The thought hit me as something else registered: a sharp, desperate yowling penetrated through the sounds of the fire.
Phantom.
My gaze snapped toward the back door, the door we used every morning to go to the gym. The same door Phantom alwaysclawed at as he waited for Roman and me to catch up and let him inside. That cat was obsessed with this place.
And one of the rear windows was busted open, giving him easy access inside.
I stepped closer to the building, fear prickling the back of my neck slick with sweat. The crying was constant and insistent and coming from right inside. My chest ached as I panted.
That stupid kitten was going to burn to death.
Hailey would be crushed.
Swallowing down my fear, I stepped even closer, trying to peer inside the shattered window. It was dark, but the smoke seemed to be coming from the front of the building. Still, fire spread fast and it wouldn’t be long until the entire structure was engulfed.
I reached for my phone, but found my pockets devastatingly empty. A vivid image of my phone sitting on the counter in the kitchen flashed through my mind. I was such an idiot.
There wasn’t enough time to go back for it. I had to hope someone had called the fire in, or that Roman had somehow noticed.
But in the back of my mind, I knew it was too early. Most people weren’t awake yet.
Phantom cried again, and I couldn’t ignore him any longer. I rushed to the back door and typed in the code, flinging it open. Smoke curled up to the ceiling, and I crouched low in the doorway, staring desperately inside.
He couldn’t be far.
The haze of smoke and the smell turning my stomach all threatened to tear me back to that night in my dorm room. Warm air rushed over me, thick and bitter, but I fought the terror to focus on the silly kitten that Hailey loved with all her heart. I had to at least try.
“Phantom?” I called his name, praying to whoever would listen that the animal would come to me.
My throat started to close at the first hint of smoke, and I crouched even lower, pulling my shirt up over my mouth and nose. I coughed anyway.
Using a large landscaping rock, I wedged it under the heavy door until it stayed wide open. I wasn’t going to get stuck in there.
There was another frantic yowl, and it was close. Huddled as low to the floor as I could, I stepped into the back hallway, blinking through the fog of smoke that stung my eyes.
I didn’t have to go far inside before I caught sight of him.
Relief flooded me as the small, trembling fuzzy ball pressed up against one of the office doors in the hallway.
I shuffled closer, keeping low to the floor. The smoke thickened farther down the hallway.
We needed to get out of here immediately.
“It’s okay,” I rasped. “Come here. Phantom, come here, baby.”
He didn’t move. His body was low to the ground—tail puffed, ears flattened. Smoke swirled around him.
“It’s okay,” I whispered, inching forward.
Then something popped and crashed. The sound echoed off the walls like it was coming from every direction. I was startled, but so was that cat.
Phantom bolted.
He flew down the hallway, away from me and toward the thickening smoke. I panicked, following him without thinking, convinced I could catch him if I was fast enough.
I wasn’t.
The smoke smothered me as I moved farther in. It burned and blurred my vision.
