Fourth Man In The Fire

Breaking News!!

This rainy season has sent signals of high level lightning as such, all electrical appliances should be put off when it gets stormy. 

This is the news that made the rounds in the opening of the rainy season around the mountain city of Maryland. There was a sense of fear resulting from this news from the meteorological department. 

Humphrey and his family who live in the farming area of the city with neighbours around them worked in the city court and came back late everyday excerpts on weekends. 

His wife, Layla is a counsellor but works in the community health centre on a shifting basis. Their twelve years old son, Bricks, comes back from school one hour earlier before any of his parents. 

One Tuesday, after a heavy downpour, Bricks arrived from school and found that the lights were not coming on. So, he put a call across to his father. It was going to be a boring evening for him. 

Dad. I tried putting on the lights, none of it turned on. I think there is something wrong.

Bricks said to his father through the phone. 

Alright, I will put a call across to the electrician but until he comes, don't touch anything. 

Humphrey replied Bricks. 

It was already getting dark and Bricks was getting uncomfortable. 

Crickets in the garden have started chirping as nightfall draws closer. The pond frogs too we're croaking loudly. Just then, a knock on the door pushed Bricks from the couch where he has laid since he returned from school. 

At the door was his father and the electrician. Bricks lightened up on seeing an expert that would deal with the problem. 

In no time, the electrician detected the fault, fixed it and went on his way after Humphrey had settled him. 

On Wednesday, the next day after the electrical fault had been fixed, Humphrey went to work as usual while Bricks had gone to school. Layla was off duty. She did all the cleaning and prepared a sumptuous meal for her husband and son then went to the grocery during the period when Bricks would return from school. 

When he got home, the sweet aroma from the kitchen told him that something delicious was waiting for him. 

Quickly, he dashed to the bath to take a shower. Then disaster broke out. 

While he was still in the bath, smoke from nowhere filled the whole house. Whether from the kitchen or an electrical explosion, no one knew. 

Before Bricks could detect, the whole place had been covered with a heavy black smoke. Such that he could not run out of the bath. 

When attempted to come out of the bath, he could not trace his way to the main day, he had to run back to the bath and locked it up. 

The whole house was engulfed with fire with Bricks in the bath. 

Neighbours came out in their numbers but didn't know what they could do. They tried calling the fire service but they weren't responding. 

One young man named Johnson-Marley got so emotional. He would not be able to forgive himself if Bricks got burnt and died in the inferno. So, he decided to go into the building against all odds. 

Johnson-Marley went to his apartment, took his blanket and soaked it in water then broke through the front door into the building. 

Layla returned from the grocery store to see their home on fire. To make matters worse, their only son was trapped in the building. 

He called Humphrey and immediately he rushed down.

Before Johnson-Marley could locate the bath, the blanket had started to dry up. 

The whole bedroom section of the apartment has been licked up by the fire. J-Marley swiftly moved towards the other section of the building and located the bath where Bricks already had collapsed. J-Marley unwrapped the blanket from his body and covered Bricks with then carried him out.

The fire had engulfed the walkway he took into the building. He was burnt from behind, his arm and face but he pulled through until they got out. 

Layla had already wept her eyes off and Humphrey stood there dumb. An ambulance that was already waiting, whisked J-Marley and Bricks away. 

……..To be continued

First published Here

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