FF: The Beautiful and the Condemned (Completed) - Page 77

Rudra coughed as the smoke entered his lungs. He quickly covered his mouth with his arm and squinted to adjust to his focus on his surroundings. He was sweating profusely due to the heat of the flames, so much so that his hair was drenched and stuck to his forehead. It didn't bother him however. He was concentrating more on finding the woman his heart was desperately searching for. Even after a year, he still remembered this place like the back of his hand. So the fact that everything was charring to the ground meant nothing. He still remembered every detail.

He ran towards the kitchen, but was immediately stopped by a long piece of wood completely blocking his path. Because it was on fire, he was unable to touch it let alone move it. He could still see the kitchen, and there was no sight of Paro.

To be sure, he yelled her name, "Paro!"

No response.

Rudra turned around and ran towards the bathroom, but that too was empty. With such an open floor-plan there was no other visible place for her to be. It was then he knew her location. His eyes turned to the doors leading to the cellar, unhindered my flames. As he knelt down to open the door, he immediately jolted back as he felt the scorching heat. Rudra braced himself as he grabbed the doors and yanked them open, ignoring the searing pain of the burns he was getting. He ran down the stairs and found the cellar, too, was on fire. Despite the tears stinging his eyes, he treaded forward down the steps. When he reached the bottom, Rudra's heart stopped. There, still tied to the chair with her head hanging low, was Parvati.

Rudra practically flew towards her. He lifted her face to find her eyes closed. Fearing the worse, he checked her pulse. He let out a deep breath of relief as he felt her pulse barely beating. Rudra quickly removed the gag off of her mouth and began untying the ropes. The flames were already eating away at the legs of the chair, and thankfully he made it in time before it actually touched her. As soon as he untied her, Paro's body fell forward into him. Rudra held her face and tried to shake her awake.

"Paro!" he yelled frantically. "Paro! Open your eyes! I'm here!"

There was no response. No eye movement. Nothing. She was knocked out cold.

Rudra growled lowly as he realized the smoke of the flames must have rendered her unconscious. He needed to get her out of her to where there was fresh air. Her lungs needed fresh air. Rudra grabbed Paro and lifted her in his arms. He held onto her closely as he made a dash out of the cellar. By now, the house was loudly creaking and bits and pieces of the ceiling were falling on the ground. The house was burning...and fast. The exit wasn't much farther.

He looked at Paro in his arms and said, "We're almost out of here. Just hold on! Don't you dare give up!"

As he looked back up he found the open entryway door was blocked by fiery planks of wood. He stopped short. Rudra could see Aman yelling at his men to do something as he tried to find something to move the wood with. Aman and Rudra's eyes locked as the BSD officer saw Parvati in his friend's arms. Rudra looked around his home. This was the only exit, and it was blocked. A loud cracking sound caused him to look up at the ceiling, only to find it significantly closer to him. Oh no...the house was collapsing!

Rudra looked at Aman and yelled, "Move back!"

Aman stepped back as he too noticed where Rudra's gaze was. Rudra took a deep breath before kicking the planks of wood with his foot. He managed to crack them, but not break through completely. Suddenly, the ground beneath him shook and he knew that the house was falling within itself. With one last blow, Rudra tackled through the planks with his arm and made an escape path. As the house fell, Rudra made it out of the house with Paro in his arms.

The rough collision with the wood caused him to topple on his side onto the ground. Rudra protectively held Paro close to make sure she was unharmed. As they landed on the ground with a hard thud, he immediately closed his eyes and felt himself gasping for air. The amount of smoke that had entered his lungs was not safe. He took a few deep breaths before opening his eyes and looking at Paro.

He found her. She was here, in his arms. Rudra wanted to rejoice, but he couldn't because she was still unconscious. His worried disposition hadn't disappeared. In fact, it increased. He checked her pulse once more. It was fading quickly. He sat up and pulled her on his lap and patted her cheeks once more.

"Paro!" he shouted. "Open your eyes! Breathe! Paro!"

She didn't listen. Paro's eyes remained closed.

Aman ran over and knelt down to look at Rudra at eye level, "What's wrong?"

Rudra looked at him and replied, "She's inhaled too much smoke. She's not waking up. She barely has a pulse."

"She needs to get to a hospital. Because she's unconscious, her body isn't taking in the fresh air as quickly as she needs it. Come on. We'll take her to the hospital in the BSD jeep. We'll be there in no time."

Rudra nodded in agreement. He lifted Paro in his arms and made his way into the jeep. Aman was already in the driver's seat and had the vehicle running. His eyes scanned Rudra and Paro's condition. Not only did she need medical attention, but so did Rudra. He had burns on his hands and arms. There were some cuts on his arm and a small one on his forehead, most likely from when he fell to the ground as he escaped. Aman was sure that the stitches from the gunshot wound had reopened. As always, Rudra didn't care about his condition. His concern was only for his wife, who was once again fighting for her life.

The second Rudra closed the door, Aman slammed his foot on the gas pedal. He held onto Paro tight as the determined BSD officer skidded and swerved through lanes to the nearest hospital. Rudra looked down at his beloved in his arms. Her face had soot marks, which he carefully wiped off with his hand. He moved the strands of hair from her face and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, not caring if Aman was sitting right next to him. All his mind focused on was getting her proper medical attention.

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Next update: Rudra learns the truth about his parent's death! How will he handle it?

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