Rebecca didn't hesitate; she swiftly ushered me into her car, and with a sense of urgency, she floored the accelerator.
As we sped back, I couldn't help but worry about her reckless driving. "Please, slow down. There's no need to rush."
"How can you be so calm at a time like this? I'd be panicking!"
"Panic won't change what's meant to be," I replied.
We arrived at the entrance of my community to find thick smoke billowing from my apartment building.
We parked hurriedly and ran towards my home.
By the time we reached the scene, the fire had been extinguished, but the devastation was evident. The windows of my home were shattered, and the walls were blackened and crumbling.
The firefighters had managed to evacuate all the residents. Yet, the danger did not dissuade a crowd from gathering. Curious onlookers, drawn by the spectacle of disaster, formed a tight ring around the scene.
At that moment, firefighters emerged from the smoke-blackened doorway of my unit. They bore two stretchers on which Mitchell and Poppy lay motionless.
Mitchell and Poppy were swathed in blood. Not a single patch of skin remained untouched by the disaster; their flesh bore the cruel marks of burns and trauma.
As they carried Mitchell past me, a flicker of recognition sparked in his eyes. With what little strength he had left, he reached out, his hand finding my wrist in a desperate grasp. But his grip was weak, and his hand soon slipped away.
I stood there, a helpless spectator, as he and Poppy were carefully loaded into the ambulance. Their injuries were so severe that the dread of losing them gripped my heart with icy fingers.
As I moved to follow the ambulance, a man burst forth from the crowd behind me. He was our new neighbor, Tom Short.
"Officer, I know who started the fire!" he declared.
His finger pointed accusingly in my direction. "It was her!"
The policeman stared at me and asked, "Are you the owner of the house? Did you set the fire?"
"I am the owner, but I absolutely did not set the fire!" I replied.
Rebecca came to my defense. "Officer, she couldn't have. She's been with me all day!"
"Of course you'd say that. You two are in this together. You might even be accomplices!" Tom retorted.
I held Rebecca back as she bristled at the accusation.
"Sir, I was out all day and never returned. How could I have set the fire?"