Page 101 of Not A Whisper

I pull my gaze away to stare at the large garage door. The logo there isn’t much better. Do I know any painters in the area that specialize in this type of thing? I flip through contacts in my head, wondering if I could use anyone that I’ve contacted about the Silver Staghorn project. Maybe someone?—

Hold on, is that smoke?

I straighten in my seat as a small, thin gray cloud rises from just beneath the garage door and drifts up, past the hood of my car and into the sky. Oh my god! It is. I’m out of the car before I know what I’m doing. My foot hits the sidewalk just as the front door bursts open.

A man wearing a hoodie and a ski mask rushes out but skids to a stop when he sees me. Frozen with surprise, we both stare at one another. Our hesitation doesn’t last long. With a heavy swear, the man takes off in the opposite direction. Before he gets to the corner, a black SUV pulls around, screeching to a stop. With the windows tinted I can’t see the driver, but that doesn’t matter.

Because as the passenger jumps into the vehicle and it pulls away, I catch the license plate number. I reach into my pocketfor my phone, ready to take a picture of it. My fingers pause before they can wrap around it when a scream pierces the air. My head whips around to face the building.

“Help! Someone, help!” The faint cry drifts through the garage door.

My heart drops before it abruptly takes flight. Shit, shit, shit… A small explosion coming from the front of the shop, near the door the man had come through, causes me to jump and flinch. Fire erupts behind the glass, followed by another scream.

Squaring my shoulders, I rush to the front door. As I fling it open, someone screams again. Inside is a dark cloud of smoke and fire. The three small desks in the lobby area are already engulfed in flames. Papers pinned to the walls are now ash, and the drop ceiling is a horizontal fiery barrier. Surprised, I suck in a sharp breath.

It’s a big mistake. The smoke burns my lungs and brings tears to my eyes. As I sputter, I bring up my shirt to cover my face. Inching through the front lobby, I make my way back toward the main office where Trip and his dad work. Someone’s screams hurry my steps.

When I get to the office, I find it completely enveloped in crackling fire. The smoke is worse back here, but I continue my trek to the entrance to the actual workshop. When I get to the door, I reach for the knob, ready to pull it open.

Only to find it red hot. I scream as I yank my hand back. My scream results in me inhaling a lungful of smoke and having a coughing fit. Pushing aside the pain, I use my shirt to turn the knob. It only helps some and it takes a second to get a good grip to turn it. Just as I fling it open, the ceiling tile above me comes crashing down. With a yelp, I leap into the workshop. Behind me dust, debris, and wires rain down, effectively blocking my wayout.

“Help!”

The cry this time is weaker and is followed by heavy coughing.

“I’m here!” I call out as I turn and look around the shop of flames and chaos.

From machines to extra material, it’s all a blaze. Fire climbs the walls and creeps across the ceiling. Smoke is thick in here and swirls around, making visibility nearly zero.

“Hello? I-is someone there? Please! My buddy is stuck—I need help!”

I move toward the cry, my heart racing as I squint and hack. “I’m here! I’m coming. Keep talking!”

The shouting continues. I have to skirt around and double back a few times as pieces of the building come falling down around me, blocking my path. Finally,finally, I catch sight of someone.

“Oh my god!” I hurry over to find a young man, probably even younger than Trip, covered in soot. There are burn marks and missing pieces of his shirt, and half of his face looks red and blistered. The anguished expression he wears turns to relief, briefly, at the sight of me. Then confusion follows.

“Who are you?” He blinks rapidly, tears streaming down his face. “Wait, you’re Trip’s girl. Briella, right?”

At my nod, he adds, “I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m Cory.”

Great time for pleasantries.

“Alright, Cory, come on. We have to get out of here.” I grab his arm and tug, but he shakes his head and braces himself.

“We can’t leave Josh!” he calls over the roaring of flames.

Who?

I look to where he’s pointing to find another young man, unconscious and half caught under a metal shelf that’s fallen. Pieces of drywall and items that had once been on the shelfnow sit on top of it, on fire, and the metal of the shelving looks red hot in some places.

“Ah, ok, let’s get this off him.” I take a step toward the shelf. Maybe the two of us could lift it off…

“Don’t touch it! You’ll burn yourself!” He jumps in front of me to keep me from continuing to reach out.

I nod frantically and look around. “Ok, um, we need to lift it off him. If I can get some leverage with some of the metal and wood not on fire, maybe you can drag him out?”

Cory nods and we start looking around for something to help us. I find a long thick piece of rebar at the same time the young man finds a metal drum. He rolls it over to me on its side.

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