However, something catches my attention behind him. Why is it so bright outside? I exchange a glance with Kelsi, and we both rush to the bay window to see what the heck is going on. Ben sees us walk past him, and frowns, following us too.
"It smells like..." he whispers.
"...A f-fire?" mutters Kelsi.
We both freeze in front of the window, completely out of words. It's... a fucking nightmare.
A fire. A gigantic fire is happening right under our eyes, in the building directly next to ours. The flames are devouring at least two levels already, and the black smoke covers the upper levels. Kelsi gasps.
"Oh, God..."
"Shit," says Ben. "The firefighters, we gotta call the–Mara, fuck, no!"
It's too late; I'm already running outside.
"For Moon Goddess' sake, Mara, you can't!" Ben yells behind me.
I'm already smashing that stupid button to call the elevator, impatient. Why can't this damn thing come any faster? I run to the stairs, the two of them following me.
"Mara, you're going to get in trouble!"
"You two were with me before that fire started, you know it wasn't me!" I yell back.
All three of us are running down the stairs as fast as we can, I'm focusing on not breaking an ankle. Why the hell is the apartment so high?! I hear the two of them trying to catch up to me. Ben is fine but I can hear Kelsi losing speed and running out of breath quickly; she is not good with exercise.
"You're supposed to stay the fuck away from these kinds of things!"
"It's a fire, Ben, a building on fire with people inside! I'm a Fire Witch, when am I supposed to do anything if not now?"
"You're not supposed to do anything!"
"That is not what I decided!" I retort back.
If I could, I'd glare at him but for now, I'm just glaring at those endless damn stairs. I don't care what the werewolves or anyone else says. I am not sitting back and doing nothing when people are in danger right under my nose!
We finally run out of the emergency exit, and immediately, we are faced with a gigantic blaze. I hear Kelsi gasp behind me, and I'm just as shocked. How did the flames even get that tall? The building next to ours is about ten or twelve floors high, and the flames have already engulfed up to the fourth floor. Some windows have shattered and are letting out thick plumes of black smoke. It smells horrible, and there is a ruckus outside. The inhabitants of the building who managed to evacuate are gathering in the parking lot. A lot of them are in their pajamas, looking up at the fire and in a state of total panic. I hear people crying and screaming, some pointing their fingers up.
Ben and I exchange a glance. He knows we can't possibly go back, not after we just witnessed this. He shakes his head and growls.
"Damn it... Come on," he says.
We run to the crowd, and though I'm unsure what to do, Ben is the first to spot someone in the crowd.
"Jayce!"
A man, with an arm around a younger girl, turns his head and seems to recognize Ben. He meets us halfway, shaking his head.
"...What happened?" asks Ben.
"No idea! I woke up barely half an hour ago. People were fucking screaming, I grabbed Yuri and we ran downstairs to see this... Selena is on her way, though, and the firefighters were called too!"
"Do you know if there are people inside?"
Jayce shakes his head, at a loss, looking around him with a desperate expression.
"I don't know, dude, I... It was complete chaos, everyone ran down..."
He sighs and looks around. The girl, his sister or girlfriend, I don't know, her face is covered in tears but she looks around too.
