The Normals | ✓

F O R T Y

The hallway Elliott is supposed to be in is quiet. The little girl had said he couldn’t get past because there was too much fighting, but apart from the blaring alarm, there’s no noise.

There are bodies, though. Lots of them.

Blood is smeared on the walls and floor, and even more people are on the ground here. I try not to look down as I pick my way around them. I don’t want to see their faces, don’t want to know their identities. About halfway to the end of the hall, I hear crying, and find a boy huddled in a ball behind a plant pot. He sees me and starts crying louder, so Arden steps in front of me. “Let me handle this.” He crouches down in front of the boy. “What’s your name?”

The boy’s gaze darts between me and Arden. I try to look as reassuring as I can, but as Captain said, I’m a target by keeping my mask on. Whether I like it or not.

“Elliott,” he finally replies, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“We’re here to help you outside, okay?” Arden says gently. “Just trust us.”

He sniffs, wiping his eyes. “O-okay.”

Arden takes the boy into his arms, handing him the small blanket he had been holding on to. “You’ll be okay, okay?”

He sniffs again.

“The exit is this way,” I say, pointing back the way we came. Arden quickly covers Elliott’s eyes so that he doesn’t see the bodies, and we advance forward. Things seem to be going well -- we’ve made it out of the hall and are running toward the exit -- when a series of panicked yells echo down toward us. A bright orange glow lights up the hallway in front, coming from somewhere just around the corner. I don’t have to ask to know what it is, because I can smell it.

The building has started burning.

I want to take off toward the exit. I want to leave Arden behind and think of myself only for once. But I force myself to stay by his side, matching his pace as he’s slowed down by the child in his arms.

But we’re still not fast enough. The fire has spread around the corner and we can see it now, but it’s our closest way out. The exit is only a few hallways beyond, provided it hasn’t been engulfed in flames yet. And if the fire keeps spreading at this pace, it will be soon.

Arden stops for a minute, panting. “Can you hold him for a bit?”

Elliott kicks around in his arms. “No! I don’t want her to touch me!”

“I’m sorry but you don’t have a choice in this,” Arden replies. “I need to catch my breath and you’ll only slow us down if you run on your own.” He passes the child to me, and I hoist him onto my back. He hisses and pulls at my hair, so I hiss back at him. It seems to shut him up. “Is there another way out?” Arden asks, squatting against the wall and looking at the flames slowly making their way toward us. The smoke is creeping its way along too, causing little Elliott to cough.

I shake my head. “The only other exit is on the other side of the building. I highly doubt we’ll be able to get there before the fire.”

Arden swallows. “Onward it is, then.”

The first few hallways are on fire, but it hasn’t spread much. It stays on the gasoline trail, which has thinned a lot in this area. Maybe Fawn was running out. We run around it, trying not to be smothered in the heat, and make our way to the last hall. I was hoping the fire hadn’t reached it yet, but it’s just as bad here as anywhere else, if not worse. Flames travel up the walls, licking at the ceiling. I feel bad for anyone who decided to hide in the vents. We start forward, pulling the collars of our shirts over our noses and mouths. The walls and ceiling look unstable, blackening quickly as the fire eats them up. I want to drop Elliott and bolt for the door.