LOVEURSTORIES = Great, now I'm having crisis. Of course Brittany will give birth in this story. The next sequel is probably just about the complications Stanley and Ally are having.
Alvin could see black smoke rising to the skies even from behind the buildings as they made their way to the scene. It was worse than he thought. The fire, it's the biggest one he's ever seen. No human can survive that. No one can. But of course, AJ and Serene with them together, they'll make it. They have to.
Brittany couldn't calm down, no matter how much he assured him. She kept holding on to him, crying fearfully that she's almost shivering. Simon and Jeanette were no different. After what happened an hour ago, they decided to keep some distance from each other, sitting on each sides of the car. Theodore and Eleanor remained home, watching the kids.
Brittany was shivering again, almost intensely as Dave's car - driven by Dave, Jeremy on the front-passenger side - approached the scene. It was even worst from a close distance. Dozens of fire trucks, almost hundreds of firemen and police, thousands of civilians, were staring at the building. The firemen, strangely, weren't doing anything at all. Just staring at the fire, some wielding fire axes, some just leaning against their firetrucks.
As they got close to the officials (Firemen, police, etc.), they were stopped by a police officer wearing a stab vest with radio and glasses. Dave rolled up the window to meet him. The officer leaned closer. "I'm sorry, Mr. Seville," he started. "You can't go any further unless you wanna get burned. These firetrucks were built to withstand the heat for a few feet, unlike your car. You're gonna have to get out."
Dave nodded and turned towards Alvin and the others. "You guys, go ahead. But don't stand too close, understand?" He's back with his fatherly control again.
Alvin nodded and got out of the car, Brittany never leaving her paw. The smell was even worse from the outside, combined with the smell of black smoke and gas. They could even feel the heat already. Brittany clutched closer to him, fear closing in her eyes as she gazed wide-eyed into the fire.
"Oh, my God. Alvin!" She pointed to the blazing building, firemen standing few feet away.
Oh, God, the building was burning even from the lower floor. The fire was in different shades of red, burning the apartment building in ease, growing quick as if invisible forces were pouring oils all over it. At one point, a loud explosion banged, leaving him with bells ringing in his ears. He took Brittany into his arms tightly, shielding her from the flying debris that came with the explosion.
As he slowly recovered from the shock, he heard muffled voices in his ears. His hearing turned to normal, it was then he heard someone calling out. "Mr. Seville! Alvin!" Alvin shook his head and stared at the fireman, kneeling down to meet him.
"Is my son alright? Where is he?" Those words were the only ones he could manage to say.
"I'm afraid he's still in there, sir," he answered.
Alvin felt the blood boil in his head as he snapped, "Well, you're a fireman, aren't you?! You deal with fires! Why the heck are you all just standing there!?"
"I'm afraid we can't go in there, sir. It's too hot. The building's old and is gonna break down in a few minutes. And more bad news is, there's a stockroom full of gas cans in the upper floors. If the fire spreads there, we're all going to have to step back."
"Then douse the fire! You have hoses, don't you?"
"Negative, sir. The nearest fire hydrant is a mile away, and even if we do have the water, we don't think that building's going to survive the pressure."
Alvin nearly rolled his eyes in panic. Brittany still held his arm, shivering and looking quietly at the fire. He looked at her, then back at the fireman. Behind him, there were firetrucks, crime scene tapes and civilians held back by some officers. Even reporters couldn't get close. Feeling the adrenaline surge through his veins, he stared deeply into the lower depths of the fire. The lower floor of the building had an open entrance, a flame poking out of it.
He looked back at Brittany, and with the thought of their son, he knew what he was going to do. He turned to her and placed both paws on her shoulders. "Brittany, whatever you do, stay here."
Brittany just looked at him, panicked. "What? No."
"I'm sorry, but as your mate, that's an order. You're pregnant, and I'm going to blame myself gravely if something happens to you or them." He looked up to the fireman. "Please hold her. Stay with her. But please be careful. She's pregnant."
"Yes, sir." He nodded.
Alvin let go of her and with all fours, scurried closer to the building, feeling the heat in his face. From behind him, she could hear Brittany's voice. She was held by the fireman with both hands. "No, Alvin! Alvin, please!"
He ignored her, regretting it deeply. He scurried closer to the fire, feeling its fury against his skin. As he got close, he found the smoke almost unbearable.
. . . . . . .
