Gemotions

The flickering of the emergency light danced across Daniel's face, casting elongated, distorted shadows on the walls. He ran a hand through his hair, leaving it standing on end. He’d left the stove on at home. A silly oversight, but a terrifying possibility.

He walked up and down the short distance of the elevator, back and forth, each step a measure of the seconds that were ticking away. He pictured the fire, the devastation. He felt a wave of nausea, a churning in his gut.

"Just relax," his coworker, Chloe, said, her voice a soothing balm against the sharp edges of his anxiety. But how could he? His life, his home, his everything was in jeopardy.