Page 93 of Keep Me Safe

“Okay, Susan. I’m Noah. Hold this mask while I free his leg,” I explain. She obeys, watching as I analyze the situation.

The beam must have fallen when he was trying to rescue her. It’s large, but I should be able to move it.

Wrapping my hands around the burnt wood, I lift it as high as possible, exposing his leg from below. The awkward angle of his foot tells me that something is likely broken. Channeling all of my strength into moving the beam, I toss it to the side, and it lands a few feet away. Dave stirs at the sound, and his voice is music to my ears.

“What is going on?” he asks, looking over at me.

The sounds of the building falling apart around us fill my ears.

“You’re hurt, and we need to get out of here. Now,” I explain, my voice hoarse from the smoke.

He nods, still dazed. His screams drown out the sirens as I haul him onto my shoulder. I wince, knowing that he is in excruciating pain, but he must pass out again because he goes silent.

“Let’s go,” I tell Susan, leading the way.

I glance in the direction I came from, grateful to see the door still open. Holding Dave’s legs with my right hand, I slowly navigate the stairwell, trying my best not to irritate his injury.The heat is suffocating now, and I’m running out of oxygen. We round the corner, and my heart drops when I look at what was our exit.

Flames burn high on the other side of the door that leads to the first-floor hallway. I try the door, but it doesn’t move. Debris is probably blocking it. I try again, sending my body weight into the metal, but it doesn’t budge.

“Are we stuck?” Susan cries as I rethink our plan.

This can’t be the only exit. I try to remember the building’s layout from the map we reviewed before we entered. There should be three stairwells—two on either side and one toward the center.

“Do you know how to get to the main staircase?” I ask, hoping she lives here or at least visits often.

She’s silent for a moment, my question processing in her mind.

“The one by the elevators? Yeah, I do.”

“Can you take us there? That might be our only way out,” I say, hoping and praying that that exit is clear. I follow Susan, moving as fast as I can without passing out. The smoke is starting to get to me. We trudge up the stairs and through the hallway on the second floor.

“It’s right over here,” she yells, pointing to a set of metal doors. I step before her, pushing the doors open with my shoulder. We carefully head down the steps, avoiding the rubble and quickly reaching the door to the main lobby. I see daylight through the glass, and I almost cry.

I shove open the door, stepping into the flame-filled room as a deafening sound booms from our left. The force throws my body to the side, and a shooting pain moves up my arm as we land.

I fade in and out of consciousness, focusing on the flashing blue and red lights outside.Go! Get out of here!I want to yell, but I can’t. It’s like I’m not physically here. Susan appears in the corner of my vision, her hands ripping at her mask. She slaps it onto my face as tears stream from her eyes.

God, this is it, isn’t it? This is the end. Dave isn’t going to make it to that Florida vacation. I’m never going to see Kira or Jared again. My son is forever going to resent me for what I did to him, and I won’t have the opportunity to apologize or even explain myself. My body feels weak, my vision fading.

You are worthy of love, Noah, and I want to be the person who gives that to you.

Kira’s words replay in my mind, and I grab onto them.

I’m not done fighting.

I suck in air, and my body shoots up as Susan yelps, her hands dropping from my face.

“Jesus, I thought you were dead!”

The fear in her eyes proves her point, and I work to stabilize my vision, everything wobbling.

“Not yet,” I grunt. “Let’s go,” I say, heaving Dave back onto my shoulders. A sharp pain radiates through my wrist, but I push past it. Our path is far from clear, but the sight of the door gives me the edge I need.

I step around the pieces of building littering the floor, trying my best to keep my balance, the mixture of a lack of oxygen and the hit to my head making it hard to focus. We’re feet from the door now, and I look to Susan.

“Go, we’ll be right behind you!”

She nods, ready to get out of here. I’m at her heels and feel my legs about to give out. I know I won’t be able to stay verticalmuch longer. I take the last few steps, emerging into the clean air. I stumble, falling to my knees as I lay Dave on the grass.

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