November 3rd, 2004

Angel Grove, CA

I felt the vibrations under my feet before it happened. It was like the tremors that happen before earthquakes. The explosion came, raining glass down on us as the front windows of the building were blasted out. Jason and I, who had been standing closest to the building, we knocked off our feet. He managed to grab me before I hit the ground, taking the blow for me so I didn't land on the concrete. Marci and Trini were shot backwards into the side of her car. Behind us, all the windows in the car smashed, the pieces flying everywhere. The sound was deafening and left my ears ringing as Jason and I laid on the sidewalk for a minute.

"Tommy." I said, not being able to hear myself. I shook my head, sitting up. Even though Jason had taken the brunt of the fall, I still felt like I was in a haze. I tried to breath but the air was thick, making me cough. My eyes refused to focus for a moment no matter how much a blinked. Rubbing them, my vision finally cleared. The deafness in my ears faded into a ringing and then I could hear people screaming. Looking at the building, I saw that flames were coming from the dojo. The whole front of the building was destroyed and thick, black smoke was pouring out and into the sky. Flames were raging in what was left of the building, adding to the smoke. "Tommy!" I screamed, clawing my way to my feet again. Looking up, the windows of his loft were gone like the ones below and the lights were off. Smoke was coming out of the dojo and into the upstairs, filling it. I could see flames in the far left windows, licking at the walls as they climbed upwards. The glass was missing from the door that led up the stairs and I couldn't see anything passed that. There was no movement of him to be seen anywhere.

"Kim, no!" Jason called as I moved to run forward. He got to his feet and grabbed me, pulling me back. Trini and Marci grabbed me by the shoulders, pulling me behind the car and away from the blazing building.

"Tommy!" I screamed again. Jason covered his mouth with his sleeve and ran forward. He gazed up the staircase, trying to see something.

"Jason, no!" Trini called out. Adam and Billy ran over to Jason, both covering their mouths.

"We gotta get up there. Do you think you can do it?" Adam asked, yelling over the loud noise of the flames. Jason nodded.

"The smoke isn't too thick yet." He replied.

"Here!" Rocky yelled, running over with a gallon jug of water in hand. He handed Jason a rag and poured some water on it. Jason brought it to his face as Aisha ran over to stand with us.

"TOMMY!" He bellowed up the stairs. "TOMMY! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"

"There's a fire on Henry Street!" Aisha said, talking into a cell phone in her hand. "There's a person inside. Please hurry!" I noticed that she had some scratches on her face. I looked over at Marci and Trini and saw that they also had some scratches and bumps. We were all covered in dirt and dust from the explosion. I turned back to the building, wrapping my arms around my stomach.

"Oh my god." I said, fear filling me as I watched the building burn the smoke grow thicker. There had to be something wrong with him. Why else hadn't he come out yet? It wasn't like he would just be hanging out up there while the building was burning. He must be hurt or even worse or else he would have come out. "Why isn't he coming out?"

"It's alright." Trini said, rubbing my back. "The guys will get him. We need to get you and Aisha back though. You shouldn't be smelling this smoke and the fumes." She tried to pull me back but I shook her off, pulling my arm free of her grasp.

"No! Not until I know he's okay." I exclaimed.

"TOMMY!" Jason bellowed again. He shook his head when there was no response. "I'm going up. I'm going to check the living room first and then his bedroom. If I'm not out, tell the firemen that's where I went." He said to Rocky, Adam, and Billy who nodded.

"Jason, don't do it!" Trini yelled. He turned back and smiled at her before disappearing up the stairs. Off in the distance, I could hear the fire truck sirens coming. The sound of tires coming to a stop behind us made us look. Zack's car stopped in the middle of the road and he jumped out, leaving the door open.

"What happened?" He asked, running towards us. His eyes looked up at the dojo, the flames dancing in the reflection in his eyes.

"There was an explosion." Trini replied.

"Jesus Christ. What are they doing?" He asked, pointing at the guys.

"Tommy is inside. Jason ran inside to get him." She said, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. I clung to her hand, squeezing as I watched each window for movement. The smoke was so thick now, it looked like black snakes creeping out of the openings and into the night sky. The flames were growing higher and hotter, the heat reaching us where we stood. Zack ran over to the other guys, Adam and Billy standing in the doorway looking up to watch for Jason. The coughed, even with the cloth over their faces.

