Chapter 8 - The Breaking Point
Smoke choked the air as the kitchen walls began to blister and turn black.
I pulled violently at the back door handle, but the heavy metal padlock held firm.
Lily sobbed into my shoulder, her tiny hands gripping my hospital gown tightly.
I looked around frantically for anything I could use to break the glass.
The windows were barred with thick wrought iron grates that Daniel had installed for security.
We were completely trapped in a burning cage.
Behind me, the brutal fight between Aaron and Daniel raged on.
Despite his broken arm, Aaron used his combat training to pin Daniel against the burning floorboards.
Daniel was fighting with the chaotic strength of a madman with nothing left to lose.
He gouged his fingers into Aaron's eyes, forcing the soldier to release his grip.
Daniel scrambled to his feet and picked up the heavy iron poker again.
He turned his twisted, soot-stained face toward me and Lily.
You always had to make things so difficult, Sarah.
You could have just died quietly in the hospital from the poison.
He raised the iron weapon high above his head and charged toward us.
I pushed Lily behind the kitchen island and grabbed a heavy cast-iron skillet from the stove.
As Daniel swung the poker downward, I swung the skillet with every ounce of strength I had left.
The cast iron collided with his skull in a sickening thud.
Daniel's eyes rolled back in his head.
He collapsed heavily to the floor, completely unconscious.
I dropped the pan, my hands shaking violently.
Aaron stumbled over to us, holding his broken arm tightly against his chest.
The ceiling above the living room groaned ominously under the weight of the fire.
We have less than a minute before the roof comes down.
Aaron looked at the padlocked door and the barred windows.
He spotted the large propane tank sitting outside on the patio through the glass.
He pointed to the heavy wooden dining table in the corner.
Get under the table and cover the little girl with your body.
I grabbed Lily and dove under the solid oak wood, curling myself into a tight protective shell over her.
Aaron picked up Daniel's iron poker.
He backed up as far as he could in the cramped kitchen space.
With a primal roar, he hurled the heavy metal rod straight through the kitchen window.
The poker shattered the glass and struck the valve of the pressurized propane tank outside.
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A terrifying hiss filled the air for a split second.
Then the entire world exploded into blinding white light.
