Chapter 90

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The fire was much bigger than expected. Greyson, who had gotten off the fire truck, was dumbfounded by the enormous scale. The other firefighters were also surprised like him, but they moved their bodies quickly as if this was already a familiar situation.

"Hose, bring the hose first!"

"Where did the fire start? Is there anyone inside?"

"Where's the entry team? Get the entry team ready!"

"We need more fire trucks, request reinforcements and contact other stations!"

"Hurry up, we need water, quick!"

Shouts from all directions, the sound of burning, and the sound of buildings collapsing mixed loudly. Amidst the chaos, Greyson was looking at only one place. The modest house completely engulfed in red flames rising up.

It was Dane Striker's house.

The front door that he had kicked hard was already blackened and burning, barely visible in its form within the red flames. A fire that had been lit to burn leaves at one house had led to a fire that completely burned down that house and moved to the next. At the scene where five houses were already burning, unfortunately, Dane's house was the third in order. It had been burning for quite some time, as the frame of the house was already visible. At this rate, it would soon collapse.

It might already be too late.

Greyson thought.

"Fortunately, it's a weekday afternoon, so most houses seem to be empty. They say the people who were inside have safely evacuated."

Ezra shouted loudly. Wilkins nodded and responded.

"Anyway, let's prevent it from spreading further. Hey, over there! You need to raise the water higher!"

The firefighters continued to run back and forth. None of them seemed to know that this was a colleague's house.

Well, he did say he doesn't bring people home unless he sleeps with them.

Greyson soon understood. They probably only knew about Darling from casual mentions or from seeing photos Dane had attached to his cabinet. Even if they knew Darling was inside, in this situation, it would be impossible to save her...

Suddenly, the image of Dane rushing into flames to save a stranger's dog came to mind. At that time, he couldn't understand it at all. In fact, he still doesn't. Even if the same situation were to happen now, Greyson would never act like Dane, absolutely not.

But that was Dane's Darling.

Reason was clearly saying. The cat is dead, it cannot survive in those flames.

However, Darling had already experienced the same crisis once before. That brave cat had endured in the flames, survived, and though she lost her eyes and ears, she was living steadfastly.

Until just recently.

<Darling.>

The image of Dane gently stroking the cat's body while calling her name vividly came back to life before his eyes. If Darling were to die.

Despite feeling so hot that his entire body was drenched in sweat from the rising flames, he also felt a chill down his spine. Greyson blinked and looked at the house engulfed in flames.

This is crazy.

Greyson bit his lip. He clearly knew. Doing such a stupid thing was absurd.

But.

"Miller, what are you doing?"

Ezra noticed him first and called his name. But Greyson didn't hear. As if entranced, his steps gradually quickened, and soon he began to run.

"Miller, Miller?"

"What, why? What's going on?"

Other firefighters shouted in surprise from behind, but it was already too late. Greyson had already jumped into the flames.

"Why, why is he doing that?"

DeAndre, who was belatedly surprised, shouted. Ezra also shook his head, seemingly confused.

"I don't know, he suddenly went inside."

"What? Why? For what reason?"

"I don't know either. None of us know!"

"Damn, crazy bastard! Why is he causing trouble again?"

Cries poured out from everywhere. Wilkins, who was equally confused, quickly gathered his wits and gave instructions.

"It's dangerous to follow him right away, so let's put out the fire first. I'll try to radio Miller, for now, focus on this house and that last house. Don't let the fire spread any further, hurry!"

After shouting roughly and confirming that his subordinates were quickly dispersing, he hurriedly took out his radio.

"Miller, Miller. Can you hear me? Miller!"

Despite calling again, there was no answer. Wilkins cursed and pressed his forehead with one hand. The flames showed no signs of dying down and continued to rise endlessly toward the sky.

* * *

"Wow!"

Whoosh, right in front of him, the flames roared loudly, making an eerie sound. Greyson let out a short exclamation and hurriedly stepped back. He had almost been engulfed. Even though he was wearing fire-resistant clothing, being covered in fire was still not an easy thing.

