Piper's POV
I unlocked the door, twisting the knob. "No…" I whispered. "No. No. Nonononono." I clawed furiously at the doorknob, both hands yanking on it as one foot against the wall added to the force of my backward motion. I started sweating, my hands slipping on the cold metal. Pushing against the crumbling plaster spread onto the solid wooden beams with my feet, I gave another desperate shove. My hands flew off the knob, the force of my legs propelling me into James, who was standing behind me.
"Piper," he whispered. "This isn't funny. Open the door."
"It's stuck!" I screeched, the tears in my eyes burning just as bad as the recording studio was.
He immediately charged towards it, using a foot to brace himself against the wall just as I had. "It's just a little stuck," he mumbled. "That's it. I'll get it. It's just a little stuck."
While I was glad James was so self-assured, I proceeded to bang on the wall and scream for dear life.
Carlos's POV
BAM
BAM
pant
BAM
BAM
pant
She was screaming my name, pounding against the wall on the other side of the door.
I was going to get her out of there if it was the last thing I did.
Oh yeah. Um, I was going to get James out, too.
I winced every time my shoulder made contact with the door. Kendall joined me after a few more desperate attempts to break it down.
We paused for a minute to catch our breaths, the smoggy grey smoke clouding our eyes and lungs. The room swayed around me in its orange glow. The sinister sizzles and crackles that boomed behind us were just background noise to what I heard Piper say next.
"Carlos. Kendall," she coughed. "Just leave. I don't want you getting hurt."
We stood there dumbfounded. Logan and the recording crew were outside calling 911 as we spoke, but saying there was even a one in one hundred chance the fire trucks would get here in time was pushing it. With no other words spoken, we continued to plow into the door with an intensity stronger than life itself.
The thick metal door started to give…
Right before the explosions started.