"I-i'm scared," a girl no older than five said in a trembling voice.
"It's okay, I'm here, everything will be okay," a man said as he put on an oxygen mask on her face.
He knew that was a lie, the chances of everything being okay was close to none, after all, they were completely stuck in a burning building and it would take a few minutes before he passed out from the lack of oxygen.
But he was going to do everything in his power to make sure she made it out safely, no matter what it took.
Why exactly was he doing this, when he could've just not run into the fire in the first place?
He had no idea.....
Well, that was another lie. He knew exactly the reason why he ran into this burning building.
"I guess I really should've stayed in bed instead."
----------A few hours earlier----------
Sunlight spilled into the room of an apartment through the gaps uncovered by the curtains, illuminating it and revealing a figure hidden beneath a blanket.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The sound of a phone's alarm going off, interrupted the silence in the room.
With a groan, the person under the blanket stretched out a hand, blindly searching for the ringing phone.
Unfortunately, the phone was quite a distance away from him, so he had no choice but to actually get up.
Pulling the blanket off his face, he revealed his messy black hair done in dreadlocks and the only thing he'd consider special about himself.
His eyes.
Due to some kind of genetic mutation, his irises had taken on some type of crystal clear color, making him almost look blind.
They looked just like clear gems or even glass, but less transparent. That coupled with his chocolate skin made him quite the specimen, especially to the ladies.
But with his low esteem, you'd be lucky to even convince him that said ladies were actually interested in him, hence the reason for his current single status.
But those eyes didn't come with cons. Without his glasses, he was completely blind and that wasn't an exaggeration either.
He literally couldn't see anything without glasses.
Staring at the ceiling for a moment longer, he sighed and said, "Alright Alex, it's your day off, let's spend it in a useful manner."
But to be honest, he'd rather spend the entire day in bed, but he had somewhere important to be today.
Standing up and letting the covers slide off him. He was petty tall, well, for a twenty-one year old anyway.
He walked to the bathroom, took a shower and got dressed in black pants, a white shirt and grey jacket over it since it was a bit cold.
Putting on his white shoes last, he walked out his apartment, completely unaware of how much his life would change in just a few hours.
He watched the buildings zoom past as he sat in the taxi, completely lost in thoughts. Until the car stopped and he was snapped out of his thoughts.
Getting down, he was faced with a building that seemed to be a huge school but the sign said otherwise.
[Little Lights Orphanage.]
He adjusted his glasses, his crystalline eyes catching the faint sunlight as he tilted his head up.
The building looked well-maintained from the outside, with the sound of laughter from children being heard from the open windows.
But that wasn't his destination today.
Alex gave the building a glance longer than he meant to. Just like these kids, he also grew up in an orphanage, with no idea who his parents were.
According to the sisters at the orphanage, they just found him in a basket on their stairs with no note or anything, just a crying baby and a necklace with a crystal the same color as his eyes.
What was it for? He had no idea, it wasn't even a rock that was even worth anything according to an appraiser, just a plain old rock.
Seeing how distracted that he was getting distracted, he just shook his head and continued on his way.
He wasn't here for that.
His destination was just a few blocks down the street.
---
Inside a modest hall, filled with neatly stacked bookshelves, tables, and a small podium, the place gave the impression of a local community center more than anything else.
Alex paused in the doorway, scanning the room, before one of the coordinators waved at him.
"Ward! You made it!"
He smiled faintly and walked in. "Yeah, didn't think I'd oversleep today."
The coordinator, a middle-aged woman with sharp but kind features, looked him over. "Good. The kids have been waiting for you."
At her words, several younger teens peeked over the bookshelves, their faces lighting up when they saw him.
Alex raised a hand in greeting, the corners of his lips twitching upward.
He never thought of himself as a role model, but volunteering to tutor and read to the kids at the local community center had become something he genuinely looked forward to.
--------
The day passed in a blur, a chaotic one but it went fast either way.
The sky soon changed from blue to orange, as the sun set over the horizon. Alex found himself heading back to the orphanage and the closer he got the louder the sound of screams got.
Looking up the, he noticed that the sky had been covered by a thick cloak of smoke.
His pace quickened.
The acrid stench of smoke hit his nostrils first, then the heat washed over him.
Alex rounded the corner—only to stop dead in his tracks.
The orphanage.
The same one he had walked past that morning. The same one that had been filled with laughter.
Was now nothing but a blazing inferno.
Flames devoured the upper floors, the windows shattered due to the heat, and black smoke billowed into the sky like a funeral banner.
Dozens of children huddled outside, coughing and crying, some clinging to the frantic sisters who had managed to shepherd them out.
Neighbors shouted as they threw buckets of water in desperation while others called for the fire department.
But amid the chaos, one shrill cry cut through the rest.
"Emmy! Emmy's still inside!"
Alex's head snapped toward the voice. A little boy no older than seven was thrashing against the arms of a nun, tears streaking his cheeks.
"She's still in there! Please, someone get her!"
The nun tried to soothe him, but Alex didn't hear the rest. His blood immediately ran cold and his chest tightened.
For a brief moment, Alex froze, staring at the flames that got higher by the second.
His mind warned him to immediately discard whatever thought of heroism that was surfacing.
It warned him to let someone else handle it, someone more trained, someone stronger or even more experienced, would go in.
But no one moved.
Not a single adult dared step toward that door.
And before Alex realized it, his feet were already moving towards the inferno and before his mind could fully register, he had already ran past the panicking nuns and kids,
And then, he was already into the fire.