Episode 3: Sparks

Anna slowly opened her eyes, wincing from the pounding in her head, closing her eyes again. She noticed her wrists stung with heat and went to move them but couldn't. Rope burns, she thought. Then she smelled something. She sniffed a few times to try and find out what the smell was. She then opened her eyes fully and knew what the smell was.

Flames encompassed the area around her and were just barely three feet away. She noticed she was in a chair, her arms wrapped around the back and tied at the wrists, and her ankles tied to the chair legs. She started to cough from the fumes that filled her lungs.

They burned the back of her throat causing her to cough harder. "So this is what it's like to get burned alive" she thought aloud. She fidgeted in her ties but they were relentless. She sighed frustratedly. "Help!" she shouted. "Somebody help!"

She coughed several more times, and the coughs got worse as the fire burned closer. It burned so close it nearly touched her foot.

She started to feel even more light-headed than she had before. Her eyes felt heavy and began to close on their own. "Somebody! Anybody!" she called weakly. She took a few more fume-coated breaths then fell unconscious. Her head fell back and she went limp.

A few seconds later Oliver, dressed as the 'hood', had entered the warehouse Anna was believed to be in. He, too, smelled smoke. "Anna?" he called, walking further into the warehouse. It appeared to be empty. Just then flames erupted on the west wall near a door, burning from the other side through.

He went quickly to the door and tried to open it. It was locked with a dead bolt and a steel hinge lock. Oliver suddenly started to feel panicked. He knew Anna was in that room but he couldn't get in.

On the inside, Anna faintly heard a banging sound. Her head rolled forward and her chin touched her chest. She tried to lift her head but she couldn't. "Somebody…help" she whimpered quietly.

"Anna?" she heard a voice calling her name from far off. It sounded muffled but she could still make out the words. She finally was able to lift her head and she saw most of the room was burning wildly and it had reached her chair. The right, back leg started to burn along with the left. "Anna!" the calls sounded desperate now. "Anna, can you hear me?"

"I'm here!" she called as loud as she could. She heard more loud bangs and thuds. "Just hold on!" the flame crawled up the chair leg and up the back of the chair to the shoulder. The flame didn't touch her but it soon would, given the chance.

She tried wriggling out of her ties again. She made a whimper of frustration and desperation as she tugged hard. She felt the heat on the skin of her right shoulder and coughed from the fumes.

The coughs blended with the banging noises in the background. "I can't…" she said, starting to pass out again. " I…I…." this time she fell under deeply and her breathing hitched.

Oliver finally broke through the door with a metal object he'd found lying around the warehouse. He saw Anna was passed out, hunched over in her chair. He quickly broke through the last bits of the door and looked around at the flames swallowing the room. There were sporadic segments of open floor he noticed.

He went from spot to spot as best he could and came to the last section of open floor where no fire burned. It was at least six feet from Anna, still. He bit the bullet and hurried through the last section of flames until he arrived at Anna's chair. He quickly untied her wrists and ankles, and she slumped into him unconsciously.

He picked her up, one arm under her knees and one around her rib cage, and then hurriedly carried her through the room and out the door. He carried her out of the warehouse and got half way across the open lot before the whole warehouse exploded behind them.

The Next Day…

Anna's eyes fluttered open to a dark room. She slowly and carefully sat up against the pounding in the back of her head. She looked around the room and noted she was in the hospital. The lights in the room were off but lights were on in the hall.

She noticed police walking by every few minutes. Her eyes swept the room again and stopped by the window with a startle. The 'hood' stood by the window watching her motionless. Anna swallowed and tried speaking so it was audible. "Thank you," she croaked. "You saved my life…again."

"Get some rest" he said, turning to the window.

"Wait!" she said, and he stopped, turning back to her slightly. She pushed down the blanket and slowly pushed off the bed to stand on her bare feet. She was a bit wobbly and unstable but she walked the three feet to meet him at the window. She looked up into his eyes and for a minute she couldn't speak.

But she finally snapped out of it and spoke. "Why do you keep saving me?" she asked. They were quiet once again. Anna heard faint footsteps and glanced at the hallway. She looked back but found herself alone with cool air coming in the open window. She leaned forward on the window ceil and looked out at the city.

"Miss you really shouldn't be out of bed" someone said from behind her. she turned and saw a police officer standing by her door. "I just needed some air." She closed the window and went back to her bed.