*Edit 9/26/2016* Oof, those typos. Clearly, I should have edited better. Let me know if any of you spot more in the story!
Title: Fire
Genre: Miscellaneous
Rating: T
Warnings: Mild Language
The team slept peacefully in their beds at the inn. Lance and Matt slept in one bed; Lance curled on one edge while Matt was stretched over the remaining space. Natalie and Anna slept with their backs to each other and their hair in their faces. All of them had peaceful expressions on their faces as they slept. They were oblivious, for the moment, to the ominous cloud of smoke seeping under their door.
And then a scream rang out through the inn, "Fire!"
Instantly, Lance and Anna shot up, already groping for their weapons. Normally, a loud noise meant they were under attack. But Anna soon caught onto their danger as she smelled the distinct scent of smoke. The ranger immediately began shaking Natalie and calling that they needed to go. Lance caught on swiftly and shoved Matt clean off the bed, causing the swordsman to shoot too his feet with his sword in hand.
"Not now, Matt," Anna snapped as she ushered a dazed Natalie to the door of their room. "The inn's on fire."
Those words jolted the two half-awake people to full alertness and they all swiftly filed out of the room and into the hall that was filled with smoke. They covered their mouths and noses with their shirts as they followed the mass of people swarming out of the rooms down the stairs and out the door. Lance mentally disparaged the unorganized and ineffective mess that wasted precious time. But soon, the team stood in the street outside of the inn with a crowd of people, staring at the bright flames that licked the building's wooden walls. Smoke billowed up from the conflagration, rising high into the night sky, and catching the light of the flames in an eerie, hellish way.
Suddenly, a voice cried out, and arms began pointing to the second floor of the inn. A young girl could be seen desperately banging on a window, silhouetted by fire, trapped in the burning inn. Matt's eyes widened, and he immediately shot forwards, shoving his way through the distressed crowd, heading back for the burning inn. He ignored the shouts of his name from his friends as he broke free of the mob and sprinted for the building.
"Matt, don't you fucking dare," Lance bellowed, desperately shouldering his way after Matt.
The gunner broke free of the crowd just as Matt vanished into the burning building. He snarled and charged forwards, only to skid to a stop to stare in horror as a support beam collapsed across the inn door. He numbly stared at the now-blazing entrance as Natalie and Anna came up beside him.
"He… Matt'll be fine, right?" Anna asked fearfully.
Lance said nothing, but Natalie swallowed and murmured, "He can always force a new way out."
OOOOOO
Matt spun around when he heard a crash from behind him, and dove forwards to dodge flaming planks that fell down with the support. He grimly turned from the former entrance, knowing there was only one way to go now. The main room of the inn was unbearably hot as he dashed through it, bent double; he could feel his skin prickle uncomfortably at the high temperatures, and flung up a temper on himself, hoping the magical aura would grant some minor protection. Smoke hung in a thick veil over the top half of the room, and flaming debris burned here and there from fallen chunks of the ceiling and destroyed tables.
Matt made it to the stairs, and found they were mostly destroyed by the fire. Still, he lunged up them, leaping from support to groaning support, and never staying in one place for more than a split second. He heard an ominous cracking groan over the roar of the fire as something vital to the building's structure protested the loss of supports it suffered. He ignored it as best as he was able and made it to the second floor.
The smoke was even thicker up higher, and Matt was forced to continue on his hands and knees. He coughed heavily as his throat and lungs burned and ached at the smoke and heated air running through them. He paused for a brief moment to tear a chunk of cloth from his shirt to press over his mouth and nose, and pressed onwards on one hand and a knee. He had the location of the trapped child fixed in his mind, and knew she was just a little to the left side of the entrance of the inn.
Matt reached the first of the possible rooms and reached up to grab the knob, only to jerk his hand back when he suffered a severe burn from the hot metal. Matt hissed from the sharp pain, but didn't give up. He settled back in a crouch and lunged forwards, slamming his shoulder into the door, and sending it inwards with a splintering crash. Flames rushed out at him, but couldn't set him ablaze with the protection of his Temper aura. Matt swiftly scanned the room, but knew immediately that it wasn't the right one: the window was too small.
The swordsman scampered out into the hall, wheezing and coughing, and beginning to feel dizzy from lack of air. He knew he likely only had one more chance with the rooms to find the trapped girl before he'd either be forced to bail, or asphyxiate from the smoke. He slammed the next door down, and rolled into the room to see a collapsed form by the window. Flames engulfed the bed, and had spread along the walls, but where the child lay remained free of fire.
Matt lunged forwards on trembling hands and knees, abandoning his smoke shield and ignoring the sharp jolts of agony from his burned hand. He gathered the unconscious and hopefully not dead child into his arms, and promptly lunged to the side on instinct. A beam dropped through the patch of floor he'd just been kneeling on, and the inn gave another loud groan. The swordsman figured that he had maybe moments to get out before the place collapsed. That left no time to try braving his way back downstairs—which was almost certainly completely covered in fire—and he didn't think he had the strength left to force his way through the wall. There was only one option left.
