Page 103 of Choke

Footsteps behind me. A shadow moves in the smoke. I spin—and see the firefighter.

Coming for me again.

No, no, no.

Why is he chasing me?

My adrenaline drives me up, and I use the last energy in my tired body to run for the stairs. I’m no longer trying to escape the fire; I’m trying to escape the monster chasing me. As I reach them, the door flings open, and I collide with a wall. Not a wall, another firefighter.

Warm brown eyes, wild with fear, meet mine.

I know those eyes.

Adrian.

My mouth moves, but no sound comes out. My tongue feels thick and heavy, and my throat feels raw and charred. His lips are moving, but I can’t hear him over the ringing in my ears. The world tilts and my legs give out. His arms are the only thing keeping me upright.

I feel like I’m sinking.

His eyes are the last thing I see as my head slips under the black water.

Adrian

The crew is inside by the time I run for the doors. She’s still in her unit. I secure my mask and head straight to the stairs. McCoy went up first. I’m passing the fourth floor when I hear him come across the radio.

“I have one female—who was passed out in the hall. Woke up and kicked the shit out of me and took off running.” He sounds winded.

If I weren’t so fucking scared, I’d love this. Love that she fought.

The rest of the crew provides status updates.

“Floor 6, clean.”

“Floor 7, clean.”

“Floor 8, dirty.”

I continue, passing the fire on the eighth floor, the smoke so thick in the stairwell that I can’t see anything beyond me. I count the doors as I pass, nearly missing the door to the ninth floor.

“She’s running, man!” McCoy shouts through the radio.

I reach for the handle, preparing to run to her. I pull so hard that I’m shocked it doesn’t come off the hinges. She’s there—she barrels into me. Her face is blackened by soot, and even without being able to hear clearly, I know her breathing is rough. Her wild eyes meet mine, and her lips lift into a weak smile before she loses consciousness.

No.

I pull my mask off my face and put it over hers. Right away, noticing the heavy smoke and fighting back a cough. Once the mask is secured, I pull her into my arms, and she feels so light and weightless and too fucking still. I turn and run for the first floor. I move like a machine. Each step is precise and methodical, and her head lolls against my chest.

Seven. Six. Five.

I cough, my lungs tearing apart.

I shouldn’t have let her go. I shouldn’t have given her space. I thought she just needed time to come around and make her want me the way I want her.

Four. Three.

Fuck, move. MOVE.

I should have protected her.

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