Turning to get a look at the fire, the man shook his head as if he thought he might be in a dream. “I don’t know what happened. I was having a drink, and suddenly all hell broke loose.”
“Is there anyone else inside?”
“We all started running after the blast. The ones that didn’t were either killed flat out or are dead now.”
Doc looked around to find people gathered on the street, gazing in shock at the burning building. Suddenly, his own eyes grew wide, and his breath sped from his lungs. From where he was standing, he could see the fire had already spread to other buildings. One of those buildings on the other end of that same block was the one Dr. Seegar was still using as his office.
“Oh my God,” Doc said as he shoved through the stragglers working their way from Thompson’s.
“Are you crazy?” the man shouted to Doc’s back. “You’ll be killed if you go that way!”
Taking a quick look over his shoulder, Doc spotted a group of wagons barreling straight toward the inferno. “The fire brigade is almost here. Tell them to send help after me. It looks like the fire’s already spreading.”
“Tell them yourself! Get back here!”
But Doc had already turned his back on the man and was running down Market Street.
Instead of following the street, Doc followed a trail made of crackling flame. That trail separated itself from the rest of the blaze to run along the lower sections of each and every building on the same block as Thompson’s Varieties. At times, the fiery trail dipped down to the boardwalk before jumping back onto the next building. It made Doc think of the Devil walking down the street, running the tip of his finger along the shops, restaurants, and storefronts, leaving fire and brimstone in his wake.
Looking farther down the street, he could see buildings that hadn’t yet been touched by the Devil. Then, in front of his eyes, those buildings went up in flame just like all the others.
People dashed out of their doors as the fire jumped from one structure to another. Most of the buildings were of the older variety and went up like kindling. Even the newer ones lit up as if they’d been constructed of dry leaves.
As Doc sped up in a futile attempt to try to get ahead of the fire, he caught his first whiff of kerosene. Seconds later, he spotted the one man who stood and watched the spreading fire the way a child watched fireworks on the Fourth of July.
Gritting his teeth, Doc ran faster until he felt his lungs burning in his chest. His fists were clenched, and his eyes were fixed upon Grissom’s gnarled, grinning face.
As Doc got closer to him, Grissom turned and opened his arms as if to embrace Doc like a brother.
“You son of a bitch,” Doc snarled as he threw himself at Grissom. “You did this!”
Grissom reeked of kerosene. He caught Doc and pivoted on his heels to toss the narrow-framed dentist to one side. “You’re damn right I did this! I’d say this is the best piece of work I’ve ever done! Even tops the October fire. Your friend Seegar won’t escape this one.”
Doc tried to keep himself from falling, but he’d put too much steam behind his first charge to remain upright. Even as his hands scraped against the rocky soil and his knees pounded against the ground, he didn’t feel a bit of pain. All he could think about was getting up again.
Grissom watched with amusement. The scarred skin of his face twisted like an ugly mask that had been partially melted in the sun. “I set more fires than I can count. They’s all a thing of beauty. You’d see that if you just settled down and took a look for yourself.”
Rather than admire Grissom’s handiwork, Doc strained to see farther down the street. The moment he saw smoke billowing up from the end of the block where Dr. Seegar worked, Doc scrambled to get moving again.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Grissom said as he reached out to grab hold of Doc’s jacket. “I said for you to watch this with me, an’ that’s just what you’re gonna do.”
Like most everyone else who didn’t know better, Grissom assumed that Doc’s slender build and pale complexion meant he was weak. He was shown the error of his ways soon enough when Doc wheeled around to send a vicious right hook into Grissom’s chin.
The punch snapped Grissom’s head back and loosened his grip on Doc. His eyes were wide with surprise, but the smile soon came back onto his face when he spotted Doc running for the drugstore down the street.
“Where’s John?” Doc wheezed to the first person he could find outside of A. M. Cochrane’s Drug Store.
The man had his sleeves rolled up and a dazed expression on his face. After a few seconds, Doc recognized him as one of the store’s clerks.
“John Seegar?” the clerk asked.
“Yes. Where is he?”
“I don’t know. I heard the explosion and was about to take a look for myself when I smelled the smoke.”
Doc was already shoving past him to get to the stairs that would take him to the dental practice upstairs.
“Wait! There’s a fire up there!” the clerk shouted. But it was too late. Doc had already charged for the steps, and the clerk wasn’t foolish enough to go after him.
The moment Doc climbed the last of the stairs, he reached for the door and had to pull his arm back almost immediately as it was kicked open by someone on the other side. The girl who took appointments had her arm around an older woman who covered her mouth with a handkerchief. Neither of them seemed to see Doc until they walked straight into him.
“Oh!” the younger woman said with a start. “Is that you, Dr. Holliday?”
Doc stepped aside and started helping them down the steps. “Who else is up there?”
“Dr. Seegar was right behind me. He’s helping one of the other patients.”
“Can you make it the rest of the way?”
“Yes, Dr. Holliday. Thank you so much.”
It took a moment for Doc to realize that they were already down the stairs and within sight of the street. He made sure they were safely on their way before turning and racing back up the stairs.
Every breath he took was a painful ordeal, and Doc could already feel the blood at the back of his throat. Thanks to years of practice, he was able to hold back the coughing fit that he knew to be coming, but he knew that wouldn’t last long.
Suddenly, there was a loud thump inside the office. The moment Doc heard it, he pictured Seegar lying on the ground or burning alive. Just as he was about to storm through the door, he heard a familiar voice behind him amid the pounding of boots against wooden slats.
“You want to watch this up close and personal?” Grissom snarled as he stomped up the stairs. “That’s fine with me!”
Doc’s instincts screamed for him to draw the gun holstered under his arm. Even as his muscles started to follow through on that command, his lungs pinched in as if they were being squeezed within a ruthless grasp. It was all he could do to keep from doubling over.
Grissom took hold of Doc’s shoulder and pulled him into a gut-level uppercut. He could feel Doc’s chest folding against his fist. Lifting Doc’s head up using a handful of hair, Grissom sucked in a deep, smoke-filled breath. “Just so you know, this is all on account of that shit you pulled on Mr. Weeks. You and your Injun friend are both going to be real familiar with these here flames. In fact, he’s probably cooking inside that saloon of his right now.”
Doc could feel himself being hoisted up. As much as he wanted to do something about it, his strength was being sapped by the sheer effort of trying to hold back the coughing fit. When he gave in to it, the hacking coughs battered him from the inside like a series of punches.
“That’s it,” Grissom said. “Take it in nice and deep. You’ll be able to see your dentist friend sooner that way.”
Doc’s eyes snapped open, and he clenched his jaw shut. Although the coughs were still kicking blood into the back of his throat, he kept them to himself by forcing his lips to remain closed. Once he was able to breathe, he asked, “What . . . did you say?”