CHAPTER 58 MATT

58

Matt

MATT TOSSED THE EMPTY bucket back across the street to Conner Evans, who heaved it over his shoulder to Sally at the door of the fire station. Sally handed it off to Gabby, took the full one from her other hand, and glared back at Conner, who was standing on the yellow line of Main Street. Her face red and sweaty, Sally said, "Christ, Conner, I can't toss a full bucket, you lazy shit, get over here!"

Conner didn't move. Instead, he bent over with his hands on his knees, out of breath. "This is stupid! We're not even making a dent in it!"

Gabby shielded her eyes from the sun and pointed toward the roof of the library. "Matt, he's right! It's spreading!"

Matt followed her finger.

Visible between the black smoke spewing from the library's windows, glowing hot embers circled the air around the clock tower, caught the wind, and drifted lazily through the sky. Some dropped to the street and grass; others vanished on the rooftops of the surrounding buildings. Tendrils of smoke were already drifting up from the roof of the pharmacy two doors down. Same with the bank. Left unchecked, the fire would take all of downtown, and without working fire trucks or additional help, there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Matt had picked up another empty bucket and felt it slip from his hand and thump to the ground at his feet.

Where the hell did everyone go?

An hour ago, half the town seemed to be out in the streets. Now nobody was around. Even the people who had been in the sheriff's office had run off.

A window on the second floor of the library blew out with a deep grunt. Matt shielded his face and eyes. The heat of it smacked into him, and he took a few stumbling steps in the opposite direction before finally calling out to whoever was listening, "We need to evacuate all these buildings! Get everyone out!"

It was Sunday, so most were closed, but he couldn't risk someone getting trapped inside.

A block down the road, Sally shouted something back, but he couldn't make it out. She grabbed Gabby by the hand, and the two of them started going door to door. When they found one locked, they beat on the windows before moving on.

Matt turned back around. "Conner, I need you to—"

Conner Evans was gone. No doubt took off to save his own skin, like Ben Molton and the others had.

Matt swore under his breath and was about to head back into the fire station to salvage whatever he could when he spotted the strange girl standing in the street, her long, dark hair fluttering in the wind. She was vigorously scratching at her left arm.

A pang of fear tweaked Matt's chest as he thought of all the names written on her arms, how she'd been scratching at Arwa Gilmore's name moments before the woman stumbled out of the library and died. The line through her name.

The heat of the fire on his back, Matt ran to her, grabbed her wrist, and yanked up the sweatshirt sleeve.

The name Eisa Heaton was bright red, inflamed, a fresh line down the middle.