(Winnie the Horse Gentler) Chapter 6: My Miracle

 Disclaimer: I know, you want to get on with the story. Fine. Mackall owns this, not me. There. Disclaimer's done. 
 Wow. That was quick.
  Please comment and give me more ideas! Please. 
 Do it for my sanity...    
                                                                                                                              - Hope :)               
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 My feet landed on what appeared to be a stove, and I didn't stop to think, just hurled myself up and off of it. I hit the ground hard. 

  Once I had steadied myself, I ran toward the pile of wood under which the girl was trapped. I started pulling at the wood, splinters pressing into my palms and fingers. 

  Then I heard a crackle. It was the crackle of fire. 

  I looked up. The fire was spreading towards us! I had to get the girl out of there, or she would be at the center of a bonfire!

  I desperately pulled at the wood pieces. I was slowly making progress, but if I kept it up at this pace, the fire would soon be all I saw. Then, when I was almost ready to give up, I saw a little hole. It was large enough for my arm to fit through. I stuck my wrist in, then wriggled my hand down until I felt a body. I felt a hand grab my hand, and I pulled... up, up, up...

  And, amid an explosion of wood pieces, she was out. 

  I made sure she was okay. She was a little scraped up, but nothing too bad. 
  I looked into her eyes. "Okay, now we have to get out of here, are you ready?" 
  She looked at me, uncomprehending. 
  "We," I said, pointing to each of us in turn. "Have to go," I said, miming running away while pointing for emphasis. 
  "No entiendo," said the girl. It took me a second to realize that she didn't speak my language. 
  "Umm..." I wished my school taught Spanish. 
  Then I heard a shout from behind me. "Correr!" It was Catman. 
  I wasn't sure what that meant, but I used it anyway. "Correr!" I said. 
  The girl's eyes widened, and I could tell she understood, whatever it meant. She watched me expectantly, as if waiting for me to give the cue. 
  "Seguir corriendo?" she asked. She mimicked running, as I had done. 
  "Oh, yes, er- seguir corriendo!" I said, grabbing her hand. I assumed that meant run. 
  We took off towards the nearest exit. We had to jump over the various obstacles, but this time, I did it with experience, pulling her along with me. 
  The exit was only a few yards away. We were almost there. 
  But suddenly, a tree fell across our path, and the fire caught on. I pulled up, halting the girl as well.     We were trapped.
  I assessed the situation, my head spinning, trying to take in the fact that we had no way out. 
  I considered throwing the girl over, but it was too risky; I didn't know what was on the other side, and there was no one to catch her. 
  God, please, help me, one more time. I don't care if I die or live anymore; I'm past that. Just let the girl live, I thought.
  God really must have been with me, because the next thing I saw was a window pane, still whole and unbroken. I ran to it, leaving the girl for a second. My eyes traveled back and forth from the window pane to the girl. Yes, the perfect size. 
  I went back to the girl. I didn't know any Spanish, so I tried to communicate with motions. I pointed to the pane, then back to her. Then I pointed to the fire, and mimicked holding the window in front of me.
   I was trying to tell her to use the window pane as a shield against the fire. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I had to try.
  After a few tries, she got it. I gave the pane to her. And she walked towards the fire. I could see her trembling. Then she was through, and I let out a sigh of relief. 
  But I was still inside. 


  After a few minutes, I finally realized that there was only one solution: I had to walk through the fire. I wrung my hands out and breathed. Then I got as close to the fire as I dared. 
  I tried to think cool thoughts. I pretended that I was in Antarctica. 
  I am in a blizzard. I can feel the ice against my skin, the snow sliding down my face as it hits me. I am cold. I am numb. I am walking into a freezer... not a furnace. I may get frostbite, but that will be fine, because it will not hurt me, no, the cold makes me to numb to feel.
  I took a step forward, and gasped as the heat got harsher. 
  Then, I just couldn't take it anymore. I leapt into the air, up and forward, screaming as the fire licked over my legs. 
  But the second I hit the ground on the other side, I knew something was wrong. My legs... they weren't hurting like they should. I looked down, and gasped: my legs were untouched. I checked my whole body. Nothing. Hmm.
  Note to self: That's another miracle for my resume.

  The little girl was fine, but she was in shock, so I carried her back to her family. They ran to me and took her from me before I could even say a thing. Then every one of them gave me a hug and thanked me (I assumed) in Spanish.
  The one that touched me the most, though, was the one that had made up my mind. She was so happy now, her eyes alight with happiness. The family walked away, toward the fire trucks and ambulances that had finally arrived, but the girl stayed behind. She looked up at me an said, "Eres mi Salvador." She smiled at me, then turned and ran after her family. 
  Catman rode up behind me on Nickers. He slid off, then ran to me and hugged me, which surprised me. When he finally pulled back, I stared at him. There were tears in his eyes. 
  "Whoa, Catman, what was all that for?" I asked. 
  He was still holding me, but he wasn't hugging me any more. "I... man, I thought you were a... goner." 
  His glasses were up on his head, so I reached out and wiped the tears from underneath his eyes. 
  "Thanks," said Catman. We just stood there for a moment, staring at each other, both of us breathing hard.
  Finally, we disentangled, at the exact same time, both of us suddenly conscious of how we were holding each other. 
  Catman wanted us to stick around so the ambulance attendants could check me out, but I didn't want to stay. All of the adrenaline had left my body, and I was suddenly exhausted. Catman helped me onto Nickers. He climbed up behind me. 
  I insisted that I steer Nickers, and he complied, but I was pretty sure he only agreed because he knew that I'd have to give up eventually. 
  After about an hour, my eyelids drooped. I slumped backward into Catman, and he positioned me so I could lean against him comfortably. 
  He steered Nickers with the arm that wasn't holding me up. The day was long gone, and the stars were coming out. I fixed my eyes on one, and I named it Salvador, from what the little girl had said to me. Then it occurred to me that Catman might know. 
  "Hey, Catman?"
  "Yeah?" 
  "What does..." I struggled to remember the words she had used. "...'Eres mi salvador' mean?"
  "Why do you ask?" he said.
  "Well, one of the siblings of that little girl told me that." I said.
  Catman smiled down at me. "She said that to you? Really? Man, that's far out! You dig, right?"
  "But... I still don't know what that means."
  "Oh," said Catman. "It means: You are my Savior."
  I couldn't believe it. I was someone's savior.
  I looked up at my star, Salvador. I felt almost as if God had been watching me, through that star, almost like a tiny peephole in the sky.
  But I was too exhausted to stay awake any longer.
  The last thing I registered was the star. God's peephole.
  My Savior.
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  I'm just HOPING you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did! This was definitely my favorite chapter yet, tell me if it was yours, too!
  I'm still giving you a shout out, Rose. So, obviously, shout out to Rose! 
  See you guys tomorrow! Or this evening, I don't know if I'll do another post today or tomorrow. I'll figure it out!
                                                    - Hope :)