He learned for the first time that fire makes such screaming sounds as it burns. Feeling an eerie sensation, he let out a short sigh and looked around again. Already, everything was filled with smoke and ashes. Everywhere was collapsing and breaking, and the floor was so bumpy that it was difficult to maintain balance.

Haa, haa. Haa, haa.

Greyson took rough breaths inside his helmet and hurriedly examined the inside.

"Darling, Darling! Where are you? Come here, Darling!"

Though he shouted loudly, his voice was swallowed by the flames and scattered futilely. Greyson unconsciously tried to wipe the sweat flowing on his forehead, but his arm futilely rubbed over the helmet and passed by.

So this is how painful it is, inside here.

The urge to run out immediately arose. Why, for what reason? Why should I be doing this here? It's just a cat. An old, deaf, blind, ugly cat. It probably wouldn't live long anyway due to old age. No, a cat that has surely already perished in these flames, why should I go through such hardship to find it?

"Darling, fuck, come out!"

He ended up shouting again with a curse. His rough breathing was trapped inside the helmet to the point of hurting his ears. Whether due to lack of oxygen or falling into panic, he even felt slightly dizzy.

"Fuck, where are you hiding..."

Greyson muttered as if to himself and spat out curses again. The living room was already completely burned. The cat tower where Darling used to lie lazily and bask in the sun had long collapsed. Having checked the entire first floor, only the second floor remained. With the stairs already more than half collapsed, he might risk dying from falling rather than burning to death.

'Cats hide when a crisis situation occurs.'

A story about cats he had heard somewhere suddenly came to mind. Greyson, being a dog owner, had let that story go in one ear and out the other. Thinking, how stupid, and sneering. That's why he thought cats were as useless as birds. Beings that don't guard the house or risk their lives for their owners, yet act as they please and are arrogant. Balls of fur that don't come when called and often hide in emergencies like this, making others suffer.

See, it's just as I thought.

Greyson ground his teeth, cursing inwardly. Not Darling, but Lucifer! He repeated the devil's name and ran up the stairs in one breath. Behind him, the sound of another part of the building engulfed in flames collapsing echoed.

"Darling, Darling! Fuck, come out!"

Shouting at the top of his lungs, Greyson went around the second floor. With just three rooms in total, a modest size, why was it so hard to find such a small animal?

He lifted collapsed bookshelves, broke burning built-in cabinets with an axe to check inside, and cursed again.

Where are you, where the hell are you!

As he rummaged through the chaotic house, running around looking for the cat, he angrily threw away a mattress. And the next moment, he froze. He saw a dusty ball of fur hiding in the narrow space between the wall and the mattress. The motionless, crouched figure was undoubtedly the very cat Greyson had been searching for.

"Darling!"

Greyson urgently called the cat's name and reached out his hand. But that was a big mistake. The cat, who had survived with disabilities from a large fire, could no longer see or hear, but she clearly remembered the hot heat.

When the mattress disappeared, she immediately panicked at the eerie flames felt by her small body. Suddenly wailing like a scream, Darling ran away. Seeing her running blindly despite not being able to see ahead, Greyson shouted in surprise.

"Darling, no! Stop!"

He urgently chased after her, but Darling escaped his hands at an incredible speed. Greyson turned pale at the speed, which was a world apart from the lazy appearance of just lying on the cat tower.

"Darling, I said stop! Stay there!"

He continued to call Darling and chase after her. Just as she seemed to be going down the precariously standing stairs, suddenly Darling climbed up the wall. Until last year, when she was in a good mood, she would sometimes play by climbing the walls of Dane's house. But now, her joints could no longer endure, and even running was not easy. In the crisis situation, her body recalled old memories and jumped onto the wall, but reality did not follow. Just as the cat was about to slip and fall, the floor collapsed with a loud noise.

"Darling!"

Greyson shouted and threw his body toward the cat.