Page 100 of Something Borrowed

Destruction.

Beautiful, unrestrained destruction.

And soon my body will meet the same fate.

There will be nothing left of me to find. Nothing but a charred outline of who I once was.

I roll back onto my stomach and start crawling towards the window again.

Another part of the ceiling caves in and a chunk of plaster falls to the ground, landing right next to me. I roll away from me, gasping in fright and letting out another death wrenching scream.

I’m hit with a coughing fit when dry, hot smoke streams into my lungs.

Inch by inch I won’t give up, I’ll keep going.

My fingers tear into the carpet as I pull myself forward. But my body is giving up. It’s like quick sand.

I’m too heavy to move and I no long have enough air to breathe.

I’m right beneath the window. It’s right there.

Please, Verity. You’re stronger than this. You can do this.

Get up.

Grab the chair.

Throw it at the glass.

My eyes squeeze shut, and my panicked thoughts run wild.

Focus.

One thought.

One plan.

Nothing else matters but that.

I push myself up onto my knees and it feels like I’m trying to lift the weight of the world on my shoulders. I have to fight my own instincts. The ones telling me to take deeper breaths. To gasp and flood my lungs with life - because it won’t be life. It will be certain death.

Lifting my t-shirt up over my mouth the thin fabric does nothing to ease the burn of the smoke. My mouth tastes like smoke. My lips are charred and cracked. My skin feels like it’s melting off my body.

I reach out to grab the chair, sitting on my haunches to stay low from the flames above my head.

I pick the chair up with great effort and holding my breath I swing it towards the window with every ounce of energy I have left inside me.

It thumps against the glass and ricochets back at me.

But the glass doesn’t shatter.

It doesn’t even crack.

I’m lying on my back again and this time I can’t get up. My body no longer responds when I tell it to fight.

Another piece of the ceiling caves in and lands on the bed where I was lying unconscious only moments ago.

I’m going to die in here.

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