‘We have no choice, we have to go through that door. We need to hurry before it gets any worse!’ Parker shouted above the noise of the rising flames.

It hadn’t occurred to Adrian that it would be so noisy inside a fire.

‘We won’t make it!’ Adrian shouted.

Parker grabbed him by the hand and pulled him towards the door. They both shielded their eyes, and as much as Adrian couldn’t quite brave the flames himself, he didn’t have time to think about it as Parker pulled him through the doorway.

Finn had poured petrol throughout the house, the stairs were alight, as were the other doorframes. They stood in the central hall. The fire wasn’t quite as severe here, although they didn’t have long. Adrian knew as soon as they went outside he would have no choice but to arrest Parker and deal with the shitstorm that went with that. He trusted that Parker wouldn’t drop him in it, but he couldn’t be so sure about Abbey. She would tell the police about his involvement if it meant a lesser sentence for Parker.

Finn had obviously doused the stairwell well, because it was almost entirely obscured by the flames that got closer to the ceiling with every passing second. Parker looked over nervously. It was the first time Adrian had seen anything resembling emotion on his face as he stared up at the landing.

‘Head through the kitchen and the conservatory.’ Parker pointed the way.

‘Where are you going?’ Adrian shouted. He knew he shouldn’t let him go.

‘I have to get something,’ he replied over the sound of timber splitting wood. With that, Parker disappeared up the stairs through the flames.

Adrian watched for as long as he could, which wasn’t very long at all as it turned out. His eyeballs were burning. He had to get out of there; the staircase was collapsing, so he couldn’t go upstairs and get Parker. It felt wrong to leave him, but Adrian had no choice: if he didn’t leave now, then he wouldn’t get out at all.

Adrian charged for the kitchen, the door igniting fully almost immediately after he had passed through, as though it had permission somehow. It was only a matter of time before the flames reached the stove. His skin was sore; it felt like a bad case of sunburn and it wasn’t letting up. Adrian knew had to get out of there, the oxygen was disappearing faster than he could breathe it in. He took a gulp of the disappearing air and pulled his jacket over his head, making a break for the back door, which opened easily. Running to the back of the garden before he could look back, he collapsed onto his knees and gulped in as much fresh air as he could.

After coughing uncontrollably for a few moments as the clean air fought its way inside his body, he turned to look at the house. The trailing ivy on the outside of the building had caught fire and was spreading quickly. The windows were already surrounded by sheets of flickering orange. Adrian couldn’t see how Parker would be able to get out.