Matt turned his streaming and stinging eyes to the window that the child he now cradled had been beating on before. He took as deep of a breath as possible, stood up, and flung himself at the window, curling protectively around the girl in his arms. He felt broken glass slice into his skin coupled with a rush of blissfully cool air. He dropped through the air to the ground, landing on his back with a pained grunt. A second later, and he scrambled upright to sprint away from the inn—ignoring his streaming wounds—as a loud crack rang through the air and the building finally collapsed.
The swordsman made it all of ten steps before his body gave out on him. He dropped to his knees, and then his side, skidding a short distance from momentum, and promptly passed out. He missed his friends racing towards him with cries of his name, he didn't hear them asking if he was okay, and he didn't feel as Natalie's healing magic coursed through him. The young girl in his arms was pulled away by Lance, and promptly given a powerful healing spell as well; she'd suffered major burns and damage from smoke inhalation, but she was alive.
"Gods, can I kill him?" Lance asked in a shaky voice as he hauled Matt up over his shoulders. The swordsman was covered in ash and would probably need a haircut, but he was alive and well.
Anna gave a hysteric-sounding laugh and added, "Can I help?" She had the unconscious girl Matt had risked his life to save cradled in her arms. She glanced down at the child and mused that they should find her parents.
Natalie was about to reply to them, but was cut off by a scream.
"Carrie!" a woman shouted as she ran towards them with tears streaming down her face. She stopped in front of Anna and snatched the girl from the ranger's arms and fell to her knees, sobbing.
"She'll be fine, ma'am," Natalie assured the woman. "She should wake up in a few minutes."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," the woman breathlessly repeated between kisses to the sleeping girl's sooty forehead.
Lance felt Matt twitch and set the swordsman down as he said, "You should be thanking this crazy idiot, not us."
"'M not crazy," Matt mumbled hoarsely. He swallowed a few times, trying to wet his parched throat, and added in a raspy voice, "I just might be thirsty, though."
Anna promptly held out her canteen for Matt to take, who gulped it down with relief. The swordsman let out a long sigh of relief and flopped back down with his eyes closed, letting out another sigh. He cracked one eye open when he heard another thanks from the mother of the girl he'd saved.
"So she made it?" Matt asked tiredly, "That's good."
"Yes, thanks to you," the woman replied fervently. "I can never thank you enough. I thought she was with me when I left, but when I turned around, she was gone. She must've gotten separated and headed back to our room."
Matt nodded slightly, "Probably. I'm glad she's okay. I'll bet Natz hit her with some healing, so she'll definitely recover. You should go take her to rest somewhere."
The woman nodded and stood up, "Of course. Thank you again."
Lance waited until the woman was gone before giving Matt a sharp kick in the side. "Are you insane, going back into a burning building to rescue a child you've never met before who could very easily have died before you got to her?" he ranted. "What if you had gotten trapped under some falling debris, or passed out from inhaling too much smoke, or… or…"
Matt rubbed his now sore side with one hand and cut in flatly, "Burning alive is a very nasty way to go, Lance. I've seen and heard it before, and I never want to see or hear it again. I'd do exactly what I just did a hundred times if I could save someone from that fate. Besides, I got out just fine, Natz healed me and the kid up, and I'm definitely going to get you back for that kick." He let out a yawn and mumbled, "After a shower and a nap. Where are we staying now, since our room went up in smoke?"
Lance's fear-driven anger had abated some as he said, "That was the only inn in town, so I guess we'll have to either hope someone's willing to room us, or camp out."
Matt groaned, "That sucks." He finally rolled to his feet and muttered, "Let's go. The sooner we get started looking, the sooner I can sleep."
Natalie fell in step beside Matt and quietly said, "You did really well, Matt. I'd prefer if you'd not scare years off my life with that kind of stunt, but you saved an innocent child from an awful death. I'm proud of you."
Matt grunted, "Now if only Lance acted like you do." He considered that thought for a moment and then shuddered, "Never mind; that would just be creepy."
Anna, who'd been listening in, laughed, "Creepy doesn't cover it."
Lance snorted, but grudgingly admitted, "I'm glad you and the twerp got out alive. Please at least warn us before charging into a burning building, though."
"Excuse me," a man suddenly asked as the team skirted the edge of the crowd.
Anna glanced over to see the inn owner, and paused. "Yes?"
"We're working on accommodations for the guests, and several people have volunteered to let you borrow their homes for the night after that incredible rescue," the man said.
Matt grinned, "Point the way."
Soon, the four were situated on a bed, a trundle, and a couple of air mattresses in the sizeable guest room of a wealthy resident's home. Matt's hair was damp from his shower, and he sat still while Natalie worked to straighten out the uneven mess, as several chunks of hair had been burned short by the fire.
Eventually, the mage finished, leaving Matt with his hair just below his shoulders where it had once fallen almost all the way down his back. The swordsman shook his head to knock the cut bits loose and helped Natalie sweep up the trimmed off pieces. He paused as he caught his reflection in the mirror of the vanity table and cocked his head.
"Been awhile since I've had hair this short," Matt commented, "Feels and looks kinda weird."
"It'll grow back," Anna comforted.
Matt nodded, "I know, but I can't braid it like this. I guess I'll have to return to tying it back."
