Page 102 of Not A Whisper

“Here, this will help.” He takes the piece of metal from me and balances it on the side of the barrel, creating a seesaw. “If you can just get under that corner he’s under, I’ll grab him.”

Needing both hands, I’m unable to keep my shirt covering my face. As it drops, I accidentally inhale a lungful of smoke, causing my insides to burn like crazy. Immediately, I fall into a coughing fit. As my lungs struggle to push out the thick smoke trapped in them, I wrap the end of my shirt around my injured hand as best as I can and get to work shimmying the piece of metal under the shelf. As I work it under the pile of stuff, something explodes behind us. I scream as heat blasts at my back.

“Hurry!” Cory shouts.

Tears stream down my face, but I grit my teeth and push hard as I apply weight to my end of the metal rod. Slowly the shelves and some of the rubble lift off the young man beneath them.

“A little higher!”

I put all my weight onto my end, practically laying across it. Cory kneels down and hooks his arms under Josh’s shoulders. Grunting, I watch as Josh is pulled to safety. The minute he'sout of immediate danger, I let go of the rebar and let everything fall back down.

My stomach feels like it’s going to turn inside out. The smoke is making me nauseous, and as I straighten, I stagger as a wave of dizziness hits me.

“Come on, we need to find a way out of here,” I croak over another small explosion.

As Cory drags Josh to his feet, I stumble over to help him. Taking one of Josh’s arms, I throw it over my shoulders, mimicking Cory. Together, we manage to drag him away from the mess. Around us the smoke is so thick that if it’s not ablaze, I can’t see anything. At this point, I can’t even see the path I took over here. How are we supposed to get out of this mess?

Cory coughs hard as he looks around. There’s a wheeze to the sound that is worrisome. He points. “There’s an exit over here, come on!”

“Lead the way,” I gasp, my lungs burning.

With a lot of wheezing and coughing, we make slow progress dragging Josh across the room. Sweat drips down my face and my eyes burn from the smoke. Breathing is difficult and my body is overly hot.

After what feels like an eternity, we make it to a fire exit. Flames lick around the doorframe, but neither of us stop to worry about it. I kick the bar to push it open. As it swings outward, the two of us maneuver Josh out the door.

The sound of sirens pierce the air, announcing their approach. I suck in a sharp breath, relieved, only to gag as my throat closes up. I gasp and cough so hard I stagger. The guy on the other side of Josh does the same. With our weight uneven and a heavily unconscious man between us, the three of us go down. I manage to catch Josh and roll him onto his side before I plop down onto my butt.

“BRIELLA!”

Over the incoming sirens, Trip’s voice rings out. As I look up, squinting through one eye as the other waters too dramatically to see through, I watch as Trip drops to a knee beside me. His hand falls to my back, patting awkwardly as I choke and sputter.

“What the fuck happened? Why were you inside? Are you ok?” Before I can answer, he drags me into his body in a tight embrace. “Jesus Christ… What were you thinking, Bri? Tell me you’re ok.”

I lean into him, relieved at the strength in his body—needing it as the adrenaline drains away, leaving me weak and shaky. My heart is racing, my body trembles, but I made it out alive and in one piece. It’s a small miracle.

“I’m fine,” I rasp, licking my lips and trying to breathe normally. I use the back of my hands to wipe away the tears.Ouch, my face feels raw.

Trip grabs my shoulders and leans away to frantically look over me. “Are you sure? You’re covered in soot and you can’t stop cough?—”

“Trip, I promise that I’m ok.”

Inside something falls, creating a loud bang, making us all jump. Trip swears and shakes his head as he glares at the burning building before looking at the other person with me. “Cory, are you?—”

“Trip, I’m sorry man! Some guy came through the front,” his employee chokes out, sounding worse than me. “He barged into the shop and threw something toward every corner. There was glass breaking, and then the next thing I know, there’s fire everywhere.”

“Don’t worry about it. Are you hurt? Is Josh…?” We all look at the unconscious man. The back of his shirt has been completely burned away and the melted, bubbling flesh there doesn’t look good.

“Alive,”I croak. “But he needs help.”

Cory nods frantically. “I’m fine, but Josh hasn’t moved since the shelves fell on him.”

“Alright, let’s get him around to the front. I think the firetrucks are here.” Trip gets to his feet and offers me his hand. I reach for it.

Only to shriek and pull it from his grip as the burn on my hand flares to life.

“Fuck, shit. Youarehurt!” Trip snarls, gripping my bicep and helping me the rest of the way up. He takes my wrist and flips my hand over. I wince at the red skin, blisters, peeling skin, and sheer white burns there. Trip swears again, his face twisting into a heavy grimace. “Bri?—”

“I grabbed a doorknob without thinking.” I grimace and tug my wrist from his grip to hold it to my chest. “Josh needs immediate attention, not me.”

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