Four in Shadows

Chapter 1

"Get out of there!" Someone screamed. Eliza swung open the door and melted into the crowd flowing into the stairwell. There were screams all around her but all she could hear was her heart beat. Steady as ever. She was the least bit concerned about the fire. It was probably a small kitchen fire or someone smoking weed. It was dark in the stairs but she saw lights where the exit door was. Red and blue flashing lights. Up ahead the police blocked the door to the exit. Rumors swirled through the crowd and Eliza caught pieces of it.
"They're not letting people through"
"Apparently they heard gunshots and we all have to be checked-"
"We'll be burned before they catch them!" A woman screamed hysterically.  Eliza rolled her eyes.
Another person confided, "Probably someone burning incense again." True, she thought. They would all be fine. She however had blood on her hands literally. She cursed under her breath and tried wiping the speck of blood on the inside of her jacket. The crowd pushed her towards her impending doom. Then she squated down low. This time it payed to be small. She slipped through the crowd. One man stopped her grabbing her arm. "Where are you going?!" She immediately put on her act.
"My grandma! I remember she took sleeping pills before she went to bed I have to get her!" Tears started to slip from her eyes.
"Then I'll come help you." The tears stopped and The blood drained from her face.
"No!" She tried to recover, "I can't put you in danger too." Something in his face made her concerned as he squeezed her arm tighter. It was subtle but she wondered if he was more than just a concerned passerbyer.
"Let me help!" He cried over the noise of the crowd.
"Ok." She mumbled. She shrugged out of his grasp and dashed through the crowd hugging the side wall. She hoped to lose the stranger but he stuck close behind her. His hand light grabbed the edge of her coat so he could stay with her. Her mind raced with possibilities of how to escape him. She already had her plan to escape the police, but was coming up short with what her story would be now. Finally the reached the top of the stairs as the crowd became fewer. Eventually they made it to the end of the hall where there was no one else.
"Which room is hers?" She glanced back at him when they reached room 577.
"This one." She took the key out of her pocket but hesitated before swiping it.
"Stay out here. I'll get her."
"But you can hardly carry her if she-" Eliza slammed the door in his face before he'd be able to peek into the crime scene inside. This was a mess. She had planned a simple poison death for this man. He would have gone to sleep and never woken up. But he changed his plan when the maid brought him the spiked milk. Apparently he was feeling too tired and she, while watching from the balcony, had to finish him herself. It was fine! She would hold him at gun point and force the drug down his throat. But he pulled a gun of his own out and she had to shoot. Twice. Heavy knocking on the door broke her from her memory.
"Let me in. I can help." Ha. she laughed to herself. You can't help here. When he seemed to give up the knocking she opened the sliding doors. She pulled the ropes from inside her jacket and clipped it to the balcony edge. She wasn't scared of heights but she was five stories high. Her head spun. Looking at the street below something came to mind. Whoever started the fire had given her an opportunity to fix this. If she lit the room on fire, she would take care of any evidence. Quickly she scrummaged around the drawers for a match.
"Aha!" She lit the trash can full of papers and when the flames rose she dumped it on the sheets covering the body. Just as the heat reached her face she ran to the glass door. Before she reached it she heard a faint buzz and a click. The door opened. She swiveled around,
"How did you?" The stranger held up a key.
"Lighting ole grandma on fire are we?" He yelled over the fire alarm. She reached for her gun. But he surprised her by grabbing and standing on a chair. He started messing with something on the ceiling. "The sprinkler system is gonna spare whoever that is so better take care of that." He hopped down and ran towards her. She stepped back onto the balcony she was still clipped to and pulled out her gun.
"Woah! Can't you see I'm on your side?" She remained silent as the calculations ran through her mind. The fire grew bigger and whatever he did to the sprinklers worked. They stayed off.
"I'm here to help you."
"As you can see I'm doing just fine." She retorted.
"I don't know how you planned to get out of here but let me-" before letting him finished she holstered her gun ran to the edge. With one glance back she jumped, swan diving into the abyss. She landed hard in the fourth story balcony and repelled down from there. Meanwhile, the stranger stood, stunned, on the fifth floor.
"What the f-" a loud crack in the fire behind him made the stranger jump. He rushed to the railing and saw her repelling down the building.
He had wondered what she would do to escape the police. He didn't know that jumping out of a window was her plan. He gulped and jumped after her.