Page 34 of Critical Strike

“Luke?”

“They have to be gone by now. We’re going to keep low and crawl out.” He pushed aside the display so he could crawl out.

They moved on their hands and knees, Khan meowing pathetically from the bag slung over his back.

“Which door are we using?” She coughed into her hand.

“We have to stay here and wait for the fire department.”

He had to give her credit; she didn’t give in to hysteria. “Will we make it that long?”

“We have to. If we go out either door now,” he said, “they’ll shoot us on sight.”

She was right, the fire was spreading too fast for them to be able to breathe by the time the fire department arrived, even if it was just a couple of minutes. This place was an arsonist’s dream.

They both had pulled their shirts to cover their mouths, but even low to the ground, the smoke was getting thicker. The heat from the burning books surrounded them from all directions.

They were going to have to exit. Take their chances.

“We’re going to go out the front door.” He put his lips right next to her ear so she could hear him. “You stay behind me and then run for the nearest emergency worker.”

Her whole body was shaking. “They’ll shoot. They’ll shoot you first to get to me.”

“It’s a chance we’ll have to take. They’re covering the doors, but we can’t stay in here.”

Her eyes grew larger. “Wait. I have an idea. Follow me.”

She scurried off toward the back of the building. He almost stopped her—going out the front where there were potentially more people was probably a better plan. But then she turned toward the western end of the building.

The bathrooms.That might buy them a little bit of time, but it might trap them.

He grabbed her ankle where she crawled in front of him. She turned. “The bathrooms might trap us,” he yelled to be heard over the fire.

She yelled something back, but he could only make out one word, but it was the most important one.

Window.

They made it inside, the thinner smoke allowing them to stand and breathe a little easier. Luke unzipped the backpack and let Khan out, grabbing the clothing that had lined the bottom and stuffing it in the crack at the door. It would buy them a little more time.

“There’s a window in the storage closet.” She pointed at a closed door. “I used it once when I was maxed out on my book checkouts but had another story I really wanted to read. But I returned it.”

Even in the middle of all this, she actually looked embarrassed that she’d stolen a book.

Luke didn’t waste any time; he moved to the door and when he found it locked, he kicked it near the knob.

One look at the window had him swallowing a curse. He was sure eleven-year-old Claire had made it through with her stolen book. Adult Claire was going to be a tighter fit, but she would make it.Him?

Claire chewed her bottom lip. “Wow. That’s a lot smaller than I remember...”

“You’ll fit.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll fit, too.”

He grabbed the large flashlight in the corner of the closet and wrapped it in a shirt, using it to break the window as quietly as possible. Ballard’s men probably wouldn’t be looking for them in this direction, but there was no point in drawing their attention.

It broke with the second hit and he cleared the glass out as much as possible. “You need to go first. I’ll hoist you up. Watch the edges.”

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