Not Another False Alarm

Willenna folded herself onto the huge stuffed armchair that had been her grandfather’s.

She always felt like she was wrapped in his arms when she sat in his old chair. The glass of wine in her hand tipped and a drop of shiraz splashed on her blouse. She knew there was a reason she always wore dark colours.

Pointing the remote at the tele, Willenna flicked to an old episode of Magnum PI. Tom Selleck was such a hottie. She sighed and sipped her wine.

“Woop Woop Woop. Emergency. Evacuate the building. Woop Woop Woop.”

She nearly jumped out of the chair. Oh crap, another false alarm. Bugger it, I’m not going down this time. That’s the third false alarm this week.

Willenna jumped out the chair, on purpose this time, and went out on to the balcony. Peering around the courtyard, she could see through windows that other residents were also ignoring the alarm. Good, she thought, everyone else is fed up too.

Feeling self righteously vindicated, she flopped back into the chair and glugged back a swig of wine, half choking as it went down the wrong way. She coughed and spluttered for a good 5 minutes, tears streaming from her eyes, before she finally caught her breath.

Collapsing back into the chair after her near death experience, Willenna suddenly realised the coughing wasn’t just from drowning in wine. The acrid smell of smoke was drifting in through the open balcony door. There was already smoke enough in the room to bring tears to her eyes. Panic clutched her throat and her mind went blank.

“Woop Woop Woop. Emergency. Evacuate the Building” Of course. Get out!

Smoke was seeping under her front door so she knew better than to open it. She wasn’t totally witless yet.

Dashing out onto the balcony, Willenna leaned out and screeched from the base of her lungs.

“Help, Help, I’m trapped. Help…”

The courtyard was filling with a swirling mist of smoke. People were screaming, and some of her neighbours were leaning over the bannister calling and waving. They’d all thought it was another false alarm too.

“I can hear a siren.” Was she reassuring her neighbours or herself? “The firies will be here any minute.“

Who was she kidding? They probably thought it was a false alarm too, like it always was.

Smoke was stinging her eyes now and she was coughing her lungs up. I’m nearly done for, she thought, slumping to the floor of the balcony.

Minutes later, she found herself hanging upside down over someone’s huge muscular shoulder, an arm wrapped firmly around her legs, as he negotiated a downward climb on a very tall ladder. Panic coursed through every cell of her body. She scrunched her eyes tight, keeping them shut until she felt herself being lowered gently onto the paramedic’s trolley.

An oxygen mask was placed over face, and she gratefully breathed in the pure stuff of life. Blinking away tears, Willenna opened he eyes, to find a bright pair of deep green eyes staring back with worry.

“ Miss, you are one very lucky lady. Don’t ever ignore a fire alarm again.”

“ Thank you, I promise, I won’t.” Sobs slowly wracked her body, as Willenna realised she’d just had two brushes with death, in almost as many minutes.

As her breathing settled, she thought of those deep green eyes. She could see herself drowning in those.