"Is that how you kept it out of your face before?" Natalie asked as she deposited the trimmings in the waste basket.
"You should just hack it all off; way easier to maintain," Lance suggested from where he was flopped on an air mattress.
"I hate getting haircuts all the time, and my hair grows fast," Matt replied. He glanced over at Natalie and added, "And, yes, I keep it in a low pony tail."
Natalie nodded, but soon pushed Matt to lie down on the bed, "Get some rest, Matt. You've earned it."
The swordsman made no protest, but dropped onto the bed and pulled the sheets up to his chin. He was asleep in moments, exhausted from his rescue mission. The others also curled up, thankful that the crisis earlier had turned out well. Soon, they were all fast asleep.
The next morning saw a young visitor at the door of the house the team had stayed at for the night. The team was just getting ready to leave, and thanking their hostess for the beds and breakfast, when a knock came at the door. The team stood aside as the woman who'd roomed them opened the door to see the young girl Matt had rescued standing outside with her mother holding her hand. Matt blinked in surprise as the girl held out a small pouch and an obviously hand-made card.
"Thank you," Matt mumbled with and self-conscious blush as he accepted the gift. He opened the card to see a drawing of a small stick-figure girl labeled Carrie holding hands with a tall man with blond hair, whom he assumed was him, labeled my hero standing on a green hill. The picture was colorful and adorable with the words "Thank you for saving me" written at the top in pink crayon. Several of the letters were backwards, and the writing was wiggly, but Matt smiled.
"You're very welcome," Matt told the girl. "It's very nicely done."
Carrie grinned, showing she was missing one of her front teeth and squeaked, "I drew it myself!"
Her mother smiled down at her, "She's been asking questions about you non-stop since she woke up." The woman's eyes rose to meet Matt as she added, "The pouch is all the gold I can spare right now. It's not nearly enough to repay you for your rescue last night, but I'll remember your actions saved my little girl for the rest of my life."
Matt held the pouch out to the woman, "Thanks for the kind gesture, but I'm insisting you take it back; spend it on something for Carrie."
"Can we get chocolate?" the little girl begged, tugging on her mother's arm. "Please?"
The woman looked about to protest, but she stopped when Matt shook the bag once, still holding it out for her. Finally, she smiled and accepted the bag with a small nod. "Okay, then thank you. As far as I and my daughter are concerned, you are the best hero we've ever met or heard of. May the gods always watch over you."
"When we're not beating them up," Lance muttered from behind Matt, too low to be heard.
"Bye-bye, mister!" Carrie chirped as her mother started leading her away. The next thing she directed to her mother as they walked down the street, uncaring of being overheard, "I want to marry him someday!"
Matt flushed as his friends burst out in laughter at the girl's innocent exclamation. He mumbled something unintelligible, and shot out the door, leaving them to catch up. Still, despite his embarrassment, he was smiling. It always felt good to be thanked—however unnecessarily he thought it was—for doing the right thing. His hand slipped the card he'd gotten into his Adventure Pouch, and he fondly decided he'd keep it for the rest of his life.
"Ready to go kill some monsters?" Matt asked his friends as they finally caught up to him at the edge of the town. His cheeks were still a little pink, but he was grinning again.
The others grinned and let out a round of affirmation. And they set off once more, ready for more adventures.
A/N: I've had this one in my files for a while, now; finished prettying it up a bit to put up for you all. Yet another stereotypical situation, but it was fun to write. :3
I've got three tests this week, so writing definitely isn't a go until the weekend. But here's the status on my other works:
The Epic Tales has another drabble-chapter coming up pretty soon with some requested ideas as well as a few other things I've found lying around.
Shadow of the Blight should be updated relatively soon. I just need to get in intro for the chapter done and then I'll be slapping it up there for you guys. It'll be a pretty long chapter, too.
Retribution is all planned out in my head; I just need to quit being lazy and write it out. :P
The Long Road Home's next chapter is only partially planned, so it'll probably be a while for that one. Although I have the intro set in my head, so that's the hard part of the writing battle, so it shouldn't take too long once I sit down and start.
As for the other collection story, Another Epic Collection, I have hundreds of things for that, so you'll be seeing plenty there in the days to come. For those of you reading that one, would you rather see some combat-focused things (meaning detailed, one man/woman slaughters with some rather chilling depictions and/or dialogue), or more of my unfinished, in-the-works stories?
Once these upcoming tests at college are out of the way, I'll try to sit down and finish chapters for my major works. See you soon!
Response to Guests reviewer, Anonymous: I'll think about it, but it isn't in my plans. There is a story over on Archive of Our Own called Forsaken by Abaresque that is doing something like that, though I'm not sure how focused it is on the actual story of Brawl Royal; at the very least, it's set in the world of Brawl Royale. Regardless, it's been an excellent read so far, and I highly recommend it, so go check it out! Also, to the best of my recollected knowledge, Natz it is the one person/creature Matt doesn't kill in Brawl Royale. He stabs a Holy Sword between her legs (into the ground, not the… other… thing), and she crawls away. I may merely be remembering that wrong, though; it's been quite a while since I've played Brawl Royale.
