Chapter 3

Find an Escape

Wendy looked around. Everything was the same. No change. Not even a tiny one. Nothing to show what would happen next. People were still eating, laughing and chatting. But she knew that something was going to happen.

She looked back at Kevin who was standing up and looking around. Julie was still holding Wendy's hand. "We have to get out of here now" she said even though she made no sign to move.

Both Kevin and Wendy nodded but did not get up. The three knew they should get up and go to avoid any problem but something was stopping them.

Suddenly a voice broke through their trances. "Where's Amelia?" asked a lady who was wearing a banana yellow hat to match her banana yellow outfit. "I don't know "said a man who was sitting beside her and was obviously her husband.

"She can't have gone far" said the young by who looked about Julia's age. He had tanned skin, black hair and hazel brown eyes. He was looking under the table. "She must be here somewhere." But of course he didn't know just how wrong he was.

People around looked under their tables as well. "Amelia, Amelia" called her mum. "Amelia sweetheart, where are you?" called her dad. "Hey Amy" said the boy, "This is not the time to be playing hide and seek." But none of the three got any response. Now everyone was getting anxious. Even Julie looked under their table to check if the girl was under their table. She wasn't.

And then to add to their troubles the doors burst open and one of the cooks' stood there. She was the same cook who had left the gas burning. Wendy at once knew that this woman would be the one to give the bad news.

The cook's face was ash white and she had tears running down her face. "There's…. a-a- fire" she stuttered. Wendy's blood ran cold. Julie grabbed Wendy's hand again and gripped it tighter.

Kevin looked like he would faint. "And there's a girl in there who is trapped and crying" said the cook and with that she fell on to the floor in floods of tears.

"Amelia" screamed the father. "No!" screamed the mother and promptly fainted. "Amy" screamed the boy. He ran towards the door past the crying cook and out. Two seconds later he came running back, his face just as white as the cook's.

"The fire is eating its way up." He said his voice shaking. "Everything else has been burned away." At this news Julie's grip on Wendy's hand got even tighter if that t was possible. This time Kevin did fall back onto his seat but got up back again.

"We've got to got to go" he said. "Where?" asked Julie. "Anywhere but we've got to get out of here" said Kevin. "How" asked Wendy. "I don't know" he said "but we need to find an escape. At once both Julie and Wendy got up and started to look around.

During their conversation many people had got up and were running around. The mother who had fainted lay slumped in her chair while the father had his head in his hands. His shoulders were shaking which meant that he was crying.

Only the boy was shouting as he ran around "Mum, Dad, come on. We've got to get out of here." "There's no point" said his father, "your mum's fainted and darling Amy is probably dead by now. We might as well join her."

"No" shouted the boy before he looked up and then at Julie. "Look out!" he shouted as he ran towards her and pushed her out of the way just as a large piece of the ceiling fell exactly where Julie had been standing seconds ago.

Wendy screamed as Kevin shouted "Julie". Julie and the boy had rolled a few feet away from the damage. "Thanks" she gasped as she looked into his eyes. "No problem" he said smiling. She smiled at him and both of them momentarily forgot about the danger they were in.

Until Kevin shouted, "Julie, you two, move!" Julie and the boy both got up and ran towards Kevin and Wendy. The four huddled up together. "What are we going to do?" asked the boy.

"Yeah" said Wendy "there's no escape. The only way out is jumping out of the window." The minute she said that she realised what they were going to do even before Kevin said anything.

The fear in the boy's and Julie's eyes reflected her own. But Kevin's eyes not only held fear but determination as well. "Well then" he said voice filled with grim determination "we are just going to have to jump won't we?"