Don't Answer The Door - Ch. 32

"Shit!" Alex screamed out as he continued to make his journey.1

He placed his hands over his head but realized that wouldn't help him against the pounding rain. Alex stopped walking and stood there, then slowly raised his head to look up at the dark cloudy sky. Rain drops fell on his face as he closed his eyes and tried to relax. Alex heard a loud striking sound and his eyes immediately shot open. He screamed in pain as hard-hitting rain pounded into his eyes. As he looked straight ahead he saw a long bolt of lightening strike again, but this time it seemed to hit something. Alex was in shock and didn't know what to do, but then he started to see smoke arise over the rain. Panic and terror started to grow in his stomach as he began to realize nothing was going his way. 2

Alex didn't know what building was on fire, and he was worried that it was something important. He began to run as quickly as he could, through the pounding rain and the striking thunder. As he began to near a building with fire growing out of windows and smoke rising from the roof, he suddenly realized that it was a gas station. The gas lines didn't seem to be hit but to his horror he did smell gasoline. He stood still, then his mind began to tell him to run away quickly, but his legs wouldn't move. His legs were stiff in place.3

As he started to regain some movement in his legs, and just as he was about to flee the gas station which would soon explode, he saw something move inside. Somebody was inside the building and they were stuck, unable to get out from under a piece of wood that probably fell from the roof. His heart told him to help the poor victim from the fire caused by nature, but his mind told him to be smart and just run away before he too gets injured. He followed his heart as he's always done in the past, and ran inside the gas station, frantically trying to help whoever it was underneath the pieces of wood. As he got closer to the body, he flinched at the smell of burning skin and hair. The rotting smell made him act fast, and he grabbed the pieces of wood that were on fire and just threw them to the side. Underneath them was a young man, around the age of 20. He seemed to be fine, although his pants were on fire.4

Alex took off his wet shirt quickly and started beating it across the young man's legs. He successfully put out the fire just in time before it did any major damage to the man's legs. He threw his shirt to the side and pulled the man to his feet. 5

"C'mon! We have to get out of here!" Alex screamed in the man's ears, straining to be heard over the roaring fire and striking thunder. 6

The man began running, Alex behind him. Alex screamed out in pain as a piece of wood smacked against his right shin. He fell straight to the floor and wasn't able to get up.7

"Help! Please, help me!" Alex screamed to the scared man.8

The guy was at the door ready to leave, but he couldn't exit while leaving Alex laying on the floor in desperate need of help, especially not right after he just saved his life. The 20 something year old man ran back to Alex and pulled him up from below his armpits, and threw him over his shoulders as he bolted out of the gas station door. He was right at the corner when he heard the loudest explosion he had ever heard in his life. He looked behind him and saw his pride and joy blow up into the air. Alex jumped off of the guys shoulders and stared at the fire. 9

Alex felt pain in his face. He hesitantly touched the right side of his face, the area right under his earlobe and down his neck to his chin. Alex's eyes grew wide with horror, and his lower lip began to tremble as his finger tips touched a hot rigid surface.10

"My face! My face! What happened to my face!" He screamed in panic as he turned to face the man that saved him in return to his own heroic actions.11

Alex read the man's name tag over and over as tears fell from his eyes.12

"Freddy? Freddy?! Why won't you answer me?! What the hell is wrong with my face?!" He asked, although the pain he felt in his face told him what was wrong.13

"My face! It hurts so much! WHAT THE HELL!"14

Freddy wouldn't answer Alex, although he tried to as much as he could, but no words were able to come out. They stood there in the pouring rain unable to say anything as lightening continued to strike down. 15

"It burned me didn't it?! The fucking wood burned my face, didn't it?!" Alex screamed out at Freddy, who just stood there, shock and sympathy recognizable on his face.16

"I'm sorry.. I don't know what to tell you. I really don't. I know this might be the wrong time, and you might not care, but thank you for saving my life, thank you for saving me, and I'm so sorry the consequence of that was your face.. part of it.. getting burned off." Freddy said, stopping in between words to get deep breaths.17

Freddy turned and stared at the gas station where he worked. He began to cry and scream. 18

"Oh Noooo!!" He wailed. "Why?! Oh God, Why this too?!" 19

He put his hands over his face and began to shake his head from left to right, as if trying to get rid of a bad dream.20

Alex seemed to not notice the emotional pain that Freddy was in.21

"You're right! I don't care if you thank me or not! I really don't! I'm scarred for life, Fred! But you don't care, no! You're life was saved-" Alex stopped screaming after he realized what he had said.22

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that, it came out the wrong way." Alex said, trying to avoid making Fred think the wrong thing.23

"It's okay.." Freddy said, feeling a bit hurt and unwanted.24

Alex realized that he made a mistake in saying what he said, because it only made Freddy think that it was a regretful decision that he saved him, and that he should have just died to keep from ruining Alex's face.25

After standing in the rain for minutes, Alex looked up at the sky and let the rain hit his face, although it felt like needles poking in through his skin. When he opened his eyes, the rain began to quiet down, and then slowly began to stop. He saw the dark clouds begin to disappear and deep down, Alex felt better. He knew he did a great thing, the right thing, and although it still bothered him, he tried to ignore the fact that he was scarred for life.26

"What were you doing over in this part of town anyway? Are you some sort of Angel?" Freddy joked.27

"Heh, actually I'm probably some cursed being or something..." Alex said, more to himself than Freddy. He rubbed his chin and winced in pain.28

"Huh?" 29

"Nothing, it's nothing. " Alex put his arms down to his sides and looked at Freddy. 30

"I was coming here to get some.." Alex decided it would be weird to tell him he wanted some shovels. He knew Freddy would ask why he needed them. Alex didn't feel like telling him he had dead bodies in his car, waiting for him back in the middle of nowhere.31

"Do you have some place that I could take you to?" Freddy asked.32

"My name is Alex." Alex replied, suddenly realizing he didn't introduce himself. "You deserve to know who saved your life." Alex laughed.33

"Well?" Freddy asked, laughing. 34

"Yeah, I have some place to go, but, you probably shouldn't take me there."35

"Why not?"36

"Because.. I don't know. Just, I could walk back." Alex said, confused with his own words, not knowing how to explain himself correctly.37

"I should probably walk you back to where you came from anyway. My car exploded, and I live really far away." Fred paused. "Would you mind giving me a ride to my home, if you have your car?"38

"My car is a few miles back, but sure, I could drop you off to your house." Alex said, squinting suddenly as pain struck his face once again.39

"Are you okay?" Freddy asked, worried, being buried with guilt.40

Freddy felt the pain in his legs as well, felt the skin on his legs burn. He looked down at his pants. There were holes that were burned through. Those holes were open doors to Fred's legs. He stared at them and a feeling of sickness filled the pit of his stomach. Fred could suddenly share Alex's pain.41

"No, but I'll make it through this, just like anything else, I guess."42

Freddy heard Alex talk, but he didn't respond. He had already begun to think about something else. He was hoping he could make it to wherever Alex had his car parked.43

"My car is back a few miles back, like I said.. we should probably get going." Alex said, as he began to walk back to death...44