It’s as if the flames have swallowed the entire place.
“Annika, come down!”
My spine jerks at the loud voice. When I turn toward the stairs, I make out a half-naked Nikolai holding a hose.
“Where’s Jeremy?” I shout back.
“We haven’t seen him. You just get out for now. I’ll go find him.”
No, no, no…
I sprint in the direction of the smoke, ignoring Nikolai’s curses.
My eyes water from the thickness of the toxic air and I cough as I grab the wall for balance.
This won’t do.
I rip the hem of my shirt, bend over, and soak it with the water from the floor, then hold it to my nose.
The humid cold offers a small reprieve, but the smoke still clogs my throat. My eyes burn and I cough until I think I’ll throw up.
Still, I keep going, using the wall as balance. The moment I touch a door, I try to open it, but it’s locked.
I bang on it with my free hand. “Jeremy!”
My voice is so weak and muffled that I can hardly hear it myself.
So I hit the door again while having a coughing fit. “Jer!”
“Anoushka?” His low question comes from the other side, equally weak. “What the fuck are you doing here? Get out.”
“I came for you!”
“I’m all right. You go.”
I keep coughing as dizziness assaults me. “If you’re all right, then let’s go together.”
“Get the fuck out of here, Annika.” There’s a strain in his voice that’s so similar to pain.
My heartbeat thunders as I choke on my cough. “Open the door.”
There are more coughs from his and my side, but there’s no reply.
“Jer?” My voice is spooked. “Open up—”
“I can’t.” I barely hear his low words. “I’m trapped. You need to go, Anoushka.Now.”
“No, no.” I hit the door with my shoulder, tears streaming down my cheeks, and they’re not only due to the smoke.
So this is why he didn’t come to find me as soon as the fire hit. I found it weird that my overprotective brother didn’t break down my door or haul me out of sleep.
It’s not that he didn’t think of me, it’s that he couldn’t come to my rescue.
“Go!”
“No!” I scream back through my coughs. “I’m not leaving you to die.”
My vision becomes blurry and I sway on my feet, but I don’t stop hitting the door over and over. It takes all of my strength, but it does nothing to move the fucking shit.