Page 64 of Up In Flames
I gave him a little more slack to work with as Briggs and Wells readied rope harnesses for the occupants. For Oren and whoever was with him.
Metal clanged against metal, and I heard Jonas again announce his presence.
“Fire department. How are you folks doing? Sorry we couldn’t get you out the normal way, but I’ve got some friends with me who are eager to get you out of here.”
Oren’s voice nearly made me drop Jonas’s line.
“Send her out first.” His voice faded, but the sound of crying echoed up through the shaft.
Briggs tossed a line down.
I listened as Jonas handled the situation down there and all I could think was how badly I wanted Oren off that fucking elevator. How he wasn’t even the one panicking. The man was made of steel. He had more bravery in his pinkie toe than most people had in their whole existence. Including me.
“Okay, guys, she’s ready. Just hold on tight and we’ll lift you up through the hatch.”
Briggs and Wells slowly but steadily reeled her line in, and I watched Jonas reach down to grab her hand and help her the rest of the way up through the emergency access hatch.
“She’s going to need a lift, guys.” Jonas called up to us. Clearly the woman was in no shape to try and climb a ladder. She was shaking like a tree in a windstorm.
Briggs and Wells reeled her up, and I grabbed on to her hand and helped her through the doors and back onto solid ground.
Hank took her from me the minute she was up and spirited her away so we could rescue the other occupant.
Oren.
CHAPTER 29
Oren
Being trapped in an elevator with a young woman who’d almost immediately devolved into a panic attack had kept my mind off my own. I’d helped her focus on her breathing. I’d tried my best to be reassuring and calm, even though I was a mess inside. But now that Shera was out of here, I could only focus on my own spiraling mental state.
Swallowing hard to keep the contents of my stomach where they belonged, I looked up at a familiar face. Jonas. Which meant Will was here. Somewhere. That knowledge eased my mind a little. I briefly wondered why Will wasn’t the one down here because I wanted him to be. I wanted to hear him assure me that everything was fine.
I didn’t feel fine. The longer I was in the elevator, the more it started to feel like I was stuck in that car all over again.
“Are you ready to get out of there?” Jonas asked as he lowered a line down to me.
“More than.” With trembling hands, I secured the line around myself the way I’d helped with Shera. I tried to take a deep breath, but my chest was too tight to let much air in. I tried breathing through my nose.
The elevator smelled like copper.
It felt like fire. Like death.
My vision swam as I fought to keep the contents of my stomach down.
“Oren, buddy, look at me,” Jonas said. “Just a couple deep breaths. That’s all you need to do now. Okay?”
“Okay.” I sucked in a breath that was supposed to be deep but wasn’t. I could do this. Will was here. His friends were here. Logically, I knew I wasn’t in danger. Emotionally, I was a fucking wreck.
“We’re going to lift you up now. Hang on, okay?”
I nodded at Jonas because I didn’t trust myself to speak. I didn’t know if I could. When Shera had been in here, her panic had distracted me from mine. I’d helped her with all the techniques that I’d learned since the accident. Every trick that seemed beyond my ability at this moment.
Suddenly, solid ground slipped away, and I was swiftly and steadily pulled toward the hatch. The moment I could reach Jonas, I gripped onto him and let him help haul me the rest of the way out of the hatch.
“Think you can manage a ladder?”
“I think—” I shook my head. My head had started to swim a few minutes ago, and I didn’t trust my limbs to do as instructed.