"Why aren't they coming out?" I asked, willing Jason to come back down the stairs. "Where are they?"

"It's gonna be fine, Kim." Marci said, her face pale but she gave me a smile.

"I'm going up." Adam said, pulling his green dress shirt off. He poured water on it like Jason had done and brought it to his face. He headed up the stairs like Jason had, disappearing from sight. My stomach churned as another person headed up there but yet, no one returned. The sirens came closer, their flashing lights almost visible. I willed someone to appear. Anyone. I couldn't believe this was happening right now. How could he be trapped in a burning building? How could two of my best friends be in there as well, trying to save him? I prayed silently for God to save them. For the fire department to get the fuck here already so they could run inside and save them. I wasn't ready to let Tommy go yet. This wasn't right. We should be at dinner right now. We should be celebrating Zack's breakout performance. I should be announcing that I was having a girl. Tommy should be out here with us, not inside possibly dying. Tears filled my eyes, streaming down my face.

"Jason!" Billy called out, breaking me from my dark thoughts. I was relieved to see feet coming down the stairs now. First it was Adam's and then Jason's. Between them, they were carrying Tommy. The three of them were covered in black soot and Adam and Jason were coughing as they carried him out of the stairwell and into the street. The other guys helped as well, them bringing him over to the middle of the road away from the blaze. I ran over to them, Trini, Marci, and Aisha on my heels.

"Tommy!" I yelled, stopping next to Billy and Zack. Tommy laid on the ground, motionless. I could see burns on his left arm and his chest, his clothes melted here into his and blood seeping into what was left. There was a deep gash on his forehead and blood came from the corner of his mouth. Jason and Adam set him down, stepping back to catch their breaths. Trini ran over to Jason, forcing him to sit on the bumper of her car. Billy knelt down, putting his fingers on Tommy's neck.

"There's pulse but it's weak." Billy said. "We need to start CPR."

"I'll help." Rocky said. He knelt across from Billy, moving into position to do chest compressions. Gripping his hands over Tommy's sternum, he started to pump onto Tommy's chest.

"1,2,3,4,5…" Billy said, counting for Billy. When he reached thirty, Billy plugged Tommy's nose and breathed into his mouth twice. I watched as Tommy's chest expanded and then contracted, but there was no movement from him. Rocky went back to doing the compressions, Billy counting for him. The street filled with lights as a fire truck roared around the corner, an ambulance behind them. They were able to drive around us, an army of firefighters jumping out of the truck when it stopped. They sprang into action, pulling hoses from the truck and running to connect them to nearby fire hydrants.

"Is there anyone else inside?" A fireman with the word CHIEF written on his helmet asked. Aisha shook her head.

"No. They were able to get him out. He's not breathing on his own though." She replied.

"The EMTs will help him out. We're going to get the flames under control. I need you all to get on the sidewalk over there." He said, pointing at the sidewalk across the street. EMTs climbed out of the ambulance, grabbing bags from the side of the ambulance before running over towards us. Adam put a hand on the small of my back.

"Come on. We need to get you over there." I shook my head.

"No. I'm not leaving him." I said.

"Kim, Tommy wouldn't want you to be in harm's way. We can stand there and watch, okay? The EMTs are going to take care of him. Let me take care of you." He said gently. I gave a long look at Tommy who was now getting CPR from the EMTs. One connected an air bag to his face and was pumping air in between compressions. I nodded, glancing up at Adam. He led Marci and me over to the sidewalk, Aisha walking with us. Rocky helped Trini guide Jason over, his breathing heavy. They helped him sit on the curb and another EMT walked over to him.

"Were you in the building?" He asked Jason. Jason nodded.

"He ran in to save Tommy." Trini said. The EMT nodded, grabbing an oxygen mask from his bag. He put it over Jason's face and Jason guided the tubing into his nose.

"I need to check your vitals." The EMT said. Jason shook his head.

"There's two pregnant women here that were near the blast. Check them first." He said.