Brittany felt invaded, trapped as the fireman held her with both hands. She watched Alvin scurrying closer to the fire with great speed as if he wasn't afraid of the fury of the burning blaze. She felt a pang of worry push her heart to a cliff, and she couldn't breathe normally not because of the human's grip. She wiggled, struggled to get out of his grasped, but he held her with both hands. She could feel him pressing too hard against her stomach, making her panic even more.
"No! No! Let me go!" She struggled and looked at the fire. Alvin is in there now, in trouble. "Alvin! Alvin!" She called out.
"Ms. Seville, please stop. He can't hear you now, and you can't go in there. The smoke can endanger your litter, so please." She ignore the fireman's words. She struggled harder, but no result.
Not taking it anymore, she closed her mouth to his hand and clenched her teeth deep into his index fingers. Despite having gloves, the fireman let go with a gasp of pain, dropping her to the ground. She landed on her back, clutching her stomach protectively.
From the distance, she could see Jeanette scurrying hurriedly towards her. Her sister knelt beside her and held her. "Are you alright, Brit?" She asked.
"I'm fine. But Alvin's..."
"I know. Simon's in there too. I have to go in there, now. I can't leave him."
As she left, Brittany held her paw, stopping her. "I'm coming with you. Alvin's in there too."
Jeanette nodded. "Let's go."
. . . . . . .
Dave stared wide-eyed and shocked at the devilishly enormous fire swallowing the building whole, explosions and flaming debris flying almost every minute. That made him realize how big of a trouble his grand kids are in now, and as small and innocent as they are, just hope that nothing happens to them. And hope that Alvin won't do anything stupid, which of course, is a hopeless hope. As stubborn as he is, he might've crawled into the flaming apartment building by now. Just hope that they're all right. All of them.
Dave backed the car away from the fire and found a parking space between two buildings. Even from afar, the fire's intensity was clear and frightening. Even Jeremy couldn't say a word.
"Hey," he called out, getting his attention. "You all right?" He asked.
"I don't know. I mean, Ryan did that?" he was referring to the fire.
"And burn himself to death? No way. Probably an accident. Like not knowing how to use the kitchen."
Despite everything, they both chuckled. Dave gave him a friendly pat on the back. "Let's go."
Jeremy opened the car door and stepped out. Dave followed and open his side of the car. As he turned behind, his brow crooked in surprised and his mouth went agape as he set his eyes down on the ground. A few feet from his shoes, Dave met the eyes of five chipmunk. Children.
One stepped up and smiled nervously and shyly. "Uh,... hey, grampa."
"Nelle? What are you doing here? What are you all doing here? And how'd you get here?" He asked as he recognized them one by one. He sounded almost fearful. Five of them, from Alvin and Simon. Alienelle, Bryon, John, Simon, and Simone.
"W-we... we got under the trunk," Simon Jr. said.
John and Simon giggled for some reason. "Our idea," They said in unison.
Dave ran his hands along his hair. "Well, stay here! Don't go anywhere! What were you all thinking?!" He yelled in a low voice.
"We're not going anywhere without mommy and daddy, grampa," Nelle answered.
Jeremy arrived to his side of the car and mirrored Dave's expression as he saw them. "What the?" He exclaimed.
Dave sighed in frustration. "Alright, I'm going to talk to the firemen. Kids, stick close to me, and whatever you do, don't stray away. Understand?"
They all nodded. "Yes, grampa."
. . . . . . .
Beatrice heard the news from Claire, and she never thought she'd live to see herself in such panic. The chipmunk's children are in trouble. Big trouble, and even from her office, she could see the blackest smoke she's ever seen in her life. After Claire's call, she picked her up from the vet, grabbing her equipment, then Claire drove her quickly to the scene. There were people rushing and the fire wasn't even visible from where they were. But they got to the vantage point where they could see the height of the fire, reaching for the skies like the sun rooted to the earth.
She panicked right away and clutched her suitcase containing her veterinarian kit. Claire drove quickly and turned to the direction of the fire. As soon as they saw the burning building, she felt like she'd just witnessed a sign of the apocalypse.
"Oh... no..." Claire's voice sang. "That's big."
Beatrice sighed as Claire pulled into a stop, their way being blocked by dozens of bystanders eyeing the fire. "Jeez, 'big?' That's all you can say?"
"Hey, I've never seen a burning building in my life. How bad can that be?"
Beatrice rolled her eyes almost childishly. "What about this. Chipmunks are trapped inside helplessly, and no one's doing anything. A fire that big,... I don't know."
"Whoa, that is huge. You go on ahead. I'll catch up. This car won't park itself, you know."
