Rule 45 - Swayze

"Fire!"

Everyone at the bonfire spun around to stare at the staff member running and screaming wildly. Koi instantly took off toward him.

"Fire!"

The second scream sent the rest of us scrambling out of our seats and running toward camp. When Domino had bolted herself up in her cabin, Koi and I had decided to let her calm down before trying to talk to her again. Us, being her attempted murderers? The very idea was absurd. We... we loved her.

With nowhere else to go, as our belongings were in her cabin, we took to the lake, where a bonfire was going. We sat and drank away our sorrows, knowing that since the killer hadn"t succeeded in killing someone today, tomorrow would be just as bad.

I saw the smoke before I saw the flames, but where it was coming from turned me from running to full-on sprinting for my life.

"Where"s Koi?" I demanded as a group of staff ran past me. One paused for only a moment to answer.

"He took off toward the parking lot!"

Good. He was getting his gear. I looked toward the cabin and then the parking lot. He"d be back soon. I had to find Domino.

Come on, Little Doll, don"t be inside.

My heart was pounding in my ears, each heartbeat telling me that another second had been wasted. Another second that she may very well be trapped in that fucking wooden shelter.

The people who hadn"t fled were standing around her cabin, our cabin, watching in horror. Flames licked the grass around and ate the steps and lower parts of the cabin. It"d been started outside, maybe underneath.

"Where is Domino?" I screamed.

"I think she"s inside, man," someone replied. "Look at the door."

I hurried forward. It was too dark to see details, but when I got close enough, my stomach plummeted. Someone had chained the door and locked it. This was done on purpose. I rushed forward, throwing my body against the door. The porch groaned in protest and the heat singed my legs, but I didn"t give two shits about getting burned. I needed to save my girl.

"Domino!" I screamed.

"Swayze!" she yelled back.

I threw my weight at the door again. It was no use. The chain had been wrapped so tight the door wasn"t budging. I tugged on it and flinched back as it burned me. I bit down on my lower lip and grabbed it again. The pain was so intense I drew blood from my lip trying to ignore it.

"Move back." Koi"s voice pulled me from my panic. I stepped away, my entire body screaming from the heat. Koi, in his full firefighting gear, came forward. He hopped up onto the porch.

"Domino, step away from the door. I"m coming to get you," he declared loudly. If there was a response, I didn"t hear it. He waited a moment and then raised his axe. "I"m coming in!"

He swung and the wood splintered. He kicked the door with his massive boot and then swung again, hacking at the door until it finally came apart. He stepped inside and my breath stopped. Was it too late?

Each second that he remained inside the burning cabin was hell. I would have rather I"d been in there, not her. Not Domino! My little doll was too small, too fragile, to stand the heat for too long. I collapsed, my emotions taking over me.

And then, there were cheers.

I swung my head up as Georgie hopped through the opening and sped off into the cool woods. I looked back to the door pouring smoke. It was nothing but flames inside. I bit down again, blood filling my mouth as I fought back screams of agony. Finally, the door burst open and swung away. Koi stepped out, carrying Domino.

"Clear the area!" someone from behind us shouted. We all turned to see another firefighter. It was then that I realized I"d been hearing sirens this entire time. The full crew was here. Koi took her straight over to the ambulance. I followed behind and nodded to the EMTs working tonight, Trey and Connor. They assessed her.

"Domino?" My voice cracked. Her eyes were closed and her face was covered in soot. She didn"t look...

"She"s alive," Koi said, stepping to me. "The fire started underneath the cabin, so by the time I got to her, she"d climbed onto the bed to get away from the floor. She might have some smoke inhalation damage, but she"s alright otherwise."

I looked to the EMTs, who nodded along to Koi"s initial assessment of her.

"Was there anyone else in the cabin?" a firefighter came over and asked Koi.

"No, sir. Just her dog, but he escaped."

"Good. Let"s get this under control. Get this area cleared," he ordered.

Koi nodded and went to work, pushing people back and telling them to go to the parking lot.

I stayed with Domino, squeezing her hand, pleading with any powers that be to wake her up.

"We"re taking her to the hospital. Are you her next of kin?" Trey asked.

I looked up sternly. "I"ll ride with."

"Swayze," Connor warned.

"I said I"m riding with. Let"s go." I hopped into the back and they pushed her inside, closing the door. I didn"t remember the drive to the hospital. I was too focused on Domino"s perfect face, still as stone, to pay attention. They put the oxygen mask on her and started an IV.

The doors opened and they yanked her out, taking her right to the ER. I followed behind, sliding into the room with her.

A nurse came and gave her a quick examination. She asked me questions about Domino, but I had few answers.

Just her name, her age, and that she was my girlfriend.

The doctor came and I was told to leave. Begrudgingly, I stood and went out to make some calls. However when I turned on my screen, my blood chilled. There was a text from Koi, who'd forwarded a message from Marisol.

Marisol: I told you I'd burn the evidence today.

She'd done this? I shoved my anger aside and called Fabian. He answered on the first ring.

"Where are you? Is she okay? Jesus Christ man, I don"t know what to do!" he cried.

"We"re at the hospital. Domino is alive, but she"s on oxygen and they are evaluating her. She inhaled smoke."I bit back what I knew about Marisol's involvement. Just for now, I told myself. She'd get hers soon enough.

"Is she dying? I can"t handle this right now, man. Where"s Koi? I need someone to come down here." He began to sob into the phone. I listened and waited. Guilt over not calling him right away swirled in my belly and chest. I went to talk to a nurse. She didn"t want to tell me anything, but a little pressure and I got out the bare minimum.I relayed the information to Fabian.

"She"s not dying. They are just bandaging her up some. Look, they aren"t going to tell me shit, so you might want to come down here. Or maybe Mattias or something." I hated to admit I couldn"t do anything to help her, but my hands were tied.

Fabian began to laugh. "I can"t fucking go anywhere, dude! Everything is going to shit! This is a whole lot of karma. Someone is fucking with me."

I frowned and looked up at the clock.

"Shouldn"t the fire almost be out by now?" It was just one cabin, and the fire was contained.

"Bro, I"m not talking about the fire!" Fabian had gone off the rails. He was screaming into the phone. I pulled it away from my ear as he kept talking. "I"m not even at that fucking campground. Mattias and Marisol are over there figuring shit out. I"m at the park, man, and this is bad. This is real bad."

"Fabian, what happened?" I asked, unsure if I even wanted to know the answer. When he didn't respond, I asked again, keeping my voice as steady as I could.

"I"m not sure, man, but there"s a body chained to the floor in the Lazy Lane River."