Chapter 5: Fear, Flames, and Heroes

Ephram wished with everything he had in him that Amy was lying. She was just joking around with him. She had to be. He didn't know what he would do if she wasn't.

Ephram stared long and hard at Amy's worried face and saw that she wasn't lying but he had to prove it to himself. Spinning on his heel, he turned and marched purposefully to the kitchen door. He felt Amy's hands clutching at the sleeve of his shirt and somewhere in the back of his mind registered her pleading voice but his mind was set. If what Amy said was true then he wanted to stare his nightmare in the face and see what it had to say for itself. Wrapping his hand in a dishtowel, he grasped the doorknob and twisted. With his brow furrowed and his eyes determined he glared into the burning room for several moments, almost as if he was daring it to try and hurt him. Then he shut the door, turned to Amy, and crumpled to the floor with her in his arms.

Amy watched as a million emotions played across Ephram's handsome face. Through his eyes, she could see the internal struggle he was fighting. On one hand he was obviously terrified and worried but on the other he was striving to be strong and brave for her. Seeing this, Amy squeezed him harder and pressed her head against his chest, longing to curl up in the safety of his arms and forget what was on the other side of the door. She knew she wouldn't be able to, but at the moment everything was okay, residing in his embrace. Unfortunately, the moment was just that, a single fleeting moment, that would eventually have to come to an end.

Sighing heavily, Ephram gently grasped Amy's shoulders and pulled her up to face him. As much as he was enjoying having her in his arms he knew that they had to figure out a way out of here. He was already beginning to cough again and he had no idea if he could last long enough for help to come, assuming that that was why Nina was taking so long. She must have seen the fire upon returning to the diner and gone somewhere to get help but considering that Everwood had no fire department, Ephram knew it might be a while. So, he gripped Amy's hand tightly and tried to come up with a plan.

"Okay, Amy, I know that you're scared and quite frankly so am I but-," Ephram was interrupted by a deep cough.

"Use your inhaler, Ephram" Amy said, pressing the tube into his hand. She had picked it up when she first heard Ephram wheezing again.

"Right" he said, taking a puff from the device. For now, that was enough and he was able to breathe relatively freely.

"We need a plan. We have to figure out a way out of here. My inhaler's not going to be able to help me for much longer and if the fire keeps growing the way it is we're going to be trapped back here very soon. Now, here's what I had in mind. The back door is still mostly flame-free. I'm thinking that we can make it through there if we hurry. The path is clear. We may have to avoid some of the tables and other furniture but I think we'll be okay. We just really need to hurry. I pretty sure that the ceiling is going to start coming down soon and well, we definitely don't want to be in here when that happens." Ephram explained his plan while staring into Amy's eyes, hopefully leading her to believe that he had some idea of what he was talking about.

Amy swallowed hard and nodded once, assuring Ephram that she understood. Silently, the two agreed to his plan and stood, facing the door, one of her hands entwined in his, the other clutching his inhaler. Ephram placed his covered hand on the knob then glanced quickly at her. Seeing the determined set of her jaw, he threw open the door and they began to run.

Sprinting across the diner, Ephram felt the heat of the fire surrounding him, suffocating him. He held his shirt over his mouth, trying to delay the inevitable asthma attack as long as possible. He clutched at Amy's hand as they deftly skirted tables, and took great leaps to get away from the flames that crept up the walls. In her eagerness to get to the door, Amy soon began pulling him, adrenaline pushing her faster as Ephram's asthma zapped his energy, leaving him coughing and slow. Then, the terrible happened.

They were about seven feet from the door when Ephram heard a loud creaking. Then everything began to happen very fast. One second, he was looking up into the burning beam that was falling right toward the spot that Amy was about to step into. The next, his hands were on her back, the force propelling her forward but pushing him back. Then, finally, he stood separated from the beautiful blond by a burning barrier that had no plans of letting him pass.

Amy could see Ephram's face through the flickering flames. Tears flowed anew from her eyes as she realized that she was right next to the back door, one step away from safety, but Ephram stood apart from her, seemingly light-years away.

"No, God, no." Amy quietly whimpered.

"Amy, listen to me!" Ephram yelled over the crackling of the fire. "You have to go! Open the door and leave!"

"No, I can't leave you in here!" she cried.

"Amy, you have to! Look, I'll go back to the kitchen. The fire still hasn't reached it. I'll wait for you! I promise you I'll be fine until you send someone back to get me! But Amy, you have to go out that door and get help!"

"Okay, I will! I'll go! But I'm going to be back soon, you'll see! You're going to be okay!" Amy said tearfully, trying to convince herself.

"I know, I trust you, Amy." Ephram said, smiling encouragingly at her.

"Alright then, I'll see you soon." Wrapping her sleeve around her hand, Amy grasped the doorknob and twisted, still turned toward Ephram, staring at him, until the door slid closed, blocking her view of what could be the last time she ever saw the quiet boy who had come into her town and changed her life.