AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After relieving herself, she washed her hands and was drying them on a paper towel when a thunderous boom cracked the air and shook the floor so hard beneath her feet she clung to the counter to steady herself.
Dust and smoke drifted beneath the door into the bathroom.
What the hell had happened?
Where was Moe?
A sob rose in Breely’s throat, strangling her vocal cords. She ran for the door, flung it open and stepped into a thick fog of dust that blinded her and filled her lungs.
She pulled her shirt over her mouth and nose then closed her eyes as much as she could and still see light.
Dull light.
The dust mixed with smoke was so thick she couldn’t see two feet in front of her. She moved deliberately to her right until her hand touched the hallway wall. If she followed it to the end, she’d reached the lobby. And if she followed the other lobby wall, she’d eventually come to the door leading out onto the porch and clear, clean air.
And please, let Moe be there.
With her hand on the hallway wall, she shuffled her feet along the tile floor, moving slowly. If she lost the wall and ended up in the open space of the lobby, it would take her even longer to get outside.
The hallway wall took a sharp and unexpected detour. A wave of panic threatened to overwhelm Breely, but she couldn’t give in to it. Not now. Not when she didn’t know where Moe was or if any of the others had been caught in the explosion.
A waxy, smooth surface brushed against her hand, making her jump. Then she remembered the alcove and the huge plant, and she laughed at herself, coughing into her shirt. Touching her fingers gently to the palm fronts, she felt her way around the alcove until she found the hallway wall.
The sound of shuffling feet alerted her to the presence of someone else.
“Hey,” she called out. “Can you hear me?”
“I can hear you,” a muffled voice responded. A flashlight beam attempted to pierce the thick cloud only to be swallowed without providing sight of a way to cut through to the other side.
A hand clamped on her arm. In the shrouded mist of dust and smoke, a man wearing a worker’s gray coverall and ball cap appeared in front of Breely. He had a kerchief tied around his face, covering his mouth and nose, and he wore goggles over his eyes. “Come with me,” the muffled voice said. “I’ll get you out.”
Without waiting for her consent, he dragged her back the way she’d come. Down the hallway, past the restroom, he pulled her with one hand on her arm, the other on the wall.
After they’d gone several yards, Breely dug in her heels. “No.” She coughed into her shirt. “Moe. Gotta get to Moe.”
The hand on her arm tightened. “It’s too dangerous. Let’s get out this way and circle back.”
He was right. The smoke had thickened, burning her lungs. She let the man lead her further down the hallway. If her memory was correct, there would be an emergency exit at the end.
When she thought her lungs could take no more, Breely heard the metal clank of the door lever being pushed. Then she was out of the lodge.
She sucked in a lungful of clean, clear air and coughed.
A gray pest control van stood in front of her, the side sliding door wide open.
Breely turned and started for the side of the lodge, her only focus on getting to Moe. She hoped he’d gone out on the porch and not back to the kitchen.
She only made it two steps before the man in the gray coveralls blocked her path.
He didn’t say a word, just stood there,
“Move,” she demanded and coughed, the smoke and dust she’d inhaled making her voice coarse. Her eyes watered and stung. She blinked to clear them.
Coverall man grabbed her arms.
Breely tried to knock his hands away.
His grip tightened.
