“She could be anywhere,” Damien said. He didn’t have one clue which way to go. Above him, fire danced across the beams. They ducked against loud popping.
“Jenna! Jenna!” Damien choked on the thick smoke. He wrapped his arm across his mouth and tried to look for any movement or hear any sound besides the strange and low groan of the fire.
“Dad!” Her voice was distant, muddled.
“This way!” Damien shouted to Grayson. They made their way along a wall where a tiny sliver of light led the way. Deep against the shadows of the far corner of the building, Damien saw movement. “Jenna!”
“Dad, over here!”
Flames roared nearby. The heat, though a few feet away, seemed to scorch his face. Damien made it to Jenna, who was huddled in the corner. He pulled her to her feet. “Are you okay?”
She nodded and cried, pointing to a boarded-up window. “I tried to get out this way, but I can’t get the wood off the window!”
Grayson handed Jenna his flashlight, and he and Damien tried to pry the boarded-up window.
“It’s not budging!” Grayson yelled. “Let’s go back the way we came!”
They all turned, but the fire had shifted and now blocked the path they’d used to come in.
“Is there another way out?”
Jenna shook her head. “That door over there is steel, and it’s locked.”
Grayson hurried over, tried to kick it in, but with no luck.
“I’m sorry.” Jenna clung to Damien. “I’m so sorry!”
“We’re going to get you out of this. Lou, over here! Let’s try this board again!”
The smoke hung low against the ceiling. Damien coughed as he tried to breathe. Each man grabbed a side and they tried to pry it again, but it wouldn’t move. Damien turned, grabbing the flashlight from Jenna. He scanned the floor for anything that could help. Then he saw a small steel pipe near the wall.
He rushed over and grabbed it. His hand sizzled. The fire was three feet away from it, but it had already acquired its heat.
Damien handed over the flashlight. Grayson lifted the wood just enough to slide the metal bar in. With every ounce of muscle he had, he pried the wood. Within ten seconds, the board popped and now hung by only two screws. They easily pried off the other side. Damien shouted for Grayson to climb through and help Jenna out. He lifted Jenna and dumped her through the window. Grayson caught her and then reached for Damien’s hand.
But suddenly a searing pain shot up Damien’s arm. He caught a glimpse of Grayson’s eyes, wide with fear. He lost his footing. Tried to scream. A horrendous smell and unbearable heat stopped his breath. He reached for Grayson but instead fell backward. As he hit the ground, he saw it… his arm was on fire.
But his baby girl was safe.
And even as agony like he never imagined existed overtook every one of his senses, Damien knew he could die with peace. He wanted to say good-bye, but there was no time.
He closed his eyes. The pain fled.
36
“Dad?”
The sound of his name pulled Damien from a deep, dark, safe place.
“Dad?”
He opened his eyes, searching for her. “Jenna?” All that came out was a whisper.
“I’m right here.”
His family’s faces came into focus.
Kay leaned toward him. “You’re at the hospital, sweetie. Your arm is burned, but you’re going to be fine.”
Damien stared at it, wrapped tightly in white gauze. His mind swirled in a strange, dizzy state. Maybe pain meds? An IV methodically dripped above him. “How bad is it?”
“You’re probably going to need some skin grafts.” Kay stroked his hair.
Damien tried to move, but pain stabbed through his arm. He looked at Jenna. Dark blue bruises swelled against her cheek. With his good arm, he reached to her face and touched her cheek.
Jenna actually smiled. “They got one punch in, but I really stood my ground. I got Madison right across the face. In self-defense of course. She fell down.”
“Did they start that fire?”
“No. I’d brought a lantern from the garage. It was on the ground, and in the fight, I accidentally kicked it over.” Jenna stared at her hands. “I didn’t go there to fight. I went there to tell them I forgave them. You should have seen the look on their faces when I said that. But then Madison got mad, and that’s when I had to hit her.”
Damien searched her face, trying to find answers, trying to comprehend it all. “How did you end up there?”
“A little bit of courage goes a long way.” She glanced at Kay.
Damien took her arm. “There were some really horrible things written on the walls, and there are a lot of people out there-”
“I know. It’s okay.” Jenna sat on the edge of the bed. “I knew what they were planning and I came anyway, because… of Frank.”
“Frank?”
“Yeah. He always stood up for what he believed in, so I decided to have courage like him. Stand up for myself. I hadn’t done that. I’d just let them say what they wanted about me, but I never stood up for myself.” Tears glistened in her eyes. Kay wrapped her arms around her. “But not tonight. Tonight I fought back. With truth. I don’t care what they say about me.”
Captain Grayson entered the room, looking weary but relieved. “You gave us a scare. Both of you.” He touched Jenna’s shoulder. “You okay?”
Jenna nodded.
“How about you, big guy?”
Damien grinned. “Besides having my arm melted off, I’m great.”
“These girls are going to have a lot to answer to.” Grayson faced Jenna. “I’ll need a statement from you. Tonight if possible.”
“No problem,” Jenna said.
Hunter entered, carrying a can of soda and what looked like a heavy burden. “Can I talk to you, Dad, for a second? Alone?”
The three of them started to move out of the room, but Hunter looked at Grayson, who stopped and returned to the bed.
Damien’s gaze shifted between them. Then he said to Hunter, “That must’ve been tough to watch out there. To read. I’m sorry you had to see it.”
“Nobody believes that,” Hunter said, lowering contemplative, withdrawn eyes. “Everyone knows what those girls are about.”
“There was a post saying that whoever was behind the Web site was going to reveal himself tonight.”
“Dad, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“I think someone caught wind of what was going to go down tonight and knew the town was very caught up in this Web site, and that could be a great way to save a sister in danger and get some very misguided girls caught. How can you run away from an entire town showing up?”
Hesitancy flashed across Hunter’s expression.
“It’s you, isn’t it?”
Hunter looked Damien right in the eye. He nodded so slightly Damien wondered if he’d seen it. But then he said, “I’m the one doing the Web site.”
Damien was surprised by how quickly his emotions showed their hand. “Why?” he whispered.
“At school we were talking about social experiments and about people who risked a lot to make a difference, and I just came up with this idea one day. I hear things at school. See things. How people talk and the damage that it does.” Hunter looked like he was on the verge of tears too. “You always taught me the power of words, and I wanted to show what they can do when misused. It sort of got out of hand. I didn’t expect everyone to go all nuts. But I couldn’t stop either. There was a point to be made. And then I heard there was this plot against Jenna because she told the police…”
“Son, I know your heart, and I know your intention was good. That’s all that matters to me. Whatever the consequences, we’ll face them together, right?” Damien glanced at Grayson.
“He confessed just a few minutes ago,” Grayson said. “Even brought his own evidence.”
Hunter pulled out a long, telescope-looking gadget from the backpack on the floor. “I brought this to show the police that it’s really me.”
“You planned on turning yourself in tonight.”
“After I knew Jenna was safe, yes.” He fingered the gadget, looking at it as if it were a good friend. “Frank knew, you know.”