The Time Capsule

Chapter 4

Devin’s dark blue Mustang crept along the icy winter road. The snow fell thick and heavy, making visibility nearly impossible. It had been storming all night, and now in the early morning it was getting warmer and the roads were slippery.

Sawyer sat in the passenger seat, excited for what the day promised to bring. Both boys were home from college on their Christmas break and were headed to meet some friends they hadn’t seen since the end of summer.

Devin and Sawyer had been attending different schools for the last two and a half years, but when they got together their bond was as close as ever. The boys looked forward to sharing their college adventures when they had the chance to catch up. This time was no different. Last night, the boys had been up until 2:00 a.m. hanging out, eating pizza, and talking about all they’d been doing. Sawyer made sure to ask how things were going with Devin and his girlfriend, Britany. It sounded like their relationship was getting serious.

They’d reluctantly stopped their discussion and gone to bed when they realized how late it had become. The boys had to be up early because they had plans to meet six other high school friends for breakfast. The boys were now heading to Malcolm Daniele’s house. Before changing careers, Malcolm’s dad had spent many years as a chef, and he always loved to put on a big feast for his son and his friends.

The boys became aware of movement just ahead to the right. With the snow falling it was hard to tell exactly what they saw, but it looked like a floating human head. Then the white-clad person lunged at the Mustang. Both boys jumped, and Devin fought to keep the car under control and avoid hitting this person.

“Watch out!” Sawyer said.

When the car stopped, it became clear that it was a woman wearing a white bathrobe, so she had been invisible except for her head because of all the snow. She was also screaming something at them.

Devin’s first thought was to get away from this crazy woman. At the same time, he was discounting this idea, he became aware that he smelled smoke.

“What are you doing?” Sawyer yelled at the woman, as he got out of the car. “We could’ve hit you!”

Devin came around the front of the car and saw the woman was only wearing slippers with her bathrobe. She was so hysterical they couldn’t understand her.

“Slow down,” Devin said. “We can’t understand what you’re saying.”

The smell of smoke was stronger now and seemed to be coming from a house tucked back in the trees.

“My house, it’s on fire! My daughter is inside! Please help. Megan’s inside!”

Sawyer and Devin locked eyes for a brief moment and then sprinted toward the house in the woods.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, Sawyer yelled back at the woman, “Did you call the fire department?”

“Yes, they’re coming. But my Megan, she’s still in there.” The distraught woman answered.

As the boys approached the house, they saw thick white smoke billowing out of the eves on the second floor.

They bolted up the stairs to the wraparound porch. The smoke was thicker here, and as Sawyer and Devin glanced into the house through the slider, they couldn’t see much because of it. The boys did see was an orange glow that seemed to be dancing around in the thick smoke. Sawyer grabbed the handle and yanked the glass sliding door, but it didn’t move. The woman was catching up. She’d slipped and fallen twice on the way to the house because her slippers had no tread, and the ankle deep snow was quite slick.

“That door is locked!” she shouted.

Sawyer started to head off the porch to find another door when Devin called him.

“Stay here.” He then looked at the woman. “Where is she?”

“She was upstairs in her room.”

Devin backed away from the door about eight feet, then sprinted at it and leaped into the door. The glass exploded.

With a painful crash, he fell into an end table he hadn’t seen because of all the smoke. He felt the glass tear into his arm and left cheek. He collapsed to the ground as his right ankle rolled. Severe pain racked his body, caused by the impact with the door and the ankle roll, but he had no time to lie there. After leaping to his feet, he moved on and the pain was already gone. He yelled for the girl, but the smoke alarms were blaring and he knew he wouldn’t be able to hear if she were answering. Soon, he was hacking and choking. He forced himself to move forward, amazed at how hot it was.

As he approached the steps, he was able to see a little better. There was much more fire here and it provided some illumination. Part of the ceiling had already come down, and he had to move the debris to get through. He could feel the hot items burning his hands. At the stairs, he shoved away a large sheet of fallen drywall and saw a small child underneath. The collapsed material had opened a large gash on the back of her head and arm. She wasn’t moving.

Devin could feel the fire burning his flesh and searing pain every time he inhaled. He desperately wanted to get out of this inferno. After getting down on the floor, he noticed the air was much cooler and less smoky. He grabbed the orange blanket out of the girl’s hand and covered her with it to provide some protection from the heat. He scooped her up and hurried for the door. Devin moved as fast as he safely could, holding his breath as he forced himself to go through a wall of flames. He didn’t know if the girl was breathing. Hopefully, an ambulance was on the way.

Sawyer saw his best friend step back onto the deck. Most of his hair and a lot of his clothing had burned away. In his arms was a small body wrapped in a smoldering blanket. Sawyer watched as the hideous burns and blisters on Devin’s face disappeared.

The two boys lowered the blanket-wrapped form to the ground and unwrapped the girl. Sawyer was trying to remember the differences in how to perform CPR on a child, but it wasn’t coming to him now with all the excitement. They were both relieved when sirens could be heard getting louder.

The girl looked to be about eight years old, and her head and arm were gushing blood. The boys were relieved to see her chest rising and falling. She wasn’t breathing more than eight times per minute, but she was breathing. The boys crouched over her, and her mother was crying hysterically. Devin placed one hand on the girl’s forehead and the other under her neck to open her airway so she could breathe better. Her body became stiff for a couple of seconds, and the boys watched as the ugly wound on her arm closed up and disappeared. She started breathing more deeply, and in a few more seconds her eyes opened.

Devin let go of her head and stared at the child, amazed at what he’d just witnessed. He pointed to her head and gave Sawyer a questioning look. From his angle, Sawyer could see the wound better. He looked and moved the girl’s hair so he could see the scalp, then looked at Devin with wide eyes and mouthed the word, ‘Gone’.

Gone’.When the shock of what he had just seen passed, Devin said, “I think she’ll be okay, Mom. Come see.”

Still crying, the woman dropped to her knees and took the girl, who sat up in her mother’s arms.