The white mist from the fire extinguisher restrained the fire on the stairs a little. At that instant, Vivian saw Fabian running towards her. In the next moment, the railing of the corridor next to her crashed down right between them and they were separated by surging flames.
“Damn it!” Vivian heard Fabian yelling while covering his mouth, “Vivian, stay there! I’ll come and look for you!”
Vivian was about to nod her head but suddenly she thought of something.
Wait. Is Finnick’s necklace still in the bedroom?
It should be.
Finnick treasures that necklace. He rarely takes it outside. It is always kept in the drawer at home when he goes to work or goes on duty.
The fire is so strong. After the table burns down, the crystal necklace will definitely be ruined.
Wouldn’t Finnick be very sad?
She couldn’t help but think about how Finnick always looked sad whenever he held that necklace. Suddenly, she felt bad.
Damn, wouldn’t it be too selfish of me to disregard Finnick’s most treasured necklace?
She knew that the necklace was not a living thing but that was Finnick’s only object of sentimental value and she could not bear to deprive him of this last treasured memory!
Thinking of this, she took a look at the blanket covering her body. It was still quite wet. It might be able to hold it for a while as the fire had subsided a little for the time being. It would take some time for Fabian to reach her.
So, she gritted her teeth, pinched her nose and yelled, “Fabian! I’ll go back and get something!”
Fabian was struggling to put out the fire. Hearing Vivian’s words, he was shocked and he scolded, “Vivian, are you f***ing crazy? What can be more important than your life?”
Vivian ignored Fabian’s words. Instead, she raced back to the room.
Her body felt strangely weak for some reason but she did not think twice about that. Gritting her teeth, she rushed back to the room in one breath.
She was coughing violently from inhaling too much smoke but that did not stop her. Once she got into the room, she rushed to the table.
She had not closed the door when she left, so the fire had spread into the room and the table was on fire. Vivian opened the drawer with her hand wrapped inside the blanket.
She did not realize that by now, the blanket had dried up and her hand was immediately scalded.
“Ouch!” She screamed in pain but she bore the agony and pulled out the drawer.
Immediately, she found the crystal necklace.
As quickly as she could, she took out the necklace and was thinking of taking out the photograph but it caught fire and was burnt up in no time.
She had no choice but to give it up while just grabbing the necklace carefully. Immediately, she tried to rush out of the room.
However, when she reached the doorway, the bookcase next to the door collapsed with a loud bang!
The books on the bookcase was burned into ashes and the bookcase had fallen right across the doorway. Sparks were flying everywhere and Vivian was so frightened that she took a few steps back.
What should I do…
In that moment, the door was blocked. How can I go out?
She thought of wrapping herself in the blanket and rushing out but the blanket had already started to catch fire.
At that point, she was annoyed by her impetuousness.
It seems like I might end up losing the necklace and my own life!
She wondered if she really died, would Finnick be sadder over her death or the loss of the necklace?
He would be sadder over the latter I guess…
After all, as compared to Evelyn whom he had loved so much, I am just a stranger he had befriended for only a few months.
Vivian was surprised by her thoughts. How could she, at this moment of life and death, think about these unessential things?
The fire around her was getting bigger and warmer. She could hardly see the corridor and the smoke was getting thick. Then, she started coughing with teary eyes and her vision became blurred.
Will I really lose my life here?
As she was about to break down, she wore the necklace around her neck to protect it.
If her body were discovered together with the necklace, hopefully, Finnick would understand her kind intention and for her sake, treat her mother well.
