I HEARD IT, I FELT IT, and I saw it as my eyes flew open. The upstairs windows exploded in a blast of shattered glass as a ball of fire roared out of the building. In less than a second the street in front was blazing with orange chunks of flame thrown from the stucco and brick building, and we watched spellbound as a brilliant blaze shot into the black Miami sky, the inferno engulfing the structure.
Em started the car and peeled out.
“Where the hell are we going?” Talk about feeling the heat. I was sweating from fear and the intense fire from half a block away.
“Anywhere. We’ve got to get out of this.”
James. “Jesus, James was back in the alley.” I frantically dialed his cell phone. No answer.
It rang and rang. Finally voice mail.
“The person you have called is unavailable at the moment. Please leave a message and-” I hung up. I dialed again. Same thing.
“Em, we’ve got to check out the alley.”
“Skip, are you crazy? That fire is roaring back there.”
She was three blocks down, moving at a good clip, and had run one stop sign already.
“Em-”
“Shit!” She spun the wheel, making a sharp U-turn in the middle of the deserted street. “Call 911.”
“Yeah.” I did.
She raced back the way we came, squealing to a stop as we saw the parking lot. The two Chevys were swallowed in flames. One had exploded and flaming pieces littered the melting blacktop. I jumped from the car and ran toward the alley, tasting the thick smoke and holding my arm across my face, trying to keep from filling my lungs with the fumes from that noxious cloud. The fierce heat cooked my skin and I thought for a moment I might pass out. I hit the back alley on the run and stopped short, peering into the haze. White-hot flame spewed from the vehicle, more black smoke pouring into the alley. There was nothing I could do.
I jogged to the T-Bird, coughing, gagging, and choking.
“What?”
“Jesus Christ, Em, it must be the truck. It’s a roaring inferno.” We could hear the sirens in the distance, whining with the occasional barking of the horns as they sped toward the blaze.
“James?”
All I could do was shake my head.
“Skip, is there anything we can do?”
There was nothing.
She stepped on the gas and we went speeding down the street, as far away from the burning building, the incinerated truck, the uniformed man, and the fire engines as we could. I was leaving my best friend behind, and I had never felt so helpless.