Page 94 of The Revenge

“What are you doing?” Payne demands.

“My mom is in there. We live on the fourth floor.” There are apartments on the other floors, and I have no idea if they’re occupied either, but all I care about at this moment is my mom.

“Wait here.” Payne lets go of me and tries to open the door. Before I can fish my keys out of my pocket, he’s already kicked the door down.

Fire and smoke pour out, forcing us back.

XXXVII

Payne

Igrab Tori, dragging her back more forcibly than I’d like, but it’s clear she’s ready to take her chances with the fire. “We can’t get in that way. It’s too dangerous.”

“Let me go!” Tori screams at me. “My mom is in there!”

“Look,” I say, physically turning her towards the back of the building, where several people are starting to stumble into the street, all coughing. Their faces and clothes are covered in varying degrees of soot. “Your mom will use the fire escape.”

Almost like she’s in a trance, Tori stares at her neighbors. Then her eyes go wide with panic. “Mom!”

Before I can stop her, she slips free of my hold and takes off in a sprint to the back of the building.

I follow, catching her as she gets close to the ladder. As her hands grab the rung, I pull her back again. “What are you doing?”

“My mom is in there.”

“You can’t go up, Tori. It’s too dangerous. Let her come down.”

Tori shakes her head, trying to push me aside. “Mom’s been drinking. And the fire escape is in my room—there’s a closet blocking it. She’ll never get out.”

The building is old, and looking at the state of the fire escape, I doubt it’s up to code. The windows of the first floor are already glowing orange from the flames as smoke seems to be leaking out of the building like it’s made of sponge.

In the distance, I can hear the sirens of fire trucks. They don’t sound too far away, but it doesn’t seem like the building will last that long… or that Tori’s mother has that long.

“Are you sure she’s in there?” I ask Tori as she continues to try to fight me.

“Yes,” she exclaims, desperately. “She was drunk when I left. She could have fallen asleep, or fallen, or—”

“Stay here. I’ll go.”

“No.” Tori shakes her head. “I should go.”

“And if your mom is unconscious, how are you going to get her out?” I ask her. As Tori hesitates, I push her to the side. “What apartment?”

“4B.” Tori points up. “That one.”

Without wasting another moment, I climb up the ladder. The whole fire escape shakes under my movement as I race across each level and up the next stairway. As I pass the first and second floor windows, I can feel the heat from the fire.

The window on the fourth floor that Tori pointed to is almost entirely covered. Before I waste energy trying to get in that way, I run over to the other window. Inside, it’s completely empty.

I pull my phone out of my pocket, then turn my head away and slam the corner as hard as I can into the glass. The single pane glass shatters easily. With my phone, I spare a few precious seconds to clear as much of the glass away as possible to make it easier to get Tori’s mom out, then I climb in.

Even up here, the smoke is starting to seep through the floorboards and fill the room. I charge through the apartment tothe door, setting the cheap lock to stay unlocked before I pull the door open.

A wall of thick black smoke pours in through the door. I stagger back, closing the door, coughing and spluttering. The fire is consuming this building so quickly, there will be nothing left.

I fill my lungs, then, holding my breath this time, head out into the hallway. There’s only one other door, and it’s already becoming difficult to see it. I run straight at it. Without slowing, I lower my shoulder and ram into it. The door barely puts up any resistance, and I go flying into the apartment.

There’s more smoke in here than the other apartment. Much more. I can barely see my hand in front of my face. It’s also a hell of a lot hotter. Before I delve further into the apartment, I grab a dishtowel from the side and douse it in water. After wringing the excess water off, I tie it around my head to cover my mouth and nose.

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