Time Bomb(41)

“Yes.” Rashid turned and started down the hall, away from the smoke. “I thought you already had that figured out.”

Yeah. He’d earned that.

Tad shot one last look down the hall in the direction of the fire, then followed Rashid, who had found the fire extinguisher in this part of the school.

Rashid grabbed a thick piece of wood and smashed it against the fire-extinguisher case. The glass shattered, but he cocked back and took another swing at it before dropping the wood. Finally, he yanked the extinguisher from the holder and took several deep breaths.

“Feel better?” Tad asked with a smile.

Rashid looked down at the fire extinguisher in his hands then the shattered glass on the floor among the rest of the wreckage and shocked the hell out of Tad when he flashed a grin. “Yeah. I do.”

“So,” Tad asked again, “what’s the plan? It’s not like we can climb out a window and jump.”

Not from the second story, which was technically three stories up from the sidewalk because of the school’s design. Even if they managed to squeeze themselves through the narrow windows, they would have to drop thirty feet or more to concrete and brick below. If they could get to the east side of the building, they could jump onto the grass, but that part of the school was currently on fire.

Breaking a leg on the concrete would be better than burning to death, but there was also a good chance he’d split his head open. “Do you have a plan other than holding a fire extinguisher and hoping for the best?” Tad repeated.

“Yes,” Rashid answered. “I plan on using the pressure in the fire extinguisher to propel us from the school like a jetpack. How about you test it first?”

Tad stared at Rashid, who shook his head, then laughed. “I’m joking.”

“You’re joking?” Tad didn’t know the guy even knew how to joke, and here he was doing it with the building coming down around their heads.

“The smoke is getting worse, which is probably more dangerous right now than the fire. I think we should barricade ourselves in one of the rooms as far away from the fire as we can get and wait there until help arrives,” Rashid said, all traces of laughter gone.

“So we just sit around and wait for the fire or another bomb to kill us?” This plan left a lot to be desired.

“Do you have a better idea?”

He would give anything to say yes. “No, but . . .” He cocked his head to the side and held up his hand. “Listen. Do you hear something?”

“Hear what?”

He looked around and waited for the sound to come again.

“Is anyone down there?”

Voices. People were calling. The voices were muffled.

“Hello?” Tad yelled back. Then he turned to Rashid. “I think the voices are coming from above. Maybe the firefighters or the cops are here after all. Come on.” He thought he heard someone shout back, but the sound was too faint to make out the words. “Can you tell where they are?”

Rashid shook his head. “Maybe somewhere closer to the middle of the hall? It’s hard to say. Hello? Are you there?” he shouted, then froze as he listened.

Tad held his breath as he waited for the voices to come again. “That way,” he said. He ignored the smoke that was billowing around the corner as he sprinted down the hall. Rashid followed, trying door handles along the way.

“This one is open,” Rashid said as he pulled. A desk crashed through the opening. Everything inside the room creaked. Debris rained on top of Rashid. Tad bolted forward, grabbed Rashid’s arms, and pulled him out of the way.

“You okay?” He coughed, then squatted down next to Rashid.

“Never better,” Rashid said as he wiped at the blood streaming from a cut on his face. Tad started to unbutton his shirt to use as a bandage, but Rashid was already tearing a piece of his own shirt away and pressing it to his head. When Tad moved to help, Rashid leaned back. “I’m fine.”

Tad heard the voices again, which sounded as if they were coming from the open doorway. “Hello?” he yelled, peering through a gap in the wreckage wedged in the doorway to see into the room beyond.

Holy destruction, Batman.

The place was a mess of twisted metal and busted boards and pieces of wall or ceiling. Here and there, he could see streaks of light snaking through a haze of smoke. “Hey?” Tad shouted again. “Anyone?”

Please. Let the firefighters be there.

“Do you hear that?” a male voice shouted from above. “I think someone’s down there.”

“Yes!” Tad coughed and choked out, “There are two of us down here on the second floor.” He turned to look at Rashid, who was staggering to his feet, still pressing the shirt to his head. Blood was smeared across the side of his face. “Do you hear that, Rashid? We’re going to get the hell out of here! They’re coming to save us.”

“There are five of us up here on the third,” someone else called, and Tad’s breath caught in his throat. He knew that voice.

It wasn’t a firefighter coming to help them escape. The voice belonged to Frankie. He hadn’t left the building and ditched Tad after all. And now he was here.





Frankie





— Chapter 35 —


FRANKIE’S CHEST TIGHTENED. He recognized the voice coming from below. Still, he found himself asking, “Tad is that you?”