Beatrice rolled her eyes and opened the passenger side's door. As she got out, she found the smell of the smoke very nose-wrenching. A couple of hours from this could damage the inner cavity of the nostrils, as well as the head. She reached for her handkerchief and covered her nose. But even that wasn't helping. She weaved and wounded through the crowd until she came across a crime scene tape guarded by a policemen.
"Sorry, mam. You know what's going on. You're going to have to step back, all of you," The policeman said.
Beatrice reached for her I.D. from her pocket and presented it to the officer. "Dr. Beatrice Miller. Chipmunks' personal vet. I need to speak with Dave Seville."
The officer eyed the I.D. before nodding. "Yes, mam."
He stepped aside, lifting the crime scene tape up so she could pass under. Now out of the crowd, she stared wild-eyed at the fire, speechless. That has got to be the biggest fire yet in Los Angeles. Probably the whole California. Or maybe even the East Coast. She shook out of her thoughts, deciding not to think about what's happening to the children inside. After a few gazes, she found Dave speaking to someone who looks like the head of the fire department. There were small chipmunk children near him, endangered of being crushed underfoot.
Urgently, she rushed towards Dave, carrying her suitcase and tapped on his shoulder, still covering her nose with the kerchief. Dave turned from the attention of the head fireman. "Dave." Her voice was muffled under the cloth.
"Beatrice. Oh, thank God you're here," Dave said. "Alvin and Brittany have gone in. And so did Simon and Jeanette."
Beatrice felt a pang of fear and panic again. She couldn't breathe normally. "What!?"
"Yes."
Beatrice urgently turned to the head fireman. "Sir, please you've got to do something!" She pleaded. "There's a pregnant chipmunk in there! If she-" Before she could continue, a small, high-pitched voice interrupted her.
"Two." Beatrice looked down and saw Simon Jr. - if that's his name - looking at her confidently. "Two pregnant chipmunks."
Beatrice just looked at him, unable to respond. She shook her head and turned back to the head fireman. "Sir, we've got to get them out of there now. If they breathe any more of that smoke, the babies are done for."
The head fireman removed his helmet and ran his hands along his blonde hair. He sighed. "The building's rigged with gas cans in the upper floor, and were going to have to ask everyone to back off as soon as the fire spreads close. We have about thirty minutes before the next helicopter comes by with sprinklers, but we're not sure if the building's going to last that long. But in the meantime, we'll see what we can do."
Beatrice sighed. "Thank you."
. . . . . . .
Alienelle watched the fire swallowing the apartment whole. It was hot - very, very hot. They're just in a far distance, but the heat's already making her sweat underneath her fur. Any more of this, she'll be shaking sweat out of her body. She wiped her face with her paw before looking at the fire again. AJ is in there somewhere... with Serene. He's going to be alright, and as tough as he is, she can bet nothing's going to happen to them. AJ's as strong as he is stubborn, but that doesn't mean he'll let a few burning embers stop him, right? He's just daddy. Strong and never afraid of anything.
She looked at the crowd being held back by police. Wow, there are plenty of people, but what are they doing here? Isn't it dangerous to be idling by just watching? Humans are strange sometimes. Under all the feet of the crowd, she thought she saw a blur of pink and blue, but decided it was just her imagination. But she looked again, and there it was. There was a small, blue and pink figure weaving through the crowd. She blink her eyes, and lightened up as she saw who she thought it was.
Scurrying towards them were Ally and Stanley. They stopped and looked at them, mirroring her expression. "Ally! Stanley!" She exclaimed, getting the other's attention.
"Nelle!" Ally exclaimed as she scurried towards her, greeting her with an embrace while Stanley went over to his brothers.
As soon as they pulled out, Alienelle couldn't help to ask, "Where have you been?"
"Looking for AJ. Don't worry, I'm safe." She turned to grampa Dave and smiled. "I'm alright, Dave." She called him by his name?
"Nice to see you again, Ally. I'm glad you're alright." Grampa... er... Dave smiled.
Ally turned to her again. "Where's AJ? Where's daddy?"
"They're still inside."
Ally looked over Alienelle's shoulder, over to Stanley's side. She turned to her again. "What happened to J'nell and the girls?"
"Jermaine had a fit. They're at home, calming her down."
"Oh," She said before looking at the building again. She was amazed at how little fear she showed at the sight of the blaze. She turned to her again, grinning. "Well, what are we waiting for?"
Alienelle raised a brow. "What are you talking about?"
"Are we going in or not?"
What the? In that fire? Has she no fear at all? "Are you crazy?"
