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CHAPTERFIVE
Sweltering heat licks at my skin and it already feels like I'm boiling from the inside out. The smoke hasn’t reached me yet, but I’m sure it won't take long for the fire to spread. The asshole coated this place with enough gasoline to fill up a cruise ship.
Once I gave him my answer, Dimitri didn't say a word. He simply held my gaze for a few seconds. There were no more taunts from his end or questions. He just stared at me with the bitter look of disappointment in his eyes before he finally walked out the door.
I think at that point; he knew there was no use trying to talk me out of it. I had made my decision, and I was ready and willing to die with my choice.
After he walked out, I thought for sure he’d start the fire down here and cut right to the chase. But I should’ve known better. He wants to punish me, and the best way to do that is to draw this out for as long as possible. Force me to feel every ounce of terror I can as my death slowly draws near.
I look and watch with a mixture of fascination and horror as dark wisps of smoke climb across the ceiling. It won’t be long before the flames come. It’s only a matter of time.
I hear the faint rumble of an engine roar to life before slowly fading away. It’s Dimitri, it has to be. I guess he’s decided to flee the scene early. It makes no difference to me either way. I’m already dead in every other sense of the word and it’s a smart move on his part. A fire of this magnitude won’t go unnoticed, no matter how hidden this place is.
Smoke engulfs the room, making every breath I take thicker and thicker by the second. I’m going to pass out
There's something strangely calming about accepting your death. I don't know what happens next, but for once in my life, I don’t feel the need to. I guess that’s the rainbow at the end of the tunnel for me. For these last few moments of my life, I’m not scared anymore.
I close my eyes and visibly swallow as the heat intensifies and when I try to adjust in my chair, my slick hands somehow slip out of their binds.
The irony is a tough pill to swallow, but instead of thinking about the what-ifs, I simply fold my hands in my lap and try to fight the urge to run.
It’s too late to do anything about it, anyway. The only viable exit is puffing out enormous clouds of dark smoke and if, by some miracle, the flames don’t kill me, the smoke definitely will.
“Hello.” I hear a feminine voice call out, accompanied by the sound of loud banging. “Hello!” They try again, sounding almost frantic. “Is there anyone in there?”
My eyes flash open, and I frantically look around the room, trying to find the source. “Yes!” I scream, as a whole different kind of fire ignites under my ass. “I’m here!”
Instead of wasting time freaking out about the miracle of all miracles happening to me, I take action. With my hands now free, I bend over and rip the fuck out of the binds around my ankles. They’re tight too, but they’re no match for my slim fingers and my will to survive.
“Listen to me.” The voice calls out. “We’re going to help you get out of there. But the entire place is on fire. You can’t get out the way you came in. You’ll have to use the stairs.”
“What stairs?” I call out, scanning the dark room for any sign of them. I had no idea there were even stairs in here.
“Follow my voice.” The girl says. “There should be a set of stairs somewhere in there. And hurry. We don’t have anything to put out the flames and the fire is spreading really fast.”
Fuck.If it reaches this room, I’ll be scorched in a matter of seconds.
“I see it.” I screech, taking the steps two at a time as I rush towards the freedom that didn’t seem possible thirty seconds ago.
I make it about halfway up the rickety wooden stairs when the room below erupts in bright orange light and the roar of fire blocks out everything else.
Shit.
I make a mad dash for the set of double doors above me, using every single ounce of energy I have left to get me to the top of those stairs.
“We can’t open it from this side.” The girl says, somehow still holding my attention even as the room below me erupts in chaos. “You’re going to have to unlock it from your end.”
The smoke is everywhere, and it’s burning the hell out of my eyes. Pushing through the pain, I throw my hands against the doors and start blindly searching for the latch. As soon as my fingers latch onto the cool metal, I do everything I can to pry it open, but it’s no use.
“It’s locked!” I shout, coughing as the smoke surrounds me. “I can’t open it.”
“Vi, we have to go.” A masculine sounding voice calls out. “The cops will be here any minute.”
“She can’t get the latch open.” The girl screams back, sounding almost as desperate as I feel as her words get lodged in her throat. “It’s locked. You guys have to help get her out.”
“What’s the holdup?” Another voice asks, laced in . Hearing the clear annoyance in his voice makes me second guess everything.
Wait. Who the hell are these people and how did they even find this place?
