Time Bomb(18)

Diana nodded, even though she knew her father’s career hung on getting the bill passed. He needed a win, as did the country.

Mrs. Kennedy cleared her throat to break the silence. “Since we both want to get out of here, how about I make the copies while you get the sign-up sheet ready? Divide and conquer.”

“Sure thing.” Diana handed Mrs. Kennedy the schedule with a practiced smile, then looked back at the computer screen as Mrs. Kennedy left for the copier. Thank goodness. Now Diana could finish in peace and quiet. She glanced at her watch again. Yes, it was way past time for her to leave.

She printed the sign-up sheet and picked up the backpack resting near her feet. She then turned off the computer and headed out in search of Mrs. Kennedy to tell her she was finished. Only Mrs. Kennedy was nowhere to be found.

This was just perfect. Diana should have insisted on printing the agendas. Then they would be done by now, and Diana would be on her way down to the media center. Once she made that stop, she’d be able to get out of this place.

She looked at the clock on her phone as she went back to the yearbook room, trying to decide what to do. She had to get going. Maybe she could leave a note . . .

“Here you go,” Mrs. Kennedy said as she strode into the room with her purse slung over her arm. At last.

“Thanks.” Diana took the copies and placed them on the back table in a neat stack under the sign that said TAKE ONE. “And with that, I’m done,” she announced. “Sorry I kept you here so long.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Mrs. Kennedy said with a smile. “Now we can both get on with our day. I don’t know about you, but—”

The desks throughout the room suddenly rattled, and there was a deep rumbling somewhere. Mrs. Kennedy’s eyes narrowed, then widened, and she bolted toward the door.

Diana’s panic spiked as something, somewhere, exploded.

What was—? Diana grabbed the closest desk as everything in the room started to shake.

Fire alarms shrieked.

A ceiling tile crashed next to her as she rushed past the desks with her backpack clutched against her chest.

That’s when everything came apart.

The door frame cracked.

Dust swirled.

The floor shuddered again.

Wood splinters and tiles rained down.

Diana coughed and put her hands over her head as she raced toward the door.

Books fell off shelves.

The computer she’d been working on crashed to the ground.

Metal and brick smashed together in one deafening roar. Something slammed against the back of her head, and Diana dropped to her knees. Desks slid toward her. She screamed for help as the floor shuddered yet again and tilted.

Everything creaked and groaned. Terror clawed at her throat, even as she fought for calm and crawled toward the exit. No one would be able to hear her screams; still she yelled as she fumbled to find the pocket where she’d put her phone. She had to have her phone.

A file cabinet crashed into the desks, sending them flying toward her. She pulled the bag close and screamed one more time. The floor tilted and every—





We all live in a house on fire, no fire department to call; no way out, just the upstairs window to look out of while the fire burns the house down with us trapped, locked in it.



—Tennessee Williams





12:03 p.m.





Diana





— Chapter 13 —


WHY DID EVERYTHING HURT?

Smoke. She smelled smoke.

Diana struggled to lift her head and open her eyes. Small bursts of light danced in front of her. The lights faded, and all she could see were dark and hazy shadows.

Where was she?

Then she remembered the scraping of metal and falling bricks, and her heart slammed hard in her chest.

The explosion. She’d been in the yearbook office on the third floor. And then there was an explosion, and she was still in the school. No. This wasn’t happening. She had to get out of here. She had to find her bag and get out of here now.

Diana pushed herself up, got a foot off the floor, and smacked into something hard and cold above her. Oh, God.

She raised herself up again and used her back to lift whatever it was with as much force as she could. Move. Please, God. Whatever it was above her had to move. Her heart pounded harder as she pushed against it over and over again. Only it wasn’t budging. Why couldn’t she push it out of the way?

Move! She shoved one more time, but it didn’t give. Not at all. Not even an inch. She was trapped.





Tad





— Chapter 14 —


TAD DUCKED HIS HEAD back under the table that he’d dived under the minute the building had begun to shake and the sprinklers had started pouring water. The table had shuddered as pieces of ceiling crashed on top of it, but it was still standing. He was intact. Unlike parts of the room he could see that had been wrecked by the explosion.

An explosion. Something that should exist only in movies and on the news. And here he was in the middle of it. Frankie was probably in the building somewhere trying to get out, if he hadn’t done so already. Or maybe he wasn’t as lucky as Tad had been, and the ceiling or something else had fallen on top of him.

Tad closed his eyes and took a deep breath as his heart pounded hard and fast and loud and . . . No panicking. Panicking was how the people in the movies ended up getting themselves killed. He wasn’t going to go down in this building while cowering under a science table. No way, no how. He just had to stop freaking out and figure out what to do next.