Chapter 6 : An accident

As time went on, they kept talking. It was now 6:50. It was getting late. Some of them had to go home already. Jonathan had managed to keep the conversation going for a long time, it was a skill of his. As they asked for the check, suddenly-

BOOM

CRASH

RUMBLE

A loud explosion followed by what seemed to sound like crashing and rumbling could be heard.

Everyone was on guard, confused, and scared.

“What the hell was that? Are they shooting a movie somewhere nearby?”, Jonathan asked half jokingly.

“No idea man, let’s just pay and get outta here yeah?” Marcus answered, shaking a little but still standing tall.

“I’ll come with you, Marcus” said Sandra, running up to him and clinging her arms around his. It was obvious she was scared, and so she would want to stay with her boyfriend.

Jonathan winked at him, and said that he needed to go to the restroom for a bit. It was just Edward and Jane at the table now. It was very silent. Then, Jane opened her mouth:

“Hey, so-”

BOOM

…

A smell, something.. Ashy.. Dirty, it was painful to breathe in.

“HUFF!”

Edward woke up, laying outside the street, next to the curb. He looked up and saw Marcus. Immediately, he sat up, knowing something was up. It was hard to breathe, the air was smoky. He coughed a bit of blood out. He felt a sting, something hot on his left side. When he turned to face the restaurant, it was on fire. A train, inside of the restaurant, the walls and windows all shattered, fire all over it. Everyone was outside, but Edward couldn’t help but notice some people were missing.

“Where’s Jonathan and Jane, Marcus..?” Edward asked, calm but with fear in his tone.

…

“Marcus.”

…

“I-... I don’t know… I think they’re still in there…” He said with fear and confusion.

Sandra was crying right next to him, hugging him.

“Jane's still in there!” She exclaimed, crying.

“Please, God, someone save her…”

Edward looked around, but there were no firefighters or police. No sirens could be heard either.

“Marcus, where’s the firefighters? Where’s the help at?” Edward asked, with shakiness in his voice. It was obvious he was trying to stay calm and focus on the situation.

“They aren’t here yet! I don’t know, okay?!” Marcus yelled back.

It was clear Marcus was afraid, and so was Sandra. Edward was as well.

A few seconds pass before Edward starts taking all his belongings out of his pockets.

“What are you doing? There’s no way you’re actually thinking of going in there, right?”, Marcus yelled,

“Are you going to save them?” Edward yelled back

“No? It’s a burning building! Just wai-”

“Then shut the fuck up” Edward said, cutting off Marcus.

Edward ran straight into the building, he had found a window that was clear to enter from. Inside was full of debris and smoke. It was hard to see, harder to breathe. He grabbed a tablecloth and wrapped it around his mouth.

“I’m going to the restroom for a bit, be right back.”

Edward remembered what Jonathan had said just before everything happened. He ran straight for the restrooms, dodging all the flaming wood falling and closed the door behind him. Luckily, the restroom was clear of smoke, but it was still ruined. A large piece of wood was on top of Jonathan, pinning him.

“Jonathan! Can you hear me?!” Edward yelled

“Ye-"

Cough

"Yeah, I can hear you!” he yelled back.

“Alright, I’m going to pull this up on the count of 3, alright? When I do that, you need to push as well, and slip out!”

Edward got himself in a ready position, something like a deadlift. He got a good grip on the wood, and was ready to pull it up.

“Alright, 3!”

“2!”

“1!”

He jolted the piece of wood up, causing many other things to fall behind it. But by the time everything else was about to fall, Jonathan had already slipped out.

“What the fuck happened?!” Jonathan asked, still confused

“I don’t know! I think something happened with the train and it crashed into the building!” Edward answered.

“Listen,” Edward said, in a serious tone

“Jane is still somewhere in here! We need to find her and get out! I don’t know how long this place will last for!”

The restaurant was already on the verge of collapsing. Most of the support was already down, and creaking could be heard loudly. They opened the door, seeing flames everywhere. Edward ripped a bit off his makeshift mask and gave it to Jonathan so he could wrap one as well. The two boys went together to find Jane. They went around the whole restaurant, when all of a sudden, they heard a small noise at the far back of the restaurant.

“Hey! I heard something over there!” yelled Jonathan.

Jonathan ran towards the sound, whilst Edward ran after him. Jane was stuck there, under a table, and Jonathan instantly ran up to help her. Edward surveyed the area quickly. It was near the back entrance. It seemed like Jane was trying to escape from the back before she somehow got stuck under a table.

“ARE YOU JUST GOING TO STAND THERE OR HELP ME?!” Jonathan screamed at Edward

Edward, surprised by Jonathan, instantly moved to help him and they got her out easily. She was unconscious but still breathing. They both put one of her arms on their shoulders, and carried her out. They managed through the fire, and the burning debris, and the exit was right there.

Creak..

CRASH

“AGHHH!”

Edward yelled, in pain. A piece of burning wood landed straight onto his stomach, pinning him on the ground. The smoke was getting heavier, and the place was about to go down any second. But the exit was right there. Though smoke covered it, the light was visible.

“Help, Jonathan!”, begged Edward. He was writhing in pain, the burns getting worse.

But Jonathan kept going. Maybe he didn’t hear Edward.

“JONATHAN! HELP! I’M STILL HERE!”

Edward begged louder, screaming at the top of his lungs.

This time, Jonathan stopped and turned around. He started looking around, and looked at Edward.

“Help me! I’m still trapped!”

Edward exclaimed, barely freeing his hand to reach out to Jonathan. But Jonathan stood there, motionless. He muttered something under his breath before turning around and continuing to the exit.

“Wait! Jonathan! Stop! I'M STILL HERE!”

Suddenly, sirens were heard. The fire department had arrived. Edward, though in pain, was relieved. He was going to be saved. Maybe Jonathan didn’t have the strength to help, and was going to come back for him after he dropped her off. He was just getting himself ready to help.

A few minutes had gone by, but no one came in. The sirens got louder, but Jonathan was nowhere to be found. Edward was already on the brink of unconsciousness, his back scarred with second to third degree burns. He was gritting his teeth, his fist clenched.

“Fuck”

He said silently

“I’m going to fucking kill you”

He said silently again

He pushed himself, panting, trying to toss the piece of wood off of his back. He managed to lift it just a little bit to scrape by and crawl on the ground. He started crawling to the exit, back scarred. He couldn’t stand up because it was just so excruciatingly painful.

“I’M GOING TO FUCKING KI-”

BOOM

The restaurant exploded, blowing up everything around it. Everything went flying, and huge flames were everywhere. Soon the firefighters got to the location and sprayed it down. The flames were contained, and everyone was safe. 

Everyone except the boy trapped under the moon.