Sounds Pretty Heavy

[Abby]

The morning of Sunday, November 7, 2021.
Tie in to: Local Business Up in Smoke!
_____
In her dream, a glowing orange flower unfurled its petals and bloomed before her eyes over and over again, stuck on a loop. When she reached for it, she singed her fingers. The sensation of blistering skin felt incredibly real.

“Abby, wake up.”

Jameson’s voice shook her out of a vision spell, and she realized then that her dream was more real than not. She was standing in the middle unit kitchen at Old Temple West, stirring a pot of boiling water without the macaroni in. The box was sitting on the counter beside the stove, opened but forgotten. Mable had wanted macaroni for breakfast, she vaguely remembered.

A large hand with long fingers squeezed her shoulder. She knew the scent of cheap cigarettes, gunpowder, and booze belonged to Jameson, but it took her a moment longer to sway out of her stupor. She rubbed her eyes and set aside the spoon. Mable’s older sister Cindy picked it up and gently turned her away from the stove, taking over.

“What is it?” Jameson asked her, pushing her hair out of her face. “What did you see?” His eyes were wide and eager. They all knew that when Abby had a vision it was important to pay attention.

“Fire,” Abby said dreamily. Before she could say anything further, a jarring boom shook the foundations of the apartment complex.

Everyone went still.

Auntie Sizzle’s knitting needles ceased their constant clacking. All of the babies and toddlers present on the premises held their collective breaths. Even the refrigerator chose that moment to go on a quiet cycle. The only exception was the pot of boiling water, which still burbled and now began to overflow. Some of the water spilled onto the burner with an aggravated hiss. Cindy turned down the burner.

“That came from the north,” Auntie Sizzle said after a long, terrible minute of quiet.

Abby’s eyes locked with Jameson’s, her hands gripping his arms above the elbows. Their gazes widened in unison, and together they both said the one thing they knew with dreaded certainty.

“Eddie.”

With a gasp, Gus added, “Pert and Roster.”

They left the housing complex in a rush. Abby ran barefoot across the cobbled streets of the city, over Westbridge with Kaliope hot on her heels. Jameson had volunteered the van. It would have been quicker that way, but Abby insisted there was no time. So they all ran on foot, she and Kaliope and Jameson and Gus. They could see the smoke from across the water, and at least one of them was certain they saw a garage door floating down the river.

As soon as they broke free of the bridge and turned the corner, they saw the fire. Jameson dove at the nearest pay phone and immediately called the closest firehouse. Gus ran ahead, shouting.

“Pert’s in there with Rooster!” he cried. Panic made him brave, and more foolish than usual. Kaliope had to grab him and haul him back from the inferno before he could stupidly add himself to a potential casualty list. He struggled and shouted their names at the building, but the only response to his panicked outcries was the roar of the fire as it licked up into the second story windows.

Jameson jogged to a stop beside them and helped Kaliope get a handle on Gus while Abby stood staring in horror at the scene. The wail of sirens sounded, alerting them to the fact that help was on the way. There was nothing else they could do but wait and let the professionals handle the inferno.

People were poking their heads out of neighboring buildings. Fortunately none were close enough to Greensmith Restorations to catch ablaze themselves. A crowd started to gather, gawking and whispering questions. How had it started? What happened? Was anyone in there?

A glint of gold in the street caught Abby’s eye, and she padded closer to the blaze. Kaliope reached for her sleeve, and in the hollow distance she thought she heard the woman tell her to stop because it was too dangerous. Abby crouched down and poked at the gold band between her toes. A foot apart from it she discovered the matching ring with the rainbow jewel insets. Ed’s wedding and engagement rings. She picked them up reverently and rolled them into her palm.

“Eddie,” she whispered brokenly. Two hands landed on her shoulders. One masculine and dry, the other feminine but no less hard. Beside her, Gus fell to his knees in defeat, all the fight and struggle had gone out of him as soon as the truck rolled up and the firefighters broke out the hoses.

Abby turned and slid her arms around Gus, hugging him tight. The four bundled on the curb together, shock and horror keeping them in place.

“I better call Nellie,” Jameson said, breaking from their cluster. “Wade was in there, too.”

“They can’t be dead,” Gus moaned. “They can’t.”

“Hush now,” Abby said softly, stroking a hand over his hair. “We don’t know that.”

“What did City Mama show you?” Kaliope asked evenly.

“Fire,” Abby said, staring into the steaming flames. “Only fire.”