"Sir, you inhaled a great deal of smoke. That can cause issues such as cardiac arrest. I need to monitor you for any abnormalities." The EMT said. I turned back, looking over at Tommy. I heard him cough on his own, his eyes opening for a moment as he shoved the mask off his face. His eyes closed again though as they moved him on to a stretcher. Another EMT strapping oxygen to him as well before they carried him towards an awaiting ambulance.

"I need to go with him." I said, turning to the EMT that was fighting with Jason over receiving care. He looked at me.

"Ma'am, they need to work on him." He stated.

"And I need to go with him. I'm one of the pregnant women. I need to make sure that man is okay." I stressed. Sighing, he nodded.

"Come with me." He walked over to the ambulance and I followed behind him. Inside of the ambulance, they were working on Tommy. He had an IV now and they were taking his vitals. The dojo was now fully engulfed in flames, the water they were spraying on the fire not even making a dent to it. Now and then, pieces of the ceiling and the roof would cave in, sending up flames and embers into the night sky. "This is the girlfriend." The EMT said to the ones working on Tommy. I didn't correct him.

"Do you want to ride with us?" A woman monitoring the IV in Tommy's arm asked. I nodded.

"She needs to be evaluated as well. She was here during the explosion." The EMT next to me said. "How far along are you?"

"Almost three months." I said. The female EMT nodded.

"Hop on up and we will get you checked out once he's stable." The EMT on the ground helped me climb into the back of the ambulance. I sat on the far end of the bench, watching them work on Tommy as the other EMT walked away.

"Will he be alright?" I asked. The other EMT, a man in his late forties maybe, nodded.

"I believe so. He did take in a lot of smoke and he has a nasty bump on his head. He will need to be in the hospital for observation more than likely." He pulled a syringe out of a drawer and filled it with some kind of liquid before ejecting it into the IV attached to Tommy. "What happened?"

"We were standing outside and then the building just blew up." I said, shaking my head. "I don't know what caused it." Suddenly, the memory of a person running from the dojo came to mind. Someone had been inside right before it happened. This was no accident. Someone had caused this to happen. But who? Not even Nick would be able to have this kind of power over someone to want to cause this kind of destruction.

"Your friend is very lucky that he wasn't killed." The woman said. I nodded, looking out the back of the ambulance. I saw Trini leading Jason over to the other ambulance, a scowl on his face as he climbed inside. Aisha was getting checked out, along with Marci. Rocky stood with the two of them. Off in the distance, I saw Billy and Zack talking to a police officer. Adam was walking my way, stopping near the open door.

"How is he?" He asked, nodding towards Tommy.

"They said he will be okay. Is Jason going to the hospital too?" I asked. He nodded.

"Not willingly, but yes. I'm sure Rocky will have Aisha go too just in case."

"Have Marci go too, won't you? And you better get check out as well. You were inside. You breathed in that smoke for a while." I said. Adam nodded.

"Billy is going to drive me over once he's done talking to the police. They'll want to speak to everyone I'm sure." He glanced over at the building. "This is horrible. Tommy's going to be crushed."

"It could have been so much worse." I whispered, looking over at Tommy who was mumbling something with his eyes closed. "He could have been killed. We all could have been." I turned back to look at Adam. "What did you guys see before the explosion?"

"Nothing. We climbed out and I was telling Billy that we needed to pick up something before heading home. Next thing I knew, I was getting tossed back into the car. Why? What did you see?"

"Someone came running out of the dojo." I said. "Adam, someone was inside. This was no accident." He looked at me surprised.

"Did you see who it was?" he asked. I shook my head.

"Marci saw them first. All I saw was a dark figure take off like a bat out of hell." I took a deep breath. "Then all hell broke loose."

"The police will get to the bottom of it." He said. "They will catch whoever it was."

"They could have done it at any point. They waited for Tommy to be home and for us to be here. But they must have known that Tommy would be home then. How could they though? Is someone following us?" I asked.

"We have to get him to the hospital." The male EMT said, standing and walking over to the doors.

"I'll talk to you later!" Adam called before the doors shut. I felt the ambulance shift out of park before it took of down the street. Looking out the window, I saw the blaze from the dojo one last time, the orange glow reaching high in the sky.

Someone was out to kill Tommy. And I had no clue who it could be.

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