Fuck, they locked me in.
No, they locked meandHarry in.
I looked at him.
This wasn’t good. Now I knew why Harry swung first. He was ready to defend himself.
Quickly, I searched the basement again, and then I saw the small window, hidden behind a pile of boxes that reeked of damp. It was too high and too small. I wouldn’t fit through there.
Shit.
I heard them moving around upstairs. They seemed almost methodical in their movements. What were they doing? It hit me at the same time as the smell of the smoke.
They set the house on fire.
Frantically, I ran up the stairs and tried the door. I didn’t care who was on the other side; I would fight my way out. It didn’t budge.
Turning and almost falling down the stairs in my haste, I mademy way to the window. The only thing to stand on was the fucking chair I tied Harry to. Cursing myself at my adeptness at knots, I finally managed to untie him and pushed him out of the chair. He landed with a thud and a groan, but he was alive, and that’s all that mattered.
The window didn’t open. The smoke was now making its way into the basement, and I knew I couldn’t be in here longer than I had to. I needed out.
Drawing my hand back, I punched the window and cried out in pain as it held, and I heard a crack in my hand. I punched again and broke through the pane of glass, slicing my hand in the process. Still, I had it open. Taking off my hoodie and wrapping it around my hand, I punched out the rest of the window, ignoring the pain, and then, gripping the frame, I pulled myself up. It didn’t matter how hard I tried; I was never going to fit.
Hands grabbed me, and I fought them off, but my brother’s voice calmed me down.
“You won’t fit,” Onyx growled at me, and I dropped back into the basement. “Hurry, he’s in the basement!” he yelled to someone, and then I heard the door open and footsteps coming down the stairs. Jumping off the seat, I ran and stopped dead at the same time as Jett saw me.
My brother grabbed me and started to haul me upward.
“No!” I shouted as I wrenched free. “I need help.”
I ran back down the few stairs and picked up the still unconscious Harry off the floor.
“What the fuck?” Jett yelled at me as he hastily covered his face.
“I need him to talk,” I said as I started back up the stairs. The smoke was thick now, and I could feel the heat of the flames.
“I’m not fucking dying for Harry,” Jett growled as he helped me.
“We need him.”
The house was an inferno; my brother was insane to run into this house for me. Battling our way to the kitchen, where Onyxwas pacing outside the door impatiently, I could hear the sirens, and I knew we had little time.
“We need to move,” I coughed as I struggled to stand upright. “We can’t be caught; our chance will be gone.”
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Jett grunted as he took Harry off me and put him over his shoulder.
“Let’s move,” Onyx ordered us tersely as more and more lights came on in the street.
“We need to split up,” Jett said as he watched the yard and the surroundings. “We’re fucked if we get caught.”
“My car . . . it’s a street over.”
“You go there, we’ll go this way—”
“I’ll make it to my own,” Onyx cut him off, grabbing Harry off Jett. “You know where to meet,” he instructed with a pointed look at Harry, who was coming around. I quickly punched him again to knock him out, and Onyx glared at me in frustration. “Jesus! Fuck, justrun.”
I hesitated before Jett pushed me into movement, and he took off with Onyx following closely behind him. I turned and ran back to my car, keeping to the cover of the darkness, wincing as the sirens raced nearer.
