Part 93
Olivia picked up her phone and called the front desk of headquarters. It rang several times before she gave up. Karen must have left early. She'd have to reprimand her. She groaned and reluctantly left the building. She frowned when she saw fire trucks in front of the tall skyscraper across the street. She ran until she came to the barrier around the vicinity.
"Stop, you can't go in there," a Dalmatian in a fire rescue uniform approached her.
"What happened?" She asked.
"We're not quite sure but we think lightning struck the building. It started an electrical fire on floor 165 and it's moving fast," he explained. "Now, let us do our jobs."
"Wait! I think Miss Crystal might be in there! Miss Crystal might be trapped in the corporate elevator. It goes directly up to floor 200 with no stops," she explained.
The Dalmatian grabbed his walkie. "Check the corporate elevator. Someone might be trapped."
A few minutes later, the walkie squawked. "The elevator is stuck in between 175 and 176! The blaze is already out of control, barreling through the lower floors."
"Damn! We'll need to get to them from above!" He said.
Olivia grabbed her phone, having heard everything. "Jerry! They are trapped in the elevator but…"
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Having taken flying lessons in case Crystal ever needed a backup pilot, Jerry flew the pink and purple helicopter towards Redshore City at top speeds. His phone rang on the way. "Hey Olivia, what do we know?"
Marcus was looking at his wedding ring. Johnny watched him just worrying himself. "Dad, they'll be okay. Nooshy is with them and the girl survived 15 years on the streets. They're just stuck in an elevator."
"I know… I know. I'm worrying over nothing but… Suki is the first person that made me really feel whole again… and… we had an argument…" he told his son. "Over whether or not Porsha should have to go to a birthday party. It seems so stupid now."
"Nah, Nooshy told me why you guys were fighting the whole last week. You were right. Porsha shouldn't have been forced to go," Johnny tried to reassure him. "I know how you feel about her, Dad, and I like her. But she's not infallible. Suki is capable of screwing up."
Marcus shook his head. "It doesn't matter. All I want is to get them out of there and take them home."
"What!?" Jerry screeched. "They're trapped and the building is on fire? Are you sure?" He asked. "We're on our way…"
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In the elevator, Porsha was starting to panic. "It's a fire! It's a fire! Oh my gosh, we're gonna die!" She shrieked.
"Porsha, it's going to be okay," Suki tried to calm her down.
"No, it's not! We're trapped in an elevator and there's obviously a fire! We're going to die!" The wolf trembled and hugged herself for comfort.
Nooshy pulled Porsha over to her. "Porsha!" She slapped her sister, making her reset her thought process as she tried to figure out what just happened. "We have to get out of here." Survival instincts from years on the streets kicked in and she began examining their surroundings. "There!" She pointed to an escape hatch on the roof of the elevator car. "Sis, put me on your shoulders."
Porsha let Nooshy climb on top of her shoulders, where she was able to reach the ceiling but just barely. She pushed the hatch and it popped open. She climbed onto the roof. She helped Porsha and then Suki up with her. She looked up.
"There are no other doors?" She asked Suki.
Suki shook her head. "This elevator goes straight to the 200th floor." She looked around. She looked over the edge. She couldn't see a dim orange glow several floors below and dark smoke billowing up.
Nooshy sighed. "Good thing I'm a cat. I'm going to try getting to the top."
"No, Nooshy, it's too dangerous," Suki tried to stop her.
"We don't have a choice, Big Mama. I have to try," she argued and leaped to the next floor. She leaped up and up until she reached the top floor. "Phew, I made it!" She called down. She balanced carefully on the lip of the shaft that would connect to the car. The door was closed. She put her hands on either half and started pushing with all of her strength.
Below, Porsha and Suki could only wait. Suki looked at Porsha. "I am so sorry we're in this mess. I was just trying so hard… so hard to be a good mom. I thought it would be good for you to come. Get some closure…"
Porsha hugged her. "You're a great mom. I always wished you could be my mom when I was growing up. I love you." She sighed. "I'm glad I came. I was just afraid. I still miss Daddy so much. And… I know that's ungrateful and selfish."
"How so?" Suki asked. "Of course, you miss him."
"Well, Big Daddy. He went through so much to keep me safe and adopt me. He's a great dad and I love him. But I still wish Daddy was here," she wept, looking at the snow globe.
Suki hugged her. "Sweetheart, that's neither selfish nor ungrateful. Big Daddy would understand. Now, come on. We need to see if it's possible to follow Nooshy."
Nooshy was still trying to force the doors open but they were so heavy. "Oh come on! Open up!" She had to save her family. She was starting to tire until she felt a hand steady her. But she saw no one.
'Try one more time…' a voice said in her mind.
