The Factory Girl // Book 1 in the Rosie Grey series

Chapter Thirty

My heart sunk to my stomach the moment the words left Mathias mouth. Instinctively, I moved my left hand, squeezing my hand into a fist as the memory of the fire encased my thoughts. The red and orange flames licking up the walls, the heat that was unbearable and the smoke that filled my nose and mouth, the smoke that felt as though it was choking me. I felt my throat close at the thought of it. The thought of being back in that hallway with the suffocating smoke and the flames that danced around was terrifying, I didn't want to face that again.

But my friends were there.

Someone had to help.

Turning to Robert, I noted the confused look on his face as he tried to process Mathias' comment and just what it may have meant. He narrowed his eyes at me also glancing down at the burn on my arm. He was trying to connect the pieces of a puzzle that was far too complicated to understand. I knew I would have to explain myself, tell them the truth about everything, but I had more important things to do.

"I'll explain everything, I promise," I said, handing over the basket of books.

"Wha-" Robert went to respond, taking the basket off me as though not sure what to do with the situation he faced.

"I'm sorry, I have to go." Glancing away from Robert, I nodded towards Mathias who grabbed my arm and pulled me through the busy crowd.

"Rosie!" Was all I heard as Mathias dragged me through the crowd and towards the gates of the factory.

It was next to impossible to see anything over the crowds of people moving in the direction of the factory. Many were questioning what was going to happen to the so-called 'criminals' inside if there was substantial property damage. As Mathias dragged me through them, I wondered how people could be so heartless to those who were in danger. They cared more about their own appearance and keeping up standards than the lives of those behind the iron gates. Not that it surprised me all that much, the way people looked at me when I was dismissed from the gates was enough.

Mathias' grip on my arm tightened as he used his shoulder to nudge people out of the way, not even bothering to apologise as we approached the gates. The closer we got, the darker the sky became as black plumes of smoke travelled up from the factory and filled the sky. Ladies were placing handkerchiefs over their noses and mouths, so they didn't breathe in any smoke, but Mathias and I pressed on until we were standing outside of the iron gates, the padlock blocking us from gaining entry. Neither of us had thought about what we would do when we came across the padlock, the object that kept us out and them in.

Releasing my arm, Mathias turned around and snatched a metal mallet out of someone's hand. The man protested and attempted to snatch it back as Mathias lifted it and smashed it against the padlock with one arm. Instantly, the padlock broke in two. It dropped to the ground and Mathias handed the mallet back to the man before he pushed open the gate just enough for us to slip inside. No one dared to follow us, despite the now open gates, we were on our own.

Thick, dark smoke filled the courtyard as Mathias and I made our way across the cobblestones and around the side of the building. We knocked over buckets, wooden slates and pieces of machinery as we approached the back of the building where the factory was hidden. The courtyard was a mess of ash and metal, small pieces of ash continuing to float down from the buildings that were ablaze. The entire area was alight with flames, the licked up the sides of the buildings and onto the rooves. Smoke poured out of windows and doors, travelling upwards on the wind and blocking out the tower and the other buildings.

It was far bigger than the fire in the storeroom.

The inferno looked worse in the factory itself, with the roof turning black and flames escaping through the gaps in the metal. Mathias looked at me and ran his hand through his hair, as though not expecting the fire to be on this scale. Neither of us knew where to begin, we didn't even know where the others were.