Leapholes

Chapter 6

A hand emerged through heavy smoke, snatched Ryan by the collar, and yanked him into a side hallway. Ryan found himself running alongside a complete stranger. Oddly, a cool breeze was flowing toward them, as if the air conditioning were running full blast. It was blowing the cloud of smoke away from them, back toward the main corridor. No smoke meant no sprinklers. The floors were dry, the air was breathable, and the fire alarm was audible only in the distance.

"I'm over here," said Kay lee.

She was standing in an alcove where the hallway jogged to the right. Ryan didn't recognize the four other people in her group. Two of them were wearing hospital gowns. One was an old man with his arm in a sling. The other, a woman, had a bandage wrapped partially around her head. The rest of it trailed behind her like a fifteen-foot-long streamer. A second woman was wearing a business suit, and she looked nauseous, probably with the flu. She was carrying a plastic bucket.

Ryan said, "You don't expect to put out this fire by throwing a bucket of water on it, do you?

Her skin turned a pale shade of green, then she made a retching sound and deposited the rest of her lunch into the bucket. "It's not that kind of bucket," she said weakly.

"Sorry, my bad," said Ryan.

The fourth patient-the one who had grabbed Ryan-was a younger man. He wore jeans, a T-shirt, and a red football jacket from Central-City High School. A white name tag with green lettering was sewn onto the front of his jacket. It read, "Coach Jenkins." He had a patch over one eye, as if someone had forgotten to say Hey, Coach, catch! before tossing him the football.

Ryan dried his face with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. The emergency sprinklers had yet to activate in this stretch of hallway, but everyone was already soaked from the run through the main corridor.

Kaylee said, "Why were you calling my name, Ryan?"

"You were going the wrong way," he said. "I had to stop you."

"You mean you came back to get me?"

"Well, yeah. All of you."

"You were trying to save me?" she said. " That's so sweet."

Coach Jenkins groaned. "Okay, okay, Romeo and Juliet. Balcony scene's over. If we don't get moving pretty quick, we'll all be toast."

"I know the way out," said Ryan. "We have to go back past the ER, toward the hospital's main entrance."

The woman with the flu stood up straight, though it seemed to take all her strength just to talk. "That might have been a great plan about five minutes ago. But not now."

Ryan glanced back toward the main hallway. The smoke was thicker than ever.

"We'll go the other way," said the coach.

"But it could be blocked off," said Ryan. "Then we'll be trapped."

The coach shook his head. "Can't you feel that fresh air blowing toward us? It's coming from straight ahead. I'm no firefighter, but if I want to get out of a burning building, I know enough to head toward the fresh air, not toward the smoke. Come on, everyone. Follow me."

The coach had a firm manner of speaking. He obviously was accustomed to giving out orders,. And Ryan didn't want to waste time arguing. "Okay, lead on."

"What's your name, kid?"

"Ryan." He left off the last name.

"L'new," added Kaylee. "His name's Ryan L'new."

"I'm Coach Jenkins. This here is Mr. Bronson, Ms. Rodriguez, and Mrs. Levine."

The names washed over Ryan, and he seemed to remember them only as Sling Man, Flu Lady, and Head Case, respectively.

The coach said, "You bring up the rear, Ryan. Make sure no one falls behind."

The coach went first, followed by Sling Man and Head Case. Kaylee was next, then the Flu Lady, and finally Ryan. They were walking at a brisk pace, but the coach kept them in single file. He was determined not to let them scatter in a panic. Still, Ryan had the feeling they were headed in the wrong direction.

"Coach, check that out," said Ryan.

The sign on the wall read, AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.

"That doesn't apply when there's a fire," said the coach. "Just keep going."

The pace quickened. Sling Man and Head Case-the old man and woman-were breathing heavily. Flu Lady was sweating more than any of them, probably from fever. The coach kept them moving, repeatedly shouting words of encouragement like Almost there, or Just a little bit farther, gang! They walked for several minutes, and Ryan had yet to see a single door or window-nothing that even resembled a way out of the building. The walls were painted cinder blocks, solid, like a tunnel. The floor had a slight slope to it, like a downward ramp.

Another sign on the wall read, "RESTRICTED AREA, DO NOT ENTER."

Ryan said, "This doesn't feel like the right way."

"Zip it," said the coach. "Don't you feel that breeze getting stronger against your face? The wind doesn't blow like that in a normal hallway. There's obviously an open door or window just ahead of us. It's pulling in fresh air. We can get out this way."

"But I don't think-"

Ryan was in mid-sentence when the ceiling behind them came crashing to the floor. The tangle of metal, wood, and wires landed with a thundering crash. Smoke was pouring through the gaping hole. Then came a burst of heat and flames from the floor above them.

"Run for it!" shouted Kaylee.

Behind them the hallway was choked with smoke and debris. Scorching hot flames were the only source of light. They had to move forward, and the coach led the charge. The breeze in their faces strengthened, which kept the smoke from catching up with them. Ryan hoped the coach was right. Just ahead, there had to be a window or an opening to the outdoors that would account for the flow of fresh air. But Ryan could see only the end of the hallway-a solid brick wall.

"An elevator!" said Kaylee. The door was wide open, and she was about to jump inside.

"Don't get on it!" Ryan cried, but he was almost too late. At the last moment, the coach grabbed her and pulled her back to safety.

"You don't ride the elevators in a fire," the coach said sternly. "Especially when the elevator is missing."

Kaylee stepped to the edge and peered into the opening. Although the door was open, no elevator car was waiting. She was staring down a dark, open shaft. 'Tikes," she said. "It must be at least ten stories to the bottom."

"You mean it goes down?" said Sling Man. "How can that be down? We're on the first floor."

"It must be an underground facility," said Coach.

"With its own ventilation system," said Ryan. "That's where our breeze is coming from. Fresh air is being sucked up the elevator shaft, out this open door, and down the hallway."

"That means there's no open window at the end of this hallway," said Head Case.

"No door to the outside," said Flu Lady.

"No way out," said Kaylee.

Another section of the ceiling collapsed behind them. Flames roared into the hallway from above. The sprinklers should have activated, but ruptured water pipes were dangling from a huge hole in the ceiling. Water spilled uselessly to the floor, not a drop of it reaching the sprinkler heads. The raging fire continued to spread, and it was creating more smoke than the breeze from the elevator shaft could disperse. Ryan's eyes were watering.

"Everybody get down!" said Ryan. He remembered from his fire drills that smoke rises, so it was safest on the floor. They all hit the deck.

"We have to get out of here!" said Kaylee.

"There must be a stairwell" said Ryan. "There are always emergency stairs near an elevator."

"And they're right over here!" shouted Coach. He ran to the door, but the handle wouldn't turn. "What kind of place locks the emergency stairwell?"

"This kind of place," said Ryan as he pointed to another sign on the wall. Though barely visible in the smoke, it read: