By Zephyria 
Fire was much larger than expected. Grayson, stepping out of the fire truck, was stunned by the sheer scale of it. The other firefighters, though equally surprised, moved quickly as if accustomed to such events.
“Hose, get the hose over here first!”
“Where did the fire start? Are there people inside?”
“Where’s the entry team? Get the entry team ready!”
“We need more fire trucks, request reinforcements and contact other stations!”
“Hurry up, give me water, now!”
Shouts, the crackling of flames, and the sounds of collapsing buildings mixed chaotically. Amidst the pandemonium, Grayson focused on only one thing: the modest house engulfed in red flames.
It was Dane Striker’s house.
The front door, which he had kicked in so forcefully, was already charred black, barely visible in the red flames. A fire that started from burning leaves in one house had spread, consuming his house entirely and moving to the next. Dane’s house was unfortunately the third in line, with five houses already ablaze. It seemed the fire had been burning for quite some time, as the house’s frame was already visible. It would collapse soon at this rate.
It might already be too late.
Grayson thought.
“It’s fortunate, though, that it’s a weekday afternoon, so most houses seem to be empty. And the people inside have evacuated safely.”
Ezra shouted loudly. Wilkins nodded and added,
“Anyway, let’s focus on preventing it from spreading further. Hey, you over there! Get the water up higher!”
The firefighters continued to rush around. None of them seemed to know that this was their colleague’s house.
Come to think of it, he said he doesn’t bring anyone home unless they’re sleeping with him.
Grayson quickly understood. They probably only knew about Darling because it came up in conversation or because they saw the picture Dane had stuck on his cabinet. Even if they knew Darling was inside, rescuing him in this situation would be impossible…
Suddenly, the image of Dane diving into the flames to save a stranger’s dog flashed through his mind. He couldn’t understand it then. In fact, he still didn’t. Even if the same situation occurred now, Grayson would never do what Dane did, absolutely not.
But that was Dane’s Darling.
Reason clearly stated that the cat was dead, that it couldn’t possibly survive in those flames.
However, Darling had already experienced the same crisis once before. The brave cat had endured the flames, survived, and continued to live despite losing his sight and hearing.
Until just recently.
‘Darling.’
The image of Dane calling the cat’s name and gently stroking his body vividly resurfaced in his mind. If Darling died…
Even though his whole body was drenched in sweat from the rising flames, he felt a chill run down his spine. Grayson blinked and stared at the house engulfed in flames.
This is insane.
Grayson bit his lip. He knew very well that doing something this stupid was absurd.
But.
“Miller, what’s wrong?”
Ezra noticed him first and called his name. But Grayson didn’t hear him. As if possessed, his steps gradually quickened, and soon he was running.
“Miller, Miller?”
“What is it? What’s going on?”
The other firefighters shouted in surprise from behind, but it was already too late. Grayson had already plunged into the flames.
“Why, why is he doing that?”
DeAndre shouted, belatedly shocked. Ezra also shook his head, seemingly bewildered.
“I don’t know, he suddenly went inside.”
“What? Why? Why?”
“I don’t know either. None of us know!”
“Damn it, crazy bastard! Why is he causing trouble again?”
Outcries erupted from all directions. Wilkins, equally bewildered, quickly regained his composure and issued instructions.
“It’s too dangerous to rush in after him right now, so let’s put out the fire first. I’ll try to reach Miller by radio, so focus on this house and that last house for now. Prevent the fire from spreading any further, hurry!”
After shouting harshly, he confirmed that his subordinates were quickly dispersing and hurriedly took out his radio.
“Miller, Miller. Do you hear me? Miller!”
He shouted repeatedly, but there was no response. Wilkins cursed and ran a hand over his forehead. The flames continued to rise relentlessly towards the sky, showing no signs of dying down.
“Wow!”
