Rather Rude Wakening

Let's see the sun had barely peeked over the horizon line when a loud blaring noise sounded in the recently renovated hallways of the 6th floor. Turns out it was the fire alarm right outside my apartment. There was panic in the air, as I jumped out of bed in my pajamas, running towards the closet, grabbing my sweater and throwing on my socks and shoes...I couldn't help but think that it was all just a dream but reality hit when I burst out into the hallway. Smoke was coming from the stairwell to my left...I ran with all of my might in the opposite direction, desperate to get fresh air and hoping the rest of my family was behind me. Everyone got out safely. It was around 5:15AM, way too early for a Sunday morning. As everyone gather outside, family members asked around, worried for their loved ones, it took a while, but the fire department came just in time. I'm glad no one was hurt. Many took shelter at the McDonalds across the street, just waiting to be let back inside. As I sat drinking orange pekoe tea and eating my carrot muffin, I could help but worry for the injured pigeon that was sleeping on my balcony. 4 days ago, my mom had found the poor thing in one of her pots, its left eye swollen, right wing broken and most of the feathers on its head pecked off but that didn't stop us from helping it. As the days flew by, it looked like it was improving but, its twisted neck still worries me. About 45 minutes later, everything was clear. The source of the inferno...apartment 523. It was the work of an arsonist or so I believe. The fire was set intentionally as if to kill someone. Roughly, 6 months ago, someone had accidentally dropped their lit cigarette into dumpster at the back of the complex. Everyone had to evacuate and stand in the frigid cold, I was not there for I was at Co-op. The first three years of living in Palace, things seemed to be very smooth...nothing out of the ordinary happens just recently, everything seems to be getting out of hand meaning this once peaceful area was now becoming like the rest of the city. There was nowhere safe to run.

P.S. It was my first ever fire drill that could have cost me my life if I didn't wake up when I did.