She concentrated on breathing, gradually controlling her racing heart. She could do this, had to calm down. Even if Mia wasn’t hurt, she had to be terrified. Ryleigh was terrified. She never should have left Mia alone. She touched her throbbing temple and pulled back a hand sticky with blood. No wonder she couldn’t think.
“Here.” Mr. Jacobs pressed a dry cloth against her head. “Are you all right?”
“I think so.”
“Hold this on your head.” He went to aid a wailing woman clutching her arm tightly to her body. Sobbing, mixed with soothing sounds of those trying to help, replaced the screaming.
Ryleigh wasn’t sure which way to go. She had to get her bearings. It felt as if days had passed since she’d rushed into the unfamiliar building, and she had no memory of the layout. Glass covered the floor where the smoky walls had once stood, so she limped that way.
“Miss.” A hand fell on her shoulder. “Are you all right? Do you need help?”
Ryleigh shook her head and kept walking, stepping carefully in the ridiculous pumps she’d chosen that morning. One shoe snagged on something and pulled free of her foot. She kicked off the other shoe and made her way into the corridor.
A crowd was moving one direction, so Ryleigh joined them. Some cried softly as they trudged through piles of debris. Others helped injured co-workers and friends, and some plowed through everyone in their haste to get out. A big man with a crew cut shoved her aside, and when she reached out to steady herself against the wall, she dropped the cloth she’d had pressed against her head.
Her head cleared a little. Okay. She could do this. Though the elevator stood open, the shaft was empty. Everyone bypassed it and entered a stairwell at the end of the corridor. Would Mia try to come up and find her? Goosebumps covered her. No. She would stay where she was or leave. She’d never try to come up. Would she? Adrenaline shot through Ryleigh, and she increased her pace, heedless of her bare feet. She’d only gone down two steps when the world rocked again. Clutching the railing tightly, she pressed her body against the wall as chaos erupted around her.
“Get out of the way…go, go, go…move…here, let me help you…no, wait, don’t move…stop pushing.” Rumbling. Tearing. Screaming. People pushed and shoved. The woman in front of her panicked and tried to run. She fell, and several people tumbled down the stairs in a domino effect. Fragments rained down on them. Holding onto the banister for dear life, Ryleigh crouched and tried to shield her head.
It didn’t last as long this time. At least it seemed shorter. The instant the shaking ceased, she jumped up and hobbled down the stairs. She reached the pile of people on the first landing and climbed over, around, and through them. When she turned the corner, the second stairway was empty. Fighting through the pain in her knee, Ryleigh ran.
Gripping the railing, she fled down the remaining two flights and burst through the last door into what had once been the lobby.
“Mia!” She choked on thick, black smoke then dropped to her hands and knees. Think, think, think. Which way had she turned to enter the elevator? Keeping her right side against the wall, she crawled in the direction she thought the elevators should be. The sprinkler system rained from the ceiling. Alarms blared. Moving forward blindly, Ryleigh held her breath and prayed fervently to find Mia unharmed. She felt along the base of the wall, hoping to find any landmark that would help her get her bearings.
Her hand fell into open space, throwing her off balance, and she flattened herself against the floor. Smoke poured from the empty elevator shaft on her right. She inched forward, half dragging, and half crawling in the direction she thought would bring her to the lobby.
The wall turned to the right. She reluctantly left her safety net and crossed the lobby. She pushed up to all fours and forced herself through obstacles blocking her way to Mia. Her eyes burned, and she struggled to see through narrow slits. Everything hurt. Her head pounded in time with the throbbing in her knee. Her feet hurt too bad to try to walk. She’d jammed her hand on something in her fight to escape the stairwell. Her fingers were probably broken.
Recklessly, she made her way across the floor until something solid stopped her short. She sat up and tried to look around, ran her hand over the obstacle, and realized she’d run into the wall on the opposite side of the lobby. But where was the seat she’d left Mia in? She should have already passed it.
The shaking started again, and she braced herself against the wall.
The tremors were not another earthquake, but her own body trembling. A fit of coughs wracked her. She had to get out of there. Maybe Mia had already gotten out. Surely, someone would have helped her escape.
She rubbed her eyes, but they burned too badly to keep them open, anyway. Keeping her left hand against the wall as a guide, she crept forward. If she just followed the wall around, she should come to the front door. It was getting harder to breathe, and when she tried to take a deep breath, she choked. The chaotic noise receded into static. Was she the only person left in the lobby? In the building?
Another obstruction impeded her escape. She felt around the edge of it. Was it a chair? If it was, it was upside down. Soft cries reached her, and her heart soared. “Mia?”
“Ry—” Mia sobbed. “—leigh?”
“Oh, Mia!” Ryleigh crawled under the chair and dragged her sister into her arms. “Why didn’t you get out?” She held Mia at arm’s length and struggled to assess any damage. No use, she couldn’t see anything. “Are you hurt?”
“I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to find me.” Mia held Ryleigh tight.
As she clutched her little sister, relief flooded through her. A new round of coughing interrupted the reunion, though, and Ryleigh set Mia back from her. “Come on, we have to get out of here.”
“Kay.” Mia had her own coughing fit.
Ryleigh held Mia’s hand as they crawled forward. “Stay right with me, and don’t let go.”
The smoke opened a clear pathway, but a dark form blocked it. No more than a silhouette, insubstantial, yet it wasn’t an apparition.
She struggled desperately to suppress a cough and pulled Mia back beneath the chair.
“Wh—”
Ryleigh covered Mia’s mouth. “Shh.” The tiniest hint of sound escaped her. She didn’t dare speak, not even a whisper. She barely even breathed as she sank back into the shadows, dragging her sister with her.
The figure grew as it solidified. Backlit by light spilling from the front of the building, it appeared to be all black. Smoke swirled around it. Him.
She gripped Mia tighter and tried to beat back the fear, tried to suppress the shudders rushing through her. It didn’t make any sense. He was probably there to help. Yet, when she tried to move forward, her instincts wouldn’t allow it.
Her gaze met his, just for an instant. His eyes were bottomless black pits that stopped her heart.
He vanished.
The inexplicable paralysis finally released her, and she dragged Mia with her as she bolted for the door.
* * * *
Jackson
