Today was Friday and it was my free day from work. I had been out and about since morning, getting a few things for my house. Little things. A pretty blue mug that caught my eye at the market. A new set of dishes with a simple leaf pattern around the edge. It felt good, choosing things. Putting them in my own basket and paying for them with money from my own account.
I had to hurry up, though. I had to be at Jamie's flower shop before 4 p.m. Him, Soren, and I had arranged a little meet-up. A "friendship maintenance session," Soren had called it smiling.
We had a lot to catch up on. The three of us hadn't seen each other in what felt like forever. Between my shifts at the restaurant and their own busy lives, weeks had slipped by. I was really excited.
The last time we'd met, it was at Soren's mansion. This time, it was Jamie's turn to host at his shop. I was almost sure, without them even saying it, that the next time would be at my apartment. They were rotating it, making it fair, without even realizing they were doing it.
I was juggling my shopping bags as I fumbled with my keycard at the apartment door.
"Hi, Holly!"
The cheerful shout made me look up. The pups were in the hallway, bouncing with energy. Jonathan, Catherine, and Malcolm. They were all dressed in bright colors, shoes tied, jackets on.
"Hello," I smiled, finally getting the door open. "Where are you off to?" I asked, stepping inside to drop my bags just inside the door.
"The park!" they all chorused, their voices overlapping with happiness.
"Wow!" I said, leaning back out into the hall. "I wish I could join you."
"You can't?" Jonathan asked, his face falling just a little.
"I wish I could, but I have boring adult things to take care of," I said, giving an exaggerated sigh.
All three of their faces dropped. They looked at the floor, the excitement leaking out of them. That small, shared disappointment tugged at my chest.
"But," I said, digging into my pocket. My fingers closed around the loose change from my shopping. "I've got this."
I held the coins out in my palm. I couldn't believe I could do this. If the me from a year ago saw this, he'd be so confused.
He'd think it was a joke. Never did I think I would ever get to a stage where I had enough to share, to give a little joy away just because I wanted to.
They gasped, then screamed, delighted. Small hands carefully took the coins.
"Thank you, Holly!" they said, already turning and running for the elevator.
"Have a lot of fun!" I shouted after them. "And be back before sundown!"
"Yes, sir!" Malcolm yelled back, pressing the elevator button frantically.
"Have a nice day too, Holly!" Catherine added, waving.
The boys realized they hadn't said it and immediately started shouting it too, their voices echoing in the hall.
"Yes, I will!" I laughed, watching the elevator doors close on their happy, waving faces.
I made sure they were safely gone before I went back into my apartment.
I took my time arranging the things I'd bought. The new mug went on the shelf. The dishware in the cabinet.
I'd also bought some toiletries, a nice soap, a better shampoo and a few snacks I wanted to try. Novaterra was really having an effect on me. This place was called paradise for a reason, and that reason was because it actually was paradise. I could afford the little things. The things I'd always thought didn't matter, or that I didn't deserve.
Food here wasn't just handed out by the pack based on rank. You bought what you wanted with the money you earned. The thought still stunned me sometimes.
I tried on one of the new shirts I'd bought, a soft green one. I looked at myself in the mirror. Gods, I could cry. I can't believe I didn't have to wait for hand-me-downs, or for my clothes to be absolutely worn out and threadbare before I got new ones. I could buy them just because I wanted to. Just because I liked the color.
I'd also bought a few other things for my house, a small woven rug by the balcony door, a set of framed prints of forest scenes for the wall. Soren was always pressing on how important "home decor" was for the soul. I had a few plants, too, small and green on my windowsill. Jamie had given them to me when I moved in. Jamie was a florist and owned the biggest plant shop in Novaterra. He was actually famous for it. People came from other packs just to buy his flowers.
After putting everything away, I took a quick bath. The warm water felt good. I was tired from walking around all morning. I still had a little time before I had to leave for Jamie's, so I decided to lie down on my couch and rest my eyes for just a few minutes.
---
I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. The sound was urgent, cutting through a deep, heavy sleep.
"Hello?" I said, my voice groggy.
"Holland, where are you?" It was Soren.
"At home," I replied, rubbing my eyes. The room was dim. How long had I slept?
"Do you know what time it is?" he asked.
"Hmm?" I pulled the phone from my ear and looked at the screen.
It was 4:52 p.m.
"Shit!" I jumped up from the couch, my heart lurching. "I'll be there in a second!"
I ended the call before he could reply. I'd slept right through my alarm. I couldn't believe it. I swear I just wanted to rest for a few minutes.
Jamie's shop wasn't too far from my building. If I ran, I could make it in ten minutes. I didn't have time to wait for a shuttle. I threw on my shoes and a jacket, grabbed my keycard, and ran out the door.
My plan was simple: cut through the central pack gardens, the big, beautiful park everyone just called "the pack" and Jamie's shop was just a few steps past the far gate. It was the fastest route.
As I got closer to the park's main entrance, I saw a crowd. A big one. People were gathered, their faces turned toward the park, not moving. My first, stupid thought was that maybe they were watching a street performance. A musician or a juggler.
The kids said they were going to the park. Maybe I'd see them as I hurried past.
But the closer I got, the more the feeling in the air changed. This wasn't the relaxed buzz of a crowd enjoying a show. It was a tense, fearful quiet. People were whispering, clutching each other. Some were crying.
Then I saw it.
Smoke.
Not campfire smoke. Thick, grey, ugly smoke curling up above the treetops from deep inside the park.
My walk turned into a run.
There was a fire.
Fuck.
I pushed into the crowd, not caring about being polite. "Excuse me, let me through, please." My voice was tight.
At the front, the scene was organized chaos. Enforcers in uniform had cordoned off the entrance. Rescue teams in heavy gear were moving in and out. Paramedics had set up a temporary station on the grass. And there, huddled in blankets, faces streaked with soot and tears, were the people they'd pulled out.
My eyes scanned the group frantically, jumping from face to face.
Brown hair. Black hair. Blonde. Adults. Adults. Teenagers.
The pups were not there.
My blood went cold.
This can't be everyone. They couldn't have gotten everyone out yet. It's a huge park.
A female enforcer with a stern face was directing people. "Everyone, you need to move back!" she called out, her voice strained but firm. "The fire is spreading faster than we thought. It's not safe here!"
I stumbled forward to the tape. "Is this everyone?" I asked, my voice barely above the noise.
She looked at me, her eyes tired. "This is everyone we've been able to evacuate so far from the central and south zones."
"So far?" Hope clawed at me.
"The fire's cutting off access to the north playground and the wooded trails. We can't get teams in there right now. It's too unstable."
The north playground. The wooded trails.
Where the pups always played. Where they'd run to for ice cream from the park vendor.
If they weren't here… then they were still in there. Trapped by the fire. They wouldn't say they were going to the park and then go somewhere else. They were good pups. They went where they said they would.
"Sir," the enforcer said, her tone shifting to one of direct command. "You need to move back behind the tape. Now."
"The pups," I said, the words coming out as a dry rasp. I wasn't talking to her anymore. I was staring past her, at the billowing smoke swallowing the trees.
"Sir!" Her hand came up, a clear barrier. "Excuse me, sir, you have to—"
I didn't let her finish.
Before the next word left her mouth, before my own brain could scream that this was suicide, I ducked under the tape. I shoved past her outstretched arm. And I ran. I ran past the shouting enforcers, past the shocked crowd, straight into the park, toward the thick, choking smoke.
I had to save the pups.