Backslide

Max was fortunately able to regain consciousness in the sweltering heat sometime later. The flames were nearly a blanket now, pressing down on her, ready to feast upon her flesh. Her skin resembled that of an overcooked hot dog placed over the campfire-blistering and close to bubbling. She weakly twisted her head, trying to see past her dark hair that stuck to her face. All around her lay destruction and fire. For a moment, she just wanted to die, just wanted to give in to the beckoning call from beyond. Yet, Max knew that she couldn't give up then, there was too much left for her to do.

Slowly and rather weakly, she pushed herself to her feet and stood, dizzy for a second, regaining control of her body. Her head hurt from inhaling the smoke. There appeared to be no way out, for Max had been thrown into a heap of rumble that was now burning quickly. It was then that Max realized her only escape would be to go through the flames. Although it wasn't something she particularly wanted to do, there was no other way to escape the fiery beast.

Combing her fingers through her hair to clear it off her face, she shook her head, ridding it of the clouds that had covered her mind. She took a deep breath and ran forward, closing her eyes. There was a moment of heat so extreme Max didn't know if she would make it. But, soon enough, she was able to feel the cooler air as she emerged from the other side of the flames.

Her hair was singed, she no longer had any eyelashes, and her eyebrows were close to gone, but all those facts were irrelevant, for she had survived. There was an open door a couple yards ahead of her. At a quick pace, she moved towards it, ready to escape. A beam crashed down beside her, sending embers flying into the air. Max jumped back quickly.

Just as she was at the door and ready to leave, she heard a low moan. One hand resting on the warm metal of the doorframe, she turned back around to face the fiery hell again. She scanned the room, searching for the human who had uttered the sound. Lying underneath a beam that was being eaten by the flames at one end, the person was covered in black soot and smoke. Obviously unconscious, they coughed and lay still. Max moved forward to see who it was.

Lydecker.

Instantly, she recoiled upon seeing it was he. Her first thought was to let him die in the flames. He deserved to, after all, hadn't he been the one to hurt her and the rest of them so much? But, as she turned away, something called her back.

She couldn't leave him, no matter how entirely awful he had been to them, no matter how cruel; he couldn't die this way. With a great amount of effort, Max pushed the beam off of him and dragged him to his feet. His eyes opened a crack, but didn't register who was carrying him. He muttered a name that at first Max couldn't make out, but later recognized as, "Claudia". As his eyelids came over his eyes again, his body slumped, and Max scrambled to grab him before he fell to the ground.

She threw one of his arms across her sore shoulders and dragged him out. But, he was dead weight and couldn't carry himself at all. So, in one fluid movement, Max picked him like a little child in her arms and walked stiffly out of the building. She had to clench her teeth-he was so heavy! In fact, she wasn't even sure she could carry him all the way. She was weak as it was, but somehow, mind over matter, she carried him.

Max didn't know how far she walked, but she reached the edge of a forest before she finally felt it was safe. Slowly, she set Lydecker down by the edge of the paved road that ran by the forest. The fire wouldn't make it this far, she thought. It doesn't have enough fuel. Lydecker let out a strained gasp, but didn't move. Somebody would find him, she was sure. The fire was big enough that the somebody had to be on their way by now.

With a dismissive eye roll, Max turned away from him and began to walk deeper into the forest, leaving him alone. My God, she thought, Donald Lydecker, you're a bigger pain in the ass than you really should be.