Chapter 6 - The Fall
Ethan lunged forward without a single thought for his own safety.
He shoved Claire violently toward the open ventilation shaft just as the flaming beam crashed down.
The heavy steel struck Ethan's shoulder, pinning him to the scorching floor in a shower of sparks.
Claire tumbled into the dark chute, sliding down a few feet before she managed to grab a metal rung.
She looked up through the grate opening, her heart stopping completely at the terrifying sight.
"Ethan," she screamed, scrambling desperately back up the ladder toward the roaring inferno.
Ethan gritted his teeth, his face pale with agonizing pain as he tried to push the burning beam off his body.
"Get out of here, Claire," he yelled, coughing up a terrifying amount of thick black smoke.
"I am not leaving you behind again," she roared back, reaching the top of the shaft and grabbing his outstretched hand.
The timer on the main console read fifteen seconds.
Claire pulled with a strength she did not know she possessed, her muscles tearing as she anchored herself on the ladder.
With a final, guttural scream of pure agony, Ethan rolled his body sideways, slipping out from under the crushing weight.
He dragged himself toward the opening and threw his body over the edge of the dark shaft.
They plummeted down the narrow metal tube together, crashing into each other in the pitch-black darkness.
Above them, the server room finally reached absolute critical mass.
A massive shockwave ripped through the building, shattering glass and sending a terrifying fireball rolling over the open grate.
The explosion shook the entire skyscraper, tearing the ventilation shaft away from its primary brackets.
Ethan and Claire tumbled uncontrollably as the metal tube collapsed, dumping them violently onto the concrete floor of a lower level.
They lay in the darkness, bruised, bleeding, and gasping for the cool, unfiltered air.
Ethan reached out blindly in the dark, his panic rising until his fingers brushed against Claire's trembling arm.
He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her tightly as they listened to the building burning above them.
"We made it," he whispered, pressing a desperate kiss to the crown of her smoke-scented hair.
May you like
But as Ethan shifted his weight, he realized his neck felt entirely bare.
He frantically touched his collarbone, discovering that the silver chain had snapped during the fall, and the angel was gone.
