda was barely getting any air. She began to cough violently, and her battered stomach felt like it was going to rupture. More debris fell down around her, blocking the door. Melinda wept, and silently prayed that someone would come.
Jim and Carl pulled up to the condo and saw the flames rising from every corner. The fire department and paramedics were right behind them. Jim jumped out of the car before Carl could even put it in park, and ran up to one of his fellow firefighters, Bobby, who was on the scene.
"Bobby, Melinda's in there. I have to go in." Jim yelled over the sirens.
"It's out of control, Jim." Bobby replied. "It's too risky."
"It's my wife, Bobby!" Jim shouted. "You can help me or not. Just give me some gear, I'm going!"
Bobby helped Jim gear up in 20 seconds flat, and then they both ran toward the flaming building.
After quickly assessing the scene, Bobby yelled to Jim. "Let's go around back, the fire's not spreading as fast there."
Jim nodded and they ran to the back door. Using an axe to break through the warped wood and glass, they were quickly inside the condo.
"Melinda!" He screamed. "If you can hear me, call out to me!"
Melinda remained on the floor, her hope of survival diminishing. There was no way out. She was trapped. Too weak to move the obstacles that were blocking the door, and unable to get to the window with the flames growing rapidly. She could only lie there, helpless. She erupted into another coughing fit, and wiped away tears that were mixing with the blood flowing from her head. She didn't want to die like this. She could hear sirens outside. There was a lot of yelling. She thought she could hear Jim's frantic voice in the distance, but it didn't matter. He wouldn't get to her on time.
"I'm sorry…" She cried softly, as the darkness began to take her.
Jim and Bobby fought through the smoke and flames, trying to find any indication of life. The back door had led them to the kitchen, but there was no sign of anyone in there. They walked through the hall, but still found no one. The next door was blocked by pieces of wall and ceiling that had broken loose. The men swiftly cut through the blockage and kicked it away. When they finally got into the room, Jim's breath caught in his throat. Melinda was on the floor lying face down, her tangled hair fanned out around her. She wasn't moving. Jim rushed to her and gently turned her onto her back. Her eyes were closed; her face bruised, bloody, and stark white. Her lips were tinted purple, a sign that she wasn't breathing. Jim leaned over her and put his lips to hers, forcing air into her lungs. Bobby joined him at her side, and felt her wrist for a pulse.
"Her pulse is faint and thready, but it's there." Bobby said. "We gotta get her out of here, Jim. The place is gonna collapse any minute."
Jim gathered Melinda into his arms, cradling her as they hurried out of there. They ran through the condo and out the back door. Just as they got a safe distance away, they heard a loud crash behind them as the roof collapsed in on the building.
Jim laid Melinda down on the street and quickly removed his helmet, gloves, and jacket. "I need a Bag Valve Mask and an airway!" He yelled. "Get the paddles charged and ready."
He leaned back over Melinda and breathed into her again. "Come on, Mel." He murmured. "You're not leaving me. Come on."
Bobby was back in a flash with the equipment. He inserted a tube into Melinda's throat and placed the mask over her mouth. He pumped air into her lungs as Jim ripped open her shirt and quickly connected her to a heart monitor. Once the monitor was connected, a loud solemn beep sounded.
"No!" Jim yelled. He started chest compressions and yelled over his shoulder to another paramedic nearby. "Where are the damn paddles?"
"They're here, Jim." The young man replied. "Charged at 200 joules and ready."
Jim grabbed them and placed them on Melinda's chest. "Clear!" He yelled.
Melinda's body jumped as the electricity flowed into her. There was still no sign of a heartbeat.
"Charge to 400!" Jim shouted. "Clear!"
He shocked her again, and Bobby continued rescue breathing. Tears were flowing freely down Jim's face as he stared at the heart monitor. There was still no rhythm.
"Come on, Melinda. Don't do this." Jim cried. "Come back to me... Please, Mel. Don't leave me."
Jim took a deep breath and looked to the other paramedic. "800 joules," he said.
The man nodded and charged the defibrillator once more.
"Clear!" Jim yelled. He shocked her again, and this time the heart monitor began to slowly beep. Jim observed the pattern on the screen and let out the breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding. He took Melinda's face in his hands and leaned in closer.
"Melinda, can you hear me?" He said. "Please, if you can hear me, open your eyes."
Bobby removed the mask for a moment as Jim pulled a penlight out of his pocket. Lifting Melinda's left eyelid, he shone the light into her eye. He did the same for the right.
"Pupils are dilated and uneven." Jim stated, his voice breaking. "Radio in, we have a possible traumatic brain injury."
"Ready for transport?" Bobby asked somberly.
Jim nodded, and watched as Melinda was loaded into the back of the ambulance. He wiped away tears, took another deep breath, and jumped in with her; hoping more than anything that she would be okay.
A/N 2: More to come! I wonder what's gonna happen to Melinda? Review if you like!
PS - My readers are the best :)
-Emmy-