Chapter 488 No Sleeping! Gabriel!
The strong smell of gasoline seeped into the room through crevices, mixing with the deadly thick smoke. The darkness inside the room made the flames outside the window on the first floor even more glaring, reflecting in Jessica's eyes filled with disbelief.
At nineteen, in Xyleria, in that small inn, the terrified screams of the other guests , the hysterical shouts of the innkeeper, it all felt like countless hands burned by fire grabbing her, restraining her limbs, dragging her back into the abyss of that year.
Jessica covered her mouth and nose, struggling to breathe through the damp scarf, trying to stay conscious. But because of the gasoline, the fire was too strong, the smoke was thick. She could barely stand it even with her mouth covered, let alone Gabriel!
But she couldn't move, staring at the fire outside the window, surrounded by thick smoke. The sound of the collapsing wall from when she was nineteen echoed in her ears, snapping her back to reality. In the midst of her crumbling memories, she managed to pull out a thread of clarity and saw Gabriel grabbing a chair and smashing it against the glass window.
But even with such force and the hitting of metal rod of the chair, the window didn't shatter completely. No wonder he used a chair; the hotel's windows looked classical but were actually made of tempered glass!
With the second chair thrown, a small hole finally appeared on it, but it didn't shatter completely due to the glass material.
The air was filled with an even stronger smell of gasoline. Gabriel kicked the edges of the hole in the window to make it larger.
Gabriel stepped back, probably feeling the discomfort from inhaling too much smoke, and then he suddenly turned around, grabbing Jessica by the back of her head and pulling her in front of him. He pressed his face against the scarf covering her mouth and nose, as if kissing her through the scarf, or perhaps trying to breathe through it. In the darkness, illuminated by the flames outside, Jessica saw her reflection in Gabriel's eyes.
"Don't be afraid," Gabriel released her, his hoarse voice close to her face, his hand on the back of her head, saying in a deep voice, "What happened seven years ago won't happen again. I'm here."
Jessica tried to pull her numb soul out of the shadow of the fire from when she was nineteen, her eyes gradually clearing. She nodded and raised her hand to cover his face with the scarf.
But just as she moved, Gabriel sternly pressed the scarf back to her face, "Cover yourself."
Jessica shook her head, trying to break free from his grip. Gabriel held her down, warning in a low voice, "Don't be foolish! Protect yourself first."
"No, the smoke is too thick..." Jessica's words were muffled by the damp scarf, but Gabriel firmly held her hand, glancing back at the increasingly fierce flames outside the window. He grabbed the chair on the ground and smashed it against the window again.
The already broken part of the window shattered further with the violent impact of the chair.
But with the gasoline fueling the fire, the flames had already spread to the second and third floors of the entire outer wall. Even if they jumped, they might not survive. The flames would cause severe burns, and falling could result in disability or worse.
Jessica lowered her head, struggling to tear the overly sturdy wool scarf. She didn't have scissors in her bag, but she had nail clippers. She used the nail clippers to cut and tear, finally managing to get a small piece off. She turned to grab the water bottle on the table.
Her wool scarf was too thick; Gabriel had poured an entire bottle of water on to soak it.
The fire had fully ignited, the indoor temperature rising rapidly, black smoke billowing, making it hard to see.
Gabriel pulled Jessica to his side, not letting go of her hand, his sharp eyes scanning the room for anything useful.
Due to the high temperature and lack of oxygen, Jessica suddenly turned to look at the tablecloth on the dining table and shouted, "The tablecloth! That tablecloth..."
Gabriel also thought of the tablecloth. As soon as she spoke, he pulled her through the smoke and yanked the tablecloth off the table. With a loud crash, all the dishes fell to the floor. The tablecloth, made of waterproof and heat-resistant material, was just large enough to cover both of them.
But they were on the third floor!
They rushed to the window, looked down, and then at each other.
The flames had already reached their floor. Whether they jumped or not could be dangerous. Jessica could feel the heat in the air even through the wool scarf. Seven years ago, she had crawled out of a raging fire, and today she could do it again!
It was just the third floor, right? At worst, she'd break her bones!
Jessica closed her eyes, her body tensing in anticipation of the impending pain as Gabriel's arm wrapped around her waist. But Gabriel wrapped most of the heat-resistant tablecloth around her, holding her tightly, whispering something in her ear that she couldn't quite hear.
Just as she was about to look up, she heard him shout, "Jump!"
The gasoline ignited in an instant, and as they jumped out of the window, flames shot into the sky.
In the blinding fire, Gabriel wrapped Jessica in his arms and the heat-resistant tablecloth.
They hit the ground simultaneously, rolling in the opposite direction of the flames. The height of the third floor and the surrounding smoke made it hard for them to control their fall.
As they rolled violently, Jessica could feel that Gabriel had taken the full impact of the fall, shielding her with his body. She couldn't imagine the extent of his injuries, as she was already in excruciating pain from the fall.
Their rolling finally came to a stop, Jessica struggled to throw off the tablecloth wrapped around her.
She had inhaled a lot of smoke during the fall and coughed violently. Fighting the dizziness, she managed to take a breath and rolled off Gabriel, collapsing to the ground. Turning her head, she saw Gabriel lying flat on his back, his usually sharp and handsome face pale.
"Gabriel," Jessica called out urgently, "Gabriel, are you okay..."
Gabriel seemed to open his eyes, his hand moving slightly to touch her fingertips. His voice, hoarse and barely audible, "I wasn't there seven years ago, but from now on, I'll always be here. It's okay, don't be afraid."
Jessica noticed a hint of daze in Gabriel's half-open eyes. With tears in her eyes, she gently turned his face towards her. In the distance, she heard the sound of approaching vehicles, but she couldn't care less. She struggled to sit up, trying to lift Gabriel, "Gabriel! Look at me!Don't fall asleep! Gabriel!"
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