Chapter 18 #3
Heart pounding, I run to the front door and turn on the little monitor beside it that shows a view of the hallway. At first, I don’t think the camera is working because the screen is a blur. It takes me a second to realize it’s not the camera at fault. There’s smoke in the hallway. Lots of it.
“Crap. Crap. Crap.” The alarm is so loud, I can’t hear myself speak. Clearly, I need to get out of here.
But Beau, I think. Where is he? Still out in the hallway? Has he been knocking at the door, trying to get my attention, but thanks to this deafening alarm, I haven’t been able to hear him?
I don’t want to leave the safety of the condo. Not without Micah. But I can’t stay in here, either.
It takes me several tries to get up the courage to open the door. But I think about all the times Micah’s called me brave and force myself to do it.
When I push the door open—just a few inches, so I can peek out to look—the acrid scent of smoke burns my nose. My eyes immediately start watering. Instinct screams at me to get back to the safety of the condo.
But Beau is out here. And I have Sampson. Sampson, who I have an obligation to keep safe. And I can’t do that if we hide in the condo while the building burns around us.
So I poke my head out further to look up and down the hallway. Through the heavy smoke, I spot a woman in red a few doors down. She’s carrying something large and white in her arms. A cat? A dog? A designer purse?
In the other direction, towards the elevator, there’s a firefighter in full gear, waving people along. His voice rises above the alarm, commanding people to stay calm and head for the stairs.
Glancing up and down the hallway again, I search for Beau. When I saw him earlier, he was wearing a dark blue shirt and khaki pants. But now, there’s no sign of him.
Shoot. Micah’s going to be so upset when he hears about this. Which reminds me that I should probably message him to let him know his building is oh, you know, on fire.
Backing through the doorway, I let the door close slightly while I turn my attention to my phone. With the door mostly shut, it’s easier to see. Easier to breathe. Blinking my eyes to clear them, I quickly send Micah a text.
The fire alarm is going off in the building. There’s smoke in the hallway. They’re telling everyone to take the stairs. I’m fine. So is Sampson.
Then I tuck my phone back into my pocket and take a deep breath, readying myself to go back out there again.
But before I have a chance to push the door back open, someone else does it for me. In the doorway, the fireman I saw just before is standing there, regarding me through the smudged plastic visor on his helmet.
“What are you doing?” he shouts. “You need to get out of here!”
“I know!” I glance down at Sampson. His ears are back. His tail is tucked down. “Follow, Sampson,” I order. Then I look back at the firefighter. “Where should I go? Up or down?”
He just stares at me. Then he glances left, then right, as he scans the hallway.
Cold dread fills my stomach. I can’t explain why. It’s just there.
From my pocket, my phone vibrates.
“I’m going!” I shout at the firefighter. I make a move to step forward, but he’s blocking the doorway. Gesturing at him, I motion for him to get out of the way.
He doesn’t move.
My heart leaps to my throat.
Something’s wrong. Something worse than a fire. Something very bad.
At once eager to leave the condo, I try to push my way past the firefighter. But as soon as I take a step forward, his hand whips up, and he shoves me back. Hard.
I stumble backwards, only just catching myself before falling. The firefighter shoves his way inside with me, and I watch in frozen horror as he yanks the door shut behind him.
With every flash of the emergency light, his helmet glows. Light bounces off his visor, preventing me from seeing his face.
I turn to bolt, but he grabs my arm and jerks me back.
Still beside me, Sampson bares his teeth.
The man gripping my arm bends over so his head is close to mine. “Don’t fucking move,” he orders. “Or I’ll shoot you right now.”
Then he pulls a gun from his coat and levels it at me.
My heart stops. My lungs seize.
As I’m staring at him, the alarm cuts off all at once. The silence it leaves behind is deafening.
Now I can hear Sampson growling. Snarling with such intensity, his body vibrates from it. For the first time since I met him, he looks dangerous.
I could give Sampson the command to attack. Micah taught me how. I can tell Sampson wants to do it.
But the gun.
Like he’s reading my mind, the firefighter turns the gun on Sampson. “I don’t like how he’s looking at me,” he says. “Maybe I’ll shoot him first.”
Horror explodes inside me. “No!” I step in front of Sampson. “Hold, Sampson. Hold.” My voice shakes with fear as I repeat desperately, “Hold. HOLD.”
Gripping Sampson’s collar, I try to keep him behind me. “He won’t attack,” I blurt. “Not with that command. He won’t hurt you. Don’t shoot him. Please.”
The man with the gun regards me. Then he cocks the trigger and points the gun at my head. “Move,” he orders.
“Why? What—” My feet take several unsteady steps back as the firefighter advances on me. “I don’t understand. What do you want?”
“What do I want?” The barrel of the gun jabs my forehead. “It’s a little too late for that, Ruby. You had your chance.” With his other hand, he flips up his visor. “But you picked wrong.”