AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-six
Broken Things
“Lori,taketheboys to the boat.” When I turned to give her the orders, I saw the flames. They were smaller than my dream, which I took as a good sign. Maybe we had time.
Lori gave a weak nod, still processing what I had said. Sam threw the bags back on the boys and led them to the entrance. People scattered, and the microphone barked with orders in acronyms that meant nothing to me.
I strapped my bag to the front of Lori. “Twenty-seven flights down. Count as you go. Do you hear me?”
“Twenty-seven,” she gave a weak reply.
“This isn’t like my dream. I’m seeing it. I’m stopping it.” I dragged her to the entrance while Sam led each boy by his back into the doorway. The sprinkler system sputtered on, and it soaked us before I got Lori to the door. It had little effect on the fire that continued to grow.
Lightbulbs popped and shattered around the flames, and the stream of commands grew louder in the speakers.
“BeLew, I love you,” I shouted down the hallway after Lori stepped inside. “Lori, do you know where you are going?” We had talked about it in her cabin, and I relayed the instructions that Sam had given me. But Lori was in a state of shock, and she had never been to the tenders.
“I’ll get the boys there,” she said. Her voice was small and tears spilled from her eyes. I believed her. I trusted her strength. She met my gaze with everything she had left. “I can do this. Will you… can you?”
I hugged her and gave her a small shove inside the entrance. “I’ll get him. Luke will be fine.”
I took Sam’s hand and sprinted towards the fire. My lungs burned from the smoke and exertion. Sam never questioned and followed me step by step.
I took control of this premonition. I had accepted it and given into the vision, and I could use the power of that. I would give into my ability, hoping we could change the outcome. All my life, I had fought the dreams and what they told me. I should have let them in, seen the picture, so I understood it. Now that I surrendered to it, I could do something about it.
Sam saw Luke first and darted ahead of me. He tried to release my hand, but I clutched it harder and ran faster to keep up. I still feared the image in my head.
The flames were far enough away from Luke to approach him safely. He banged his handcuffs against a pipe and pulled one arm with the other, trying to break free even if it meant breaking a bone. We called out to him and his face calmed for a moment. Dozens of people scurried around the flames with extinguishers and hoses, but no one seemed concerned about the man handcuffed ten feet from their blaze.
“They think I’m in the AOE!” he yelled. “I was coming to tell you. They found me by the boats.”
“Later, man,” Sam stopped him. “We need to take care of this first.”
“Have you been shot?” I asked, surveying Luke. The only blood was a ring around his wrist where he pulled at the handcuffs. The fire was growing hotter, and I felt it sear my skin.
“No,” Luke shook his head. “I ran up through the growing room. I thought they would stop there… but they didn’t stop. They fired at me. They started this fucking fire trying to kill me, and I haven’t done anything.”
Luke yanked at his wrist while Sam examined the cuffs and the pipe where they had attached him. His panic returned even though we were here to help. “What are you going to do?” he pleaded.
Sam held Luke’s wrist up with one hand. He pushed his shoulders back and gave me a solemn look. I closed my eyes, knowing, without even seeing, what we had to do. Sam had no tools to break the pipe, but with my help, he could free Luke.
I opened my eyes and lowered myself to the floor next to him. “Let me hold you, Luke.” He hesitated for a moment, but then he understood, and wrapped his free arm around me, laying his head on my shoulder. I moved to his lap and wrapped my legs around his waist, prepared to keep him as still as possible. When I gave Sam a nod, he lifted Luke’s arm and smashed it down on the pipe.
Luke’s scream stopped a few of the men fighting the flames. He thrashed in my limbs while I kept my arms and legs wrapped around his body with all the strength I had. My hip throbbed, but it was nothing compared to having your bone broken and then maneuvered through a metal circle.
“Once more,” Sam yelled. Luke kept his cuffed arm limp while he pulled so hard against my middle, that I felt my spine strain. I nodded up at Sam, and he crashed his wrist into the pipe, breaking the bone completely.
Luke’s tears felt cool on my shoulder, reminding me this fire was hotter and closer. Sam wiggled Luke’s floppy wrist free from the handcuff while his good hand dug bruises into my side. Now free, I released my grip and stood to help him up. He was sweating, but that could be the fire or his now broken wrist.
I held his face up to mine. “We have to run. Can you run?”
He kept silent but began a slow jog after Sam. One by one, we stepped into the stairwell I had shoved Lori and the boys through only moments ago. Sam went first to lead the way, and Luke followed, cradling his arm. I went last, my body tingling from the adrenaline.
I had done it.
Luke didn’t burn to death.
Sam never ran into flames to save him.
