Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Well, here we are. Chapter 3. I hope you enjoy it…

On the Scene

A haze now deeply coated the hallways of the dorm; the only way you could make out anything was from the light of the flames above. Jogging into the stairwell, Zach and Alan had to stifle from choking as the fog was more considerable in the confined space.

Zach looked at Alan as they prepared to enter the sixth floor. "Maybe we should leave. I don't think anyone's left up here," he coughed.

"You can go, but I'm staying," Alan barked, walking through the dim hallway. The heat of the fire made him lookup. They couldn't see the flames yet, but it was getting a lot warmer now. We're close, he thought.

"You stay, I stay," Zach said, preparing to check a room.

"I'm going ahead. We need to move faster," Alan told Zach and ran carefully farther down the hall.

After opening several more rooms, Alan stopped. Maybe Zach was right. They had only encountered a few students. Most had made it out by now. Perhaps it was time to leave. His instincts were telling him that something wasn't right here anymore.

A sudden beeping made him turn his attention to his arm. Looking at his watch, Alan realized that once again, Fermat was trying to reach him. He understood his friend's worry, but right now, he needed to focus on what was going on around him. Looking for his classmate, he called Zach's name. The haze now made a critical barrier between him and his friend. Alan tried to call for Zach again but was unable to as a coughing fit attacked his respiratory system. His chest ached for clean air.

"Alan!" Zach cried as he saw his friend leaning forward.

"I'm f-fine," Alan coughed.

"No, you're not. C'mon, we gotta get out of here," Zach said. He put an arm around Alan to lead him toward the stairwell and their escape.

The two seniors made their way to the only exit. As they neared the stairwell, an eerie sound filled the space above them. Both looked up to find the source of the noise. Before either of them could react, a popping sound erupted from above, and debris began to fall around them as the floor above collapsed.

-TB-

The scene that Scott met as he reached Wharton's was one he thought he would never see at his little brother's school. Smoke could be seen for miles as the school continued to burn; the Nor'easter winds only fueling its vibrancy.

Landing Thunderbird 1 in a nearby field, Scott quickly began to assess the stability of the area with his blue eyes. Students and a small amount of faculty lined up outside of the burning building. He could see firefighters trying to fight the enormous fire. Worry creased Scott's brow underneath his helmet as his thoughts turned to his baby brother. Please, Mom, let Alan be okay.

A tall, husky man began to walk toward him. "I'm the Fire Chief. Boy, are we glad to see you," the man exuded with relief.

"We're glad to help. The rest of my team is five minutes out," Scott informed the man. He listened to the man as the chief told him of the situation. Following the man, Scott picked up the list of missing students. An uneasy feeling settled further into the pit of his stomach as he saw Alan's name on the list.

"Jeff to Scott. Do you read?" he heard his father call.

Scott turned to see Thunderbird 2 landing. Thanking the man, he handed the list back to him. "I read you," he spoke into his earpiece as he walked away from the captain.

"What can you tell us?" Jeff asked.

"Twenty-five students remain unaccounted. The fire is now becoming untamable. The winds have made it near to impossible for rescue to attempt to reach the dorms. They've been able to contain the fire to just the top floors, but this is where they fear the students are trapped," Scott stated as he waited for the loading bay of the green ship to open.

"What about Alan?" Virgil asked.

"He's on the list of those still missing. Any luck reaching him?"

"None. John's still getting a steady signal from him, though," Jeff affirmed.

Walking into the loading bay of Thunderbird 2, Scott shook his head. "The kid better have a good reason for not answering us."

"I called dibs first, Scotty boy," Gordon said as they all gathered. "His as-er-umm… behind is mine once we know he's okay," he innocently smiled as Jeff gave him a stern look.

"We can all give your brother a firm talking to once this situation is under control," Jeff spoke. "Gordon, I want you in the Firefly. Scott, you and Virgil handle ground control. I'm going to speak to the Fire Chief further. I will join you as soon as I can."

"Guys, winds are beginning to get stronger," John's voice rang in their earpieces.

"We need to hurry, boys," was all Jeff said as they exited the green ship and attend to their assigned duties.

-TB-

Throbbing pain met Alan as consciousness returned to him. Opening his eyes, Alan was reminded where he was. Adrenaline filled him as he saw flames above him. Alan lifted his body gently, surprised not to be trapped by debris. Moving his hand to his throbbing head, Alan was shocked to find blood coming from it. Explains why the headache is back, he thought. Alan could feel the burns that also radiated from parts of his skin. Man, Virg is going to have a heyday when he sees me.

Looking around the room, Alan suddenly realized he didn't see his classmate. "ZACH!" he called frantically before another coughing fit erupted from his body. Alan felt like a heavyweight was slowly settling on his chest. Gingerly, Alan pulled himself up to stand, searching the area for his friend. What had once been the east hallway was now filled with debris and flames.

"ALAN!" he heard Zach call to him. Spinning around, he saw his classmate ducking from a room. "It seems this room saved my life," the tall blonde stated. A wooden support beam lay just in front of where Zach had once stood before the collapse.

"Looks like it. We need to move," Alan instructed.

Zach took Alan's helping hand as he climbed over the debris that had covered the floor. Looking up, he shook his head. "I sure hope no one was still up there."

"Same here. Are you hurt?" Alan asked as he looked over his friend.

"No, I'm good. Nothing that will kill me," Zach assured as he looked over his body. Like Alan, he had several burns on his skin and multiple cuts. "Looks like I ended up luckier than you, Tracy. That cut on your head looks pretty nasty," he said, examining the wound a little.

Alan backed away from his friend. "I'm fine."

"Help! Is anyone there?! "

Alan and Zach immediately looked to one another. Were they going crazy? "Did you hear that?" Zach asked.

"Sure did!" Alan said. "Where are you?!" he screamed back.

"We're over here! We're trapped."

The two seniors listened for the voice. It was coming from the west hall. "Keep talking," Alan responded. They gingerly moved toward the sound, keeping a watchful eye of their surroundings. They didn't need them getting trapped. They had been lucky in the last one.

Arriving at where the voice seemed to be coming from, Alan and Zach stopped to stare in dismay at the debris piled in front of them. This is going to be fun, Alan thought. Looking at Zach, he smiled, happy when his teammate smiled back. They were both up to the challenge. Giving the room one last look, they got to work, with Alan ignoring the beeping sound from his watch once more.

Sighing, Alan couldn't help but have one thought. My family is going to kill me.

TBC…

Oh boy, his brother's really are going to kill him. Alan not answering his watch, tsk, tsk. Well, at least you know Alan is alive at the moment but who knows what could happen next. He isn't fairing too well. Coughing and now a head injury. Hmmm…

So I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off this past week. This chapter is short because of this but I leave this in promise to update with a longer chapter in a few days. You never know when I'll post. Keep your eyes open :D

You know the motto!