Leapholes

Chapter 5

Ryan's plan was working like a charm. The automatic doors closed behind him, and he was cruising down the hall away from the ER. The bathroom was around the corner, first door on the left, the nurse had told him. Ryan didn't really need to use it, but he stopped there anyway. His clothes were in a bag that he'd concealed under his loose hospital gown. He ducked into the bathroom and made a quick change. He used the sharp corner of the paper towel dispenser to cut off his plastic hospital ID-bracelet. Two minutes later he was back in the hallway, dressed in his street clothes, headed for the hospital's main exit. His bicycle accident had left a small tear at the knee of his blue jeans, but that only made them cooler. His sweatshirt covered the bandage on his elbow. No one gave him a second look. This was almost too easy. He even waved to the receptionist as he breezed past the radiology department.

"Hey, how you doing?" he said.

Cool. So cool. Just act like you know what you're doing, and people assume that you own the place.

He kept walking, following the directional signs that pointed to "HOSPITAL MAIN ENTRANCE." The corridors were long, cold, and brightly lit, and of course that sterile hospital smell was everywhere. Ryan reeled in the urge to sprint for the exit. Absolutely no running, he told himself. So long as he walked at a normal pace, no one would ask questions. He couldn't help but smile, however, as he turned the final corner and spotted the hospital's main lobby, dead ahead. It was just beyond the final set of sliding glass doors. He was a mere twenty feet away, fewer than ten steps to freedom. This was going to be fun. He could be Ryan L'new as long as he wanted.

And then an alarm sounded.

It was a shrill, pulsating alarm, so loud that it drowned out every other sound in the hospital. Ryan stopped dead in his tracks. The security guard sprang from his chair. He was an imposing figure with rock-hard biceps that bulged from his tight shirt sleeves. He was standing between Ryan and the hospital's main entrance, and he looked at Ryan suspiciously. Ryan wasn't sure who had sounded the alarm. His plan had been working perfectly, but obviously someone had figured out what he was up to. Or maybe someone had discovered that he was a Coolidge. Yes, that had to be it. They were afraid he had stolen something and was trying to sneak out of the hospital.

Ryan took a long look at the security guard, and the big man returned the glare. Whatever was going on, Ryan didn't want to have to explain himself to the Incredible Hulk. He turned and ran in the opposite direction.

The guard may have yelled at him, but Ryan heard only the blaring alarm as he raced down the hallway. Doctors and nurses suddenly emerged from behind closed doors. In a matter of moments, the corridors were flooded with people. They were standing around, looking at one another in confusion, trying to make themselves heard over the screaming alarm. Ryan never broke stride. He wove through the crowded hallway, arms and legs pumping. With so many people in his way, it was like running through an obstacle course. He didn't know where he was headed. It only seemed logical, however, that the hospital would have another exit, probably at the other end of the hall. He had no intention of stopping until he found it, but he nearly screeched to a halt as he rounded one last corner.

Thick, black smoke was pouring from the cafeteria.

"Fire!" a nurse screamed.

Suddenly, it all came clear. The hospital was on fire! The alarm hadn't been for him after all-unless they thought Ryan had started it.

Oh, great, thought Ryan. They think I snuck out of the ER and started the building on fire! They do know Vm a Coolidge!

A human stampede emerged from the cafeteria. Scores of people flew past Ryan, their clothing covered with soot. Many were coughing and trying to catch their breath. Others screamed and ran as fast as they could. Ryan had no time to get out of the way, and they trampled him in their hysteria. A man stepped on his leg. A woman stepped on his hand. Ryan tried to get up, but he was immediately knocked back to the floor. His head smacked against the tile, and it hurt almost as much as when that car had hit him and he'd flown into the windshield. He was dizzy, and the smoke was making it even harder for him to get his bearings. Ryan was on his knees, his body pressed against the wall, as the crowd whisked past him. Finally, every last one of them was gone, and he was able to climb to his feet and focus. As he rose, he could see the flames poking through the open door to the cafeteria. Smoke was creeping down the hallway like a ghostly gray snake. Ryan cleared his lungs with a deep cough, then turned and ran. The crowd was well ahead of him. He knew where the exit was, but if he didn't outrun the smoke, he might never find it. Suddenly, the alarm blared even louder, and water was squirting from the ceiling.

Sprinklers! Ryan was sprinting around a corner at full speed just as the water hit him. He slipped on the wet tile, his feet went out from under him, and he slammed into the wall like a NASCAR crash. Water from the sprinklers continued to rain down on him, but it wasn't nearly enough to extinguish the raging fire. Smoke was pouring from the cafeteria. He picked himself up, but before he could take a step, someone raced past him and knocked him to the floor again.

"Sorry, Ryan!"

He recognized the voice. It was Kaylee's.

"Come on, Ryan! There's a fire!" She was running toward the cafeteria, leading four other ER patients straight toward disaster.

"Stop, you're running the wrong way!" He was shouting, but she didn't hear him.

Ryan knew the way to safety, and he was only minutes away from saving himself. But if someone didn't catch up with Kaylee, she and the others could be trapped by the flames. Ryan couldn't let that happen. On impulse, he turned and ran after them, but it was like running through a rainstorm- blindfolded. The sprinklers continued to soak him. The smoke was thick and black. He could barely breathe, and with the alarm blaring, he could scarcely think. In a matter of seconds, he completely lost sight of his new friend.

"Kaylee, where are you?" he called into the darkness.