Sebastian had also noticed the smoke.He got up and went into the kitchen to check what was going on.
“The stove doesn’t seem to be on.” He knitted his brows and smelled something burning again.
The smell of smoke caused Natalie to cough.
Covering her mouth with her hand, she got up from the sofa and asked him, “Sebastian, do you have the feeling that it’s getting hot here?”
“I’ll go check outside.”
Sebastian’s eyes darkened noticeably.
He made his way to the door and as soon as he opened it, a heat wave and thick smoke rushed into the room. It appeared that some apartment downstairs from them was on fire.
The stairway had already been sealed by the fire and the thick black smoke blurred their path ahead.
They heard people shouting and running in a hurry to get away.
People were shouting out loud, “Fire! Fire!”
Sebastian immediately closed the door.He ran into the bathroom to wet the towels, which he then draped over Natalie and himself
“What would cause this fire? There’s no one else on our floor, and I’m pretty sure the 21st floor is empty as well…”
Natalie coughed, her eyes tearing up from all the heavy smoke she couldn’t fathom why this was happening.
Their apartment was on the top floor, and no one else lived beside or below their unit. The fire had escalated at this point, and a dark cloud of smoke spread through the corridor, turning the place into a hot oven.
“Shh, it’s okay,” Sebastian comforted her.
“Someone must have called 911; the firefighters should be on their way. They’ll be here soon.”
His face was glistening with sweat, with drops trickling from his chin.
“I’ll go and check how bad itis out there.Let me see if we have a way to escape on our own.Stay here and watch yourself, okay?
Make sure you don’t get burned.”
“Sebastian!” Natalie grabbed his arm in a vise-like grip.
“Be careful.”
He hiked up her towel over her head and said, “I will.Don’t worry.”
With that, Sebastian pulled the door open and disappeared into the dark.
As the fire had come from the floor below, the stairs were naturally out of the question.
They couldn’t take the elevator, either. Judging by how fiercely the fire raged, Sebastian figured that this was no accident.
Moreover, their neighborhood had always been commended by the community for its fire safety measures.
This disaster was definitely intentional. He was sure of it.
Meanwhile, Natalie had been staring at the clock on the wall since Sebastian left.
lt had been almost ten minutes, and he still hadn’t returned.
Feeling restless and panicked, she opened the door and screamed into the burning hallway.
“Sebastian!”
A tall figure soon emerged from the thick smoke and pushed her back inside their apartment.
“I told you to stay put, didn’t 1?” Sebastian rasped.
“Save your energy.We’re going to have to make a run for it.”
“I was worried about you!”
Natalie wailed, feeling aggrieved.
Sebastian’s face had black patches from the ash in the air, but it did nothing to conceal his good looks.
He still looked dashing as ever, despite the severity of their situation.
He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into the bedroom, closing the door behind them.
Then, he took out his phone and dialed 911.
After a brief conversation with the emergency responder, he looked to Natalie and considered their options.
There was only one option left.
Without another moment’s hesitation, Sebastian called Garrett.
“Send a helicopter over,” he ordered as soon as the line connected, no longer caring about having his identity exposed Natalie froze, stunned at what she had just heard.
She turned to Sebastian, but he had already dashed into the bathroom and was dousing his body with water.
“Come here!”
He waved at her urgently.
She ran over, and he promptly poured a bucket of water on her. The air was rapidly getting heavy, and tendrils of smoke were beginning to enter their apartment through the vent.
Sebastian knew that it wasn’t safe to stay in the apartment anymore.
He grabbed two new towels and soaked them in water before handing one to Natalie.He covered his mouth and nose with the other and motioned for her to do the same.
“The stairway is blocked, and the elevator isn’t working. We can only escape through the rooftop, but we’ll have to run through the corridor to get there.I need you to listen carefully.Once we’re out of the apartment, just run as fast as you can.No matter what happens, you must not stop.okay?”
Natalie nodded obediently.She could barely keep her eyes open because of the smoke.
They went to the front door and braced themselves.
The moment Sebastian opened it, a wave of heat rushed past them and into the apartment.
Natalie could feel the water on her clothes evaporate in a second.
Just as they had agreed, she blindly ran forward, pumping her legs with all the strength she had left.
Sebastian was following close behind, making sure that the fire wouldn’t reach her as they fled.
With one last spurt, they managed to reach the rooftop.
Just then, a sizable crowd of onlookers from the neighborhood gathered in the open apace downstairs the crowd raised their heads and looked at the Inp Mon which way engulfed by shirt blark clouds of smoke
A member of the property management’s voice was amplified loudly by a loudspeaker “Everyone, be quiet! Keep calm Keep a safe distance from the fire we have called the fire department and the firemen will be here shortly!”
“Why did the fire seem to start at the top floor? What about the people on the top floor?”
“Have all the people on the lower floors managed to evacuate? If you are fine, come and report to me!”
People were all talking and shouting over one another.It was a scene of utter chaos.
The fire had started on the penultimate Moor of the building Fortunately, the residents below that floor were not trapped and had escaped to safety Only Sebastian and Natalie were still caught in the fire since they lived on the top floor, The siren of the fire engine could be heard approaching quickly, but only the sound of the siren could be heard, and there was no sign of the fire engine itself.
Someone in the crowd peered around and saw that the fire engine had actually stopped just near the building, The firefighting access was originally unimpeded.
Now there was a big truck parked at the entrance, which completely blocked the way of the fire engine.
What’s more, this high-end community’s pedestrian system was separated from the vehicle system.
Except for the firefighting access, the fire engine had no way to approach the apartment building from the ground, The property manager was so anxious that he shouted, “What’s going on?! Where is the driver of that truck? This is a matter of life and death.We don’t have a second to waste here!”
Many people couldn’t stand idly anymore.
They also tried to contact the driver to move the truck, but sadly no one recognized this truck and they had no idea who to call.
“Damn it! There is no phone number left on the truck either. We have no way of contacting the driver!”
“Then we have to wait for the tow truck!”
“God knows when the tow truck will arrive! Besides, this truck is too big to be towed. It’s also impossible for the fire engine to forcefully hit a way out!”