Bracing herself, she began trying again, pushing as hard as she could. For a moment, it felt as though someone was pushing with her. The doors began to slide apart. "Yeah, come on, open up!" Finally the doors parted and somehow didn't close right back. "I got the doors open. Is there some way for you guys to climb up?"
"No!" Suki called back. "The cables are too slippery!"
Nooshy nodded. "Okay…" She looked around. "Okay, Nooshy. What do I have to work with?"
'That closet,' the voice came again, drawing her attention to a nearby closet. She tried it and found it open. Inside was all of the stuff that was in the office before.
"Huh, thought they said they threw it out," she thought out loud. Finally, she saw a really long hose. "That'll work." She grabbed it and raced back. She tied one of the hose to the closet door knob and pulled the rest to the elevator shaft. "Look out below!" She cried, throwing it over the edge.
On top of the elevator car, Suki and Porsha waited. The smoke was getting worse as the heat of the flames drew closer. Porsha coughed. "I'm so scared, Big Mama. What if… what if we don't get out of here?"
"It's going to be okay, sweetheart…" Suki tried to comfort her.
'Look out below!' They heard Nooshy shout right before the nozzle of a long, yellow hose hit the car. "Tie it around you and I'll pull you up!"
Suki laughed. "See, you go first."
Porsha put the globe in the duffel bag with the rest. Suki tied the hose around her securely. "What about you? The fire's getting closer."
She nodded. "I'm your mother. You always come first. Go!" She shouted up the shaft.
Nooshy grabbed her end of the makeshift rope and began pulling with the same mysterious strength that helped her open the door. "I've got you!" She pulled as hard as she could. Porsha was almost to the top when suddenly the doors began closing again. "No!" She grabbed the door with one hand, trying desperately to keep pulling the hose while trying to force the door back open. "No, please! We're so close! Someone help me! Ahhh!" She screamed as she lost hold of the hose. The hose began to fall until a massive gorilla hand appeared out of nowhere and grabbed it. She nearly collapsed with relief when she saw Big Daddy and Johnny. "Big Daddy!"
"Help's here, Noosh!" Johnny reassured her. "I got the rope, Dad. You get the door. That's the heaviest."
On top of the elevator, Suki was alone with her own fear. She wasn't ready to die. She had things she wanted to do. The flames climbed the shaft. The smoke choked her until she couldn't breathe.
Up top, Porsha grabbed onto the lip of the landing and let Nooshy grab her hand to help her up the rest of the way. Nooshy also took the bag, passing it to Jerry. "Big Mama's still down there."
Johnny nodded and threw the rope back down. "Suki, grab the rope!" He called. Thick black smoke made seeing all the way down there impossible. She didn't respond.
Nooshy frowned. "I'm going back down there." She decided.
"Nooshy! Don't! Let…" Marcus tried to stop her but it was too late. She was already scaling the shaft back down, coughing with the smoke.
She wrapped her hoodie around her face to protect herself. She found Suki unconscious from the smoke. The flames were getting steadily closer. The inside of the car was ablaze. She quickly tied the hose around Suki's waist. "Okay, pull her up! Quickly!" She began climbing as the hose started moving. She tried her best to get Suki above the smoke, staying with her to make sure she got up.
At last they reached the top with the flames starting to burn through the elevator cables. Johnny pulled Suki up and into the hall just as the elevator cables snapped and the car fell back down the 175 floors where it crushed out the flames in the shaft. Marcus let the doors close and hugged his daughters with relief.
Suki began coughing as her body finally received life-giving oxygen and she opened her eyes. "Marcus? Johnny? Jerry?"
Marcus laughed and pulled her into his arms bridal style, kissing her deeply. "It's alright, you're safe now."
She breathed a relieved sigh as she buried her head in his neck. "Let's go home." She pleaded.
"Shouldn't you go to a hospital?" He asked worriedly as they headed up to the roof where the pink and purple chopper waited by Crystal's helicopter.
"No… I'm fine… I just want to go home. We all do," she begged. "Nooshy, you were so brave. You saved us."
The lynx felt her breathing and heartbeat getting back to normal. "I had to try. I couldn't lose you guys." She stumbled up the stairs with exhaustion.
Johnny picked her up. "Come on, sis. I got ya."
Porsha trembled, holding the bag. "I was so scared. I thought we were gonna die but Nooshy was great."
Marcus looked at them. "I'm so proud of both of you tonight. But let's talk on the way home." They climbed into the flying apparatus and Jerry leaped back into his seat by Eddie and hit the buttons to begin flying up and away.
AN: So Porsha and company are safe and on their way home. Next chapter, they continue with the birthday dinner and Glenn gives Porsha his gift.