Chapter 16 "Safe"
We all want to stay shielded from the cruelty and harshness that is nearly everywhere. But that shield is breached no matter what we do.
- Michael Mules, Journal Entry
Even though she wanted to move, Tracy was paralyzed almost completely; only her mouth was now functioning; the whole world could hear her scream of terror as she watched the burning ceiling come down on her.
She barely felt a pair of arms seize her off of the floor and carry her in a dash out of the bedroom. In that time, Tracy's eyes were still stuck looking upward: The hotel room's entire ceiling was crumbling into flames. Ashes and small pieces of flames were falling over them.
Michael still had her in his arms when running for the door. He only put her down once they were out in the hallway.
"Wendy!" he yelled in fear.
"Michael, the entire places is burning," Tracy warned.
They both examined the hallway and saw the ceiling turning an angry red and the burning ashes creeping up within them. Alarms sounded, but sparks erupted from the popping light bulbs and the fire alarms quickly.
All the doors in the long hallway opened; and people came tumbling out, screaming from the horror that they were now in. Panic ensued and the hallway became filled with dozens of people running for safety.
Michael kept Tracy in his arms as they went with the crowd. Her brother did his best to keep others from crushing into him while trying to move ahead in the stream of fleeing people.
"I don't see Wendy," he repeated every few seconds. He continued to look in every direction for her.
Tracy didn't want to say anything wrong that would upset Michael, but she didn't see the older girl anywhere either. She was supposed to have kept watch outside if the woman returned and distract her. The room had gone into flames in just a few short minutes after they had gotten inside. She must have still been going around when the entire floor had erupted into chaos.
Finally, they reached the exit door to the stairs. Michael stopped in the middle of the crowd and turned Tracy to face him.
"Alright, I want you to get downstairs," he told her. "All the way down to the first floor and get out of the building."
"What, Michael, no." She was shaking her head rapidly. "You can't stay here. For all you no, Wendy is already ahead of us."
"I can't take the chance if she's still up here."
People were knocking themselves against the two of them even more now that they were standing still. It was becoming crazier by the second as the fire seemingly progressed through the entire floor.
"If I don't find her, I'll meet you outside. Please, just go, Tracy."
More ashes were falling and even though Tracy didn't want to move an inch away from Michael, she had to nod and allow him to push her through the door.
"Don't let them push you aside, just keep going until you get downstairs!" he yelled to her as he disappeared into the hallway, squeezing through everybody else who was going in his opposite direction.
A teary-eyed Tracy turned away from the view of the hallway and started down the steps, staying away from the railing side out of fear of being pushed off of it.
Her thoughts were on both Michael and Wendy. What is she was still trapped somewhere in that floor? What if both Wendy and her brother died in this fire? She shook the terrible isea away. Michael was doing what he should be doing.
Tracy had told him to be a hero after all.
Michael raced through the hallway that was being wrapped in fire from the ceiling to the walls now.
"Wendy!" he yelled, following a cough.
He had to find her, if she died - he didn't even want to think about it.
"Wendy, where are you!"
A person walked out from a room who he thought to be her for a second but then saw the woman's face. He told her to run and continued down the hallway.
"WENDY!" But there was no answer.
Use your powers, stupid.
He closed his eyes and focused through the roaring sound of the fire eating away at everything around him. It took only a few seconds to locate a familiar whimpering; he could smell Wendy's perfume as well, and so he started down the hallway again, now following his senses.
His eyes remained closed but it didn't matter, because pure instincts were guiding him. He jumped away from fire that was moping through the floor and stayed in the center of the hallways, away from the walls.
Now Wendy began screaming for help. Michael followed her cries into a hotel room. Opening his eyes, he saw her in the worst position: she was pinned onto the floor in the middle of the sitting room by a concrete pillar that fell from inside the ceiling; what was worse was the fire coming down from the pillar slowly, as if tormenting her with the coming of death.
"Wendy, I'm here." Michael rushed to her side, examining her condition much closely. She also had a cut on her forehead and the pillar was pinned onto her thighs.
Too her side, he finally noticed a second person lying face-down under the pillar - only he wasn't moving. There was also a pool of blood coming out from under him.
"I came in because he was yelling for help," she explained.
Stepping over to the man, Michael checked his throat. "He isn't breathing. He's gone."
"Michael get out of here," Wendy argued in tears. "This fire is spreading too fast. Hurry out of here-"
"No. You must be stupid if you think I'm leaving you to die." Michael shook his head simultaneously. "We're getting out of here, together."
"I'm scared," Wendy said in a quiet whimper.
"It's alright." Michael took her hand. "I'm not going to leave you."
They both looked at the long pillar that was stilled being crept over by the fire; the rest of the room was also slowly burning away.
If Michael were to develop super strength, now would be the right time. He took a deep breath and slid his hands under the pillar; with all the force he could summon, he pulled upward, pushing his feet up, trying with every inch of his body to move it, but the pillar must have weighed a ton.
"It's getting closer," warned Wendy, who was watching to fire closing on them wide-eyed.
Come on. Just a few inches up and move it away.
"Mich-ael┘"
Now Wendy's voice was becoming weak and unfocused.
I need to get her out of here.
He continued to pull, screaming as every muscle in his body ached in pain. The pillar rose from the floor and off of Wendy's body at last. With a strong force, he threw it away from them.
"Can you stand?"
"Yeah, I think so."
With his help, Wendy slowly eased herself to her feet. They started towards the door, but suddenly they saw in horror that the doorway that was now completely blocked by a wall of fire. Michael spun them around in the direction of the adjacent bedroom.
"The window. I think there's a balcony."
They rushed over, arm-in-arm, through the bedroom to the window-door. They stepped out into the clear air, and shut the door closed behind them.. Wendy began taking heavy breaths and started to seize her coughing.
Michael stepped against the balcony railing, looking over the hotel pool.
"Will they see us up here?" Wendy asked.
Before he said anything, the glass door broke apart behind them, causing Wendy to scream and rush beside him.
"We need to get out of here."
"How? We're up fifteen stores."
He looked down the row of balconies in each floor.
"Grab onto me," Michael told her. "You trust me, right?" In shock, Wendy stared down the long fall to the ground and then the fire that now engulfed the entire floor. She embraced Michael, sliding her arms wrapped around him tightly and together they climbed onto the railing.
Before moving an inch, Michael took a heavy breath, feeling Wendy's grip tighten on him. He kept one arm around her and stepped off the railing; each second he took one step onto a different balcony railing. It quickly became like a dance for him.
When he reached the bottom railing Michael grabbed it with his free hand for a few seconds before going down the rest of the way.
A shaking Wendy didn't let go of her hold on him right away; he led her around the hotel building out into the front street where Tracy was standing on the sidewalk, total fright in her face.
"Tracy," Wendy called.
The younger Mules sibling's frightened face dissolved away when she saw them and ran with delight into her brother's arms.
"Come on, lets get out of here," Michael said to both of them. "We'll wait for an ambulance in the car."
The three of them walked silently to his car. On the front window, there was a piece of paper placed under the wipers. He took picked it up and read it.
See you in two weeks. It will be a graduation to remember.
"What does it say?" Tracy asked.
Michael just said, "It's not over."
We all want security, but there are some lives that just don't have that. It leaves them in fear, so what's left is to face the fear and dangers head on.
- Michael Mules, Journal Entry
To Be Continued