with a population of a few thousand, and neighboring Zachary, with less than ten thousand, certainly couldn’t support them selves.
So most folks traveled into Baton Rouge for work.
Taking a deep inhalation of the muggy morning he searched again, wondering just who might be up. It was possible a straight day, eight-to-five worker had some chores that needed doing and was performing them before he left for work.
But Ben didn’t have that many neighbors. Along this road there were maybe six houses in a six-mile area.
A haze caught his attention. That way, he realized, spotting where the haze drifted from. He instinctively started off the road toward the nearest neighbor he had. A woman lived there, if he remembered correctly. He’d seen her out occasionally in the evening when he ran. She was usually taking out trash or heading into the house. Sometimes he’d spotted her trying to clear out the front garden.
A cold chill worked its way up his sweat-covered body as he walked partway up the two-hundred-yard driveway. It wasn’t like him to interfere with neighbors. He was a bachelor and a loner and liked it that way. But he couldn’t picture this woman out at dawn burning excess wood as she cleared away her yard. And if that wasn’t enough to cause his unease to grow, the fact that few people had fireplaces and those that did didn’t use them in spring-time—unless they were crazy—really caused his spine to tingle with foreboding.
He’d just take a quick peek to see what she was doing and make sure she was okay and…
And call for help, he realized as he saw smoke billowing from the side of the house.
The back part of the house was in flames.
His heart leaped to his throat as he realized he was witnessing a house fire. He rushed to the front door and pounded on it. The sound of crackling flames could be heard echoing in the early-morning stillness.
Ben couldn’t perceive any movement inside the house. He hit the doorbell, then quickly pounded again. “Fire! Get up!” he called.
Impatiently he stood on his toes to peek in the door window.
He should call the fire department, but it was over a mile to his house. And he knew the woman had to be in there, most likely asleep. Her car was in the driveway.
Glancing around, he saw a flowerpot on her front porch.
He grabbed it and slammed it through the spacious front bay window. “Anyone home? Fire!” he called, all the while clearing the glass from around the frame with the red clay pot.
As soon as he had a spot cleared, he shoved back the curtains and climbed in. The semidark living room was scattered with old furniture including a couch that he stumbled over. Across from him were the kitchen and a window that showed the backyard. No one was in sight.
The smell of smoke hung in the warm air. A clock ticked loudly. Ben covered his mouth and nose with his hand and rushed toward the hallway, certain the woman would be down that way, more certain than ever that she had to be in trouble, otherwise she would have answered by now.
“Fire! Get out!” he shouted, choking on his words as the acrid smell hit him. He saw a phone on a small table next to the entrance to the hall, snatched it up and dialed 911 before dropping it and continuing. He knew someone would respond, since the number had been dialed. That was enough.
Down the hall the smoke was thicker. Something out back was on fire, and this was the side of the house affected, he thought dimly. Suddenly the fire alarm in the front room started blaring.
If anyone was asleep, that would wake him or her up, he thought, glancing through the smoke, wanting to believe no one was there, that surely he was overreacting. His eyes burned and watered from the thickening smoke. Still, he was able to see enough to spot a closed door.
He started toward the closed door a few feet away. He had only taken two steps when his foot snagged something on the floor.
With a grunt he went down hard on the carpet, skinning both knees. Turning, feeling for what he’d tripped over, his hands met with flesh.
It was a woman. The woman, he realized. The one he was looking for. Enshrouded in pink pajamas, the woman lay still, one arm outstretched, her blond hair covering her face, keeping him from seeing it.
The smoke intensified and choked him. Galvanized, he worked to get the woman in his arms. Coughing, his eyes watering and burning, he grabbed her limp arm and swung her over his shoulder.
A gasp and raspy cough broke from his bundle. He felt relief to know she was still alive.
He headed toward the front door. The heat had already increased drastically.
“No.” She coughed. He could hardly hear the feminine voice over the blaring sound of the alarm as he rushed through the living room.
“Fire, ma’am,” Ben said.
The woman started fighting him.
“Be still, I don’t want to drop you.” He shifted her weight and anchored her firmly, visions of dropping her and not making it out of the house flashing in his mind.
He reached the door and fumbled with the lock, then jerked it open and rushed out. Air, clean and plentiful, met them. He got away from the house and deposited his bundle on the ground, working to breathe and clear his lungs.
“No! No…” The woman gagged, her raspy voice barely audible between the hoarseness and coughing. Out of the soot-covered face, two deep blue eyes pleaded with him, terrified, desperate. Her hands gripped his arm as she sucked in air, trying to calm her coughing.
“You’ve inhaled smoke. You need to lie still.”
“You—under—and. Baby…”
Ben’s heart dropped at her words. His breath stuck in his throat.
“Baby? Someone else is in the house?”
Frantically she nodded, her black-streaked hair falling into her face. “Five. I have—her.” She broke into another round of coughing.
Ben’s stomach clenched with queasiness. Whirling, he stared at the house. Flames engulfed the back part. The roof was smoldering and would go at any time. In the distance he heard the sound of sirens, but with all the smoke and fire, they wouldn’t make it in time.
He didn’t think. He simply acted. Taking a deep breath, he barreled into the house. Thick billowing smoke met him, and he prayed he’d find the child before he choked on the noxious odors.
Think. Think!
The woman, lying in the floor near a door. Yes. That was it. She had to be going after her daughter. Rushing that way, Ben met scorching heat. Putting his hand to the door he found it warm, not hot, and hoped it was safe to open without causing damage.
With a quick jerk, he opened and closed it behind him. Smoke, not as thick, had started filling this room. Wiping an arm across his sweat-covered face, he called, “Anyone here? Come out. We have to get you out of here.”
He broke into a round of coughing, feeling as if his lungs were on fire. He could hardly make out the bed across the room—only enough to see the covers were disturbed, as if someone had been in it.
He jerked the closet door open, found no one. A quick move around the room. He was getting frantic. He couldn’t breathe. The heat was intense against the door. He was out of time.
As a last shot he went to the bed and suddenly realized he hadn’t looked under it. Sure enough, a small child was bundled under there, crying. He heard her as soon as he went down on one knee. Brown curly hair surrounded the child’s fearful face. Big brown eyes, filled with fright, locked on to him. In her arms she held a white teddy bear. Her breathing was uneven and labored as she stared at him, frozen under her bed.
“Come here, honey,” Ben said, and without waiting for a reply grabbed her. She dropped the bear, her arms clutching at his neck, to his ever-lasting relief.