Whoosh! Flames roared loudly right in front of him, making an eerie sound. Grayson exclaimed briefly and quickly stepped back. He almost got caught in them. He was wearing a fire suit, but being engulfed in flames was still not an easy thing.
He realized for the first time that fire could scream like this. Feeling eerie, he sighed briefly and looked around again. The surroundings were already filled with smoke and ash. Parts of the building were collapsing and breaking apart, making the floor uneven and difficult to balance on.
Haa, haa. Haa, haa.
Grayson breathed heavily inside his helmet and quickly surveyed the area.
“Darling, Darling! Where are you? Come out, Darling!”
He shouted loudly, but his voice was swallowed by the flames and scattered in vain. Grayson unconsciously tried to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but his arm futilely rubbed against the helmet.
So this is how painful it is inside here.
He felt an urge to run out immediately. Why, why? Why am I doing this here? It’s just a cat. An old, deaf, and blind ugly cat. He wouldn’t live much longer anyway. No, why am I going through all this trouble to find a cat that has clearly already perished in these flames?
“Darling, damn it, come out!”
He shouted again with a curse. His own rough breathing was trapped inside the helmet, hurting his ears. He felt slightly dizzy, whether from a lack of oxygen or from panic.
“Damn it, where are you hiding…”
Grayson muttered to himself and cursed again. The living room was already completely burned. The cat tower where Darling used to lie leisurely in the sun had long since collapsed. He had searched the entire first floor, so all that remained was the second floor. He would have to risk falling to his death, as more than half of the stairs had already collapsed, perhaps even more so than burning to death.
‘Cats hide when a crisis occurs.’
A story about cats that he had heard sometime suddenly popped into his head. Because Grayson raised dogs, he had simply dismissed the story. He had scoffed, thinking it was foolish. That’s why he thought cats were as useless as birds. They didn’t guard the house or risk their lives for their owners, yet they acted as they pleased and were arrogant beings. They didn’t come when called and hid when things were urgent, always trying to trick others. Just a ball of fur.
See, it’s just like that.
Grayson muttered inwardly and gritted his teeth. Darling, my ass, more like Lucifer! He repeated the devil’s name and rushed up the stairs. Behind him, the sound of another part of the building collapsing in flames echoed.
“Darling, Darling! Damn it, come out!”
Shouting at the top of his lungs, Grayson searched the second floor. It was a modest size with only three rooms, so why was it so difficult to find such a small animal?
He lifted collapsed bookshelves, chopped at burning built-in closets with an ax to break them open and look inside, and then cursed again.
Where are you, where the hell are you!
Rummaging through the chaotic house and running around looking for the cat, he threw the mattress away in a fit of anger. And the next moment, he paused and froze. He saw a faint ball of fur hiding in the narrow space between the wall and the mattress. Crouched motionless, it was undoubtedly the very cat that Grayson had been searching for.
“Darling!”
Grayson urgently called the cat’s name and reached out his hand. But that was a big mistake. The cat, who had survived the great fire with disabilities, could no longer see or hear, but he clearly remembered the scorching heat.
As soon as the mattress disappeared, he suddenly panicked at the eerie flames that he could feel with his small body. Suddenly screaming like a cry, Darling ran away. Grayson was surprised to see him running blindly, unable to see ahead.
“Darling, no! Stop!”
He desperately chased after him, but Darling slipped out of his hand at an incredible speed. Grayson turned pale at the speed that was completely different from his lazy appearance of only lying on the cat tower.
“Darling, I said stop! Stay there!”
He continued to call Darling and chased after him. Just as he was about to go down the precariously balanced stairs, Darling suddenly climbed up the wall. Until last year, he would sometimes climb and play on the walls of Dane’s house when he was in a good mood. But now his joints could no longer hold up and it was not easy to run. In a crisis, his body recalled his old memories and jumped up the wall, but reality did not keep up. Just as the cat was about to misstep and fall, the floor collapsed with a loud noise.
“Darling!”
Grayson shouted and threw himself towards the cat.