I Called For Help, He Called It Jealousy Chapter 02

I Called For Help, He Called It Jealousy Chapter 02

Every breath scorched my throat and lungs. I could even hear my hair crackling as it singed and curled in the heat.

A translucent blue status screen appeared in front of me. The countdown read 42:15.

The radio hissed again. This time it was incident command, directing crews inside the building.

“Engine One to command. We’re losing the third floor. Requesting additional crews!”

“Copy. Captain Cole’s crew is bringing an injured civilian down to the ground-floor safe area.”

I tried to press the transmit button again. Before my fingertip reached it, Lieutenant Jake Miller’s anxious voice cut through the static.

“Captain! Isn’t Claire still in the fifth-floor records room? That floor’s about to come down. Aren’t you going back for her?”

Ethan’s reply was cold, broadcast over the channel for everyone to hear.

“Jake, calm down. I just secured her behind the blast door. It’s the safest room in the entire building. She’s got a respirator in her bag, and I’ve taught her how to protect herself from the heat.”

Jake sounded even more desperate. “Captain, the load-bearing walls on five are practically glowing! That door hasn’t been properly maintained in years. If it jams from the outside, she won’t have any way out. Let me take two people up and check.”

“Stand down!” Ethan snapped. “Are you refusing a direct order? Our priority is the dozens of civilians trapped on the fourth floor.”

“Claire is fine. She was just on the radio putting on an act because she’s jealous of Lily. Sending you up there would waste personnel we can’t spare.”

Jake hesitated, clearly struggling not to argue. Right on cue, Lily’s weak voice floated into the conversation.

“Lieutenant Miller, please don’t blame Ethan. It’s my fault I’m holding him up. My chest… it hurts so much. If something really happens to Claire, I’ll give her my life.”

Ethan’s voice softened at once. “Lily, stop talking. Breathe through the oxygen mask.”

Then he turned his anger back on Jake. “Did you hear that? She’s in critical condition! All crews, get to the fourth floor and evacuate those civilians. Nobody wastes time on five.”

“Copy,” Jake said, his frustration plain even through the radio.

I listened without moving, and the last of my hope died. To Ethan, my pleas for help would always be an act. My life would never matter as much as a single cough from Lily.

I looked down at my arm. The fibers of my clothing had begun to melt into my skin. Without the System blocking the pain, I would have been writhing on the floor.

System: [Ambient temperature has exceeded 248°F. Dangerous carbon monoxide levels detected.]

The System dutifully kept me updated on my approaching death. I fixed my eyes on the blinking red light of the camera in the corner.

It had been installed to protect the confidential files kept in this room: a heat-resistant, explosion-proof security camera that uploaded its footage to the cloud in real time.

“System, get me access to that camera’s cloud account. Record everything that’s happening here and schedule it to be emailed to every news outlet in three days.”

System: [Command received. Synchronizing data.]

I wasn’t going to die and let everyone wonder what had happened to me. Ethan had locked me in a burning room for the girl who could do no wrong in his eyes.

Someone was going to answer for it.