Abruptly, I felt the feeling of falling. There was an amazing warmth under me, and flames taking pictures up round my periphery. Ellen shot out a hand towards me, however then she disappeared out of sight. I had simply sufficient time to appreciate that the ground was collapsing beneath me earlier than my again slammed into one thing.

My imaginative and prescient flashed white for a second, then all the things got here into view. I had fallen to the fourth ground. Not like the dim room above, all the things was shiny with flames right here. Orange and white, they licked up the partitions all over the place I appeared, just like the tentacles of an indignant hearth god that was attempting to devour all the things in sight.

Bought to maneuver.

I attempted to push up, which is after I realized my leg was pinned beneath one thing heavy. A stainless-steel range from the ground above. I sat up and pushed in opposition to it, however there was wooden and brick piled throughout it. The range wouldn’t budge.

Everybody was screaming in my radio, a chaotic cacophony of calls for and pleas. I mustered all my energy to push in opposition to the range, however it was no use. As a substitute, I reached as much as my chest and manually activated my PASS system. It started chirping at an ear-piercing quantity. That may assist my teammates discover me.

And in a flash of perception, I noticed: They gained’t get right here in time. I’m going to die.

The warmth was oppressive now, cooking me inside my go well with. Sweat poured down my again. There was a flare of fireplace, and I rested on my again and coated my face with an arm in opposition to the warmth. Already, I may really feel myself rising sluggish, my breath extra labored from the ache in my leg. I didn’t know whether or not I used to be shedding blood, however I may really feel my eyelids getting heavy.

I closed my eyes, my ideas solely of Alyssa Ford. As I drifted off, my life performed out in opposition to my eyelids.

33

Jack

2009

“Okay, right here it comes,” I mentioned to my brother. “Are you positive you may deal with it?”

“Simply throw it already!” Eric mentioned, crouched down like a catcher.

I kicked my leg up like Scott Kazmir and fired a fastball to my brother. I missed my spot by a foot, and he needed to dart to his left to catch it.

“Good one,” my buddy teased. “If Eric hadn’t caught that, it could’ve gone by way of my mother’s flowers!”

“I want we had a radar gun,” I mentioned. “That one was at the very least ninety!”

“In your goals,” Eric replied. “Ninety is how laborious the professionals throw.”

“So?” I replied.

“So, you’re solely eleven years outdated. I wager you’re not even hitting sixty.”

“You don’t know!” I shot again at him. “Give me the ball.”

Eric rolled his eyes and tossed the ball again to me.

Earlier than I may make my subsequent pitch, I seen two women driving bikes up the highway. They pulled as much as the yard the place we have been taking part in. One in all them instantly drew my consideration. She had curly blonde hair and large, harmless eyes.

A variety of my associates nonetheless thought women have been gross, however I knew higher. Women might be fairly cool, so long as they weren’t annoying. This lady appeared cool.

“Whats up!” the blonde lady mentioned, instantly strolling as much as me. “I’m Alyssa, and that is my sister, Brandi.”

Why did my abdomen really feel humorous when she smiled at me? I needed her to love me. I wasn’t positive discuss to women, however me and my brothers appreciated to tease one another. That was our means of constructing associates.

“Whats up rhymes with yellow,” I mentioned, “which is the colour of pee.”

My buddies laughed, however the blonde lady didn’t. That was bizarre. Possibly she didn’t get the joke.

“You root for the Braves?” my brother requested.

“Duh! They’re one of the best,” the second lady mentioned. I barely glanced at her; I couldn’t take my eyes off the blonde. Alyssa. She’s fairly. I had by no means considered any women in my class that means earlier than, however Alyssa was undoubtedly fairly.

“The Braves stink,” my brother mentioned. “Everybody right here roots for the Rays. They went to the World Collection.”

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