"AJ and daddy are in there. We're not going to leave them." One-hundred percent sure, her sister's crazy. She sounded reasonable, but still, she's not going in there.
"You know what'll happen if you go in there, right? You could die!" Alienelle nearly reached the top of her voice.
"At least I'll die with daddy. Is mommy in there?"
Alienelle nodded.
"Then I'm going. If you're not coming with me, fine."
Alienelle could see her sister's anger as she walked away, scurrying towards the fire. After moments, she was gone. What in the world was she thinking? She sighed. She did sound reasonable. She rolled her eyes, regretting what she's about to do.
She looked at her side. Bryon has been standing there beside her all along, but didn't say anything. She sighed.
"Nelle," he spoke. "I know you're older than me, and I'm supposed to do what you say. But Ally's right. Mom and dad never left us, and I'm not going to leave them. I'm going." Oh no, not him too.
Before she could stop him, he was already scurrying towards the building. She rolled her eyes. Oh, she is going to regret this. Gravely. She sighed again and scurried all fours after her little brother. She approached the flames decorating the entrance to the building. She closed her eyes and scurried towards it.
Here goes nothing.
. . . . . . .
Alvin made it through inside with just a few burns in his fur. After he entered the building, he was greeted by shards of glasses that he crushed painfully with his paws and feet as he scurried up the stairs, floor by floor. The smoke was unbearable. Very unbearable. Just moments after his entrance, he started coughing as hard as asthma. He found it hard to breathe, but he kept his wrist to his nose. He got to the third floor and started calling out his name.
"Alvin! Alvin!" He called out, searching every rooms and doors for any sign of them.
He waited for a response, but nothing. He coughed again, nearly drawing blood from his throat.
"Alvin! AJ! Son, where are you!?" He called out, twice as loud, ignoring the pain in his throat. He fought the urge to sniff out his scent, since that's not going to do anything, and is probably a bad idea.
A few moments later, his ear flinched as he heard a voice. He felt a huge rain of relief pouring down on him. But sadly, that kind of rain doesn't douse fires.
"Uncle Alvin!" The voice was female. Serene's, no doubt. "Uncle Alvin, in the kitchen!"
Alvin opened the door in front of him and came across a room. The heat in this room was much more intense than the other ones. Perhaps this is where the fire started. He searched room to room until finally, he found two bodies lying down on the hard, heating floor. Ryan and Xanders. They're probably dead now, or just unconscious. But cares who? They're still going to die anyways, whether they get out of here or not.
"Uncle Alvin!" Serene's voice was much closer now.
He wounded through the room until he finally found the kitchen. He gasped in shock as he saw his son lying down, Serene knelt beside him. "Serene!" He called out and approached them, kneeling down next to his son. "What happened?"
"His head got hit pretty hard, and I think that explosion shattered his shin. He can't walk," Serene explained.
He looked at his son. He looked so weak, so fragile. Not like him at all. "Alvin, are you alright?"
"D-dad. M-my leg hurts." His voice sounded so weak.
"Don't worry, I'm going to get you out of here." He turned to Serene. "Can you lead the way?" He asked.
Serene nodded and helped him lift AJ up. Alvin slung his son's arm around his neck and supported his back. Holding him, they followed Serene to the exit of the room, careful not to breathe too much of the smoke. The whole building suddenly shook after a loud explosion, and Alvin thought the fire must have burnt another gas can.
"We've got to get of here quick! This whole building's going down!" He yelled out.
As they got out of the apartment room, Serene turned left and right, looking for the fire exit. She faced them and yelled out, "This way!"
They walked away from the door of the apartment room and Serene scurried down to the emergency staircase. Alvin, still holding AJ's arm and paw, walked slowly behind her. Suddenly, the building gave another life-threatening shake after an ear-deafening explosion. Alvin stopped dead in his tracks and looked up at the ceiling. It sounding cracked and shook, threatening. Then suddenly, it struck him. With another explosion, he took AJ in his arms and pushed him away, watching as the ceiling gave way, sending piles of debris raining down.
Finding his legs, he scurried on all fours, but all he could hear was his son yelling out his name when he felt the heavy ceiling crash down on his lower body. He couldn't move, and all he could feel was his legs snapping under all the flaming debris holding him to the ground.
Hey, guys. The lasts parts of this chapter were rushed, so please forgive me. I'm sick, alright? A nasty cough and cold, I'm dying and overreacting, blah, blah, blah.
So, I decided to have this chapter in second parts. So... :D