“We’re trapped!” Manny cries out in a sudden fit of desperation. He starts to bang his fists against the pile of rubble.
A voice comes from the other side of the wreckage. voice on the other side of the wreckage. “Fellas!” Marcus says, “you in there?”
“Where else would we be?” Joey responds.
Judging by how muffled the detective sounded, we got a ways to go before we tunnel our way outdoors.
“Can you get out?” Marcus asks.
“Working on it!” Dennis replies, as he heaves a block of concrete to the side.
Joey eyes the rubble. “This is not gonna work. We gotta find another way. Let’s go up.”
Jax thinks for a second. The detective calls out again. I can’t make out what he says. It doesn’t matter. There’s nothing he can do for us out there. Right now, it’s just us versus the fire.
“He’s in there with you! Be careful!” Marcus says.
We make it to the second floor. Every time we come to a corner my heart’s in my throat. I’m expecting Evan to pop out at any moment.
This is what he wanted. To be trapped with us. For us to die together, in some sort of sick ritual of self-immolation. And I gotta hand it to the guy—so far his plan seems to be working out pretty well .
Tromping on the soggy carpet, we arrive at a conference room. We can smash the windows with our pike poles and escape that way. Hopefully, there’ll be a fire truck at the ready, with an aerial ladder to bring us down to the ground in a less jarring fashion. But hope’s a precious commodity at the moment, and I ain’t gonna indulge in it too freely.
“All right, boys,” Jax says, his mask off for the moment. “The fire’s starting to spread to this floor. Let’s be quick. There’s gotta be another truck on its way, and if not, Marcus can drive ours and get the ladder in position.”
“You boys leaving already? But the party’s just getting started.”
I spin around.
Evan stands in the doorway. He’s grinning, and there’s a bomb strapped to his chest. His eyes are unfeeling. Glazed over by pain. Before we even try and reason with him, I conclude that it’s futile. He appears too far gone mentally to be talked out of this.
“Evan . . . man . . . you don’t have to do this.” Jax says.
“It’s the only way to make the pain stop. Let’s all die together.”
“You son of a bitch.” Joey charges at Evan but Jax and Dennis grab him.
“I’ve got a daughter.”
Evan looks at me. “I had a daughter too. But then you let her die.”
“The fire killed her!” Manny cries out.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Evan replies coldly. His grin is gone. “Itkilled her. And you should’ve let it kill me too. But you just couldn’t resist, could you? You wanted to be a hero so bad you never thought about the hell I’d live in after losing my family.”
Joey doesn’t respond. He’s staring at Evan with an intensity that could cut through diamond.
No one says a word.
Evan’s fury subsides and he chuckles dryly. “Well, I’d tell you to be more thoughtful next time, but I’m afraid there’s not going to bea next time.”
His face empty of emotion, he stares out at nothing.
We find cover behind a desk. Everyone’s yelling but the words are eaten up by the explosion.
And the next thing I know I’m on the floor.
Wait—I’ve been here before. Flat on my back. Surrounded by flames. Unsure if my spine is broken.
