The heartstopper

Chapter 41

They were so close to leaving. Just five more minutes and they'd be loaded onto the bus, but their luck had run out. They'd survived eleven days, but now, right when they were so close to the exit, the sound of the fire alarm rang through their ears.

The students and two teachers who accompanied them on this trip were just about done dragging all of their luggage that they could carry down the stairs. There were too many of them to all take the elevator, and it would have taken too long, so instead, those who could, trampled into the elevator and the others -very carefully- dragged their baggage down each flight of stairs.

The students were clumped together, and most people have split away from their group of friends. Charlie, Isaac and Darcy were in the middle of the bunch while their other friends had fallen somewhere to the back of the crowd.

The fire alarm rang through their ears as the people at the front of the group opened the door, which led out of the stairwell. People panicked. They tried to push their way through the crowd to get out. People were being pushed in every direction.

The elevators were out of order in instances such as a fire, so many people would be trampling their way down the stairs within seconds. The students got out of the stairwell very quickly, some forgot about their belongings and ditched them for others to trip over while they made their escapes. Others brought their luggage with them, not wanting it to be left behind.

Charlie ran into the lobby, following the others who were exiting the building. People were shouting in every direction but he was still unsure if there was an actual fire or if someone pulled the fire alarm as a joke.

Either way, he stopped right before he could exit the building. Isaac and Darcy trod ahead, being carried away by the wave of people. Charlie stopped amid the traffic. Nick. He was still in the building. Whether Nick is dead or alive, he couldn't leave him.

Charlie turned and pushed against the current of people. He managed to get far enough to the side that he could escape the force. Nick was still in one of the rooms and in the slightest chance that he was alive and well, like Tao had said, he was-uninjured-. Nick might be uninjured too, but unable to run.

Charlie ran back to the stairwell. Where was he supposed to go? There were still people descending the stairs, he needed to get up them. He trudged past them, some of them trying to stop him from running into more danger, but he bolted away. Between the speed he already had and the strength he had gained from rugby, he got away.

He continued to run and run until he was at the top of the stairs, he was on the top floor. It was not until then that he could properly smell smoke. The building was burning around him.

"NICK!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "NICK!" He cried again. He didn't realize it before, but he had tears streaming down his face. Nick had to be there somewhere. He had to be okay.

He continued to yell at the top of his lungs before the ceiling above him started to crumble. He opened up the stairwell door once again and ran down the stairs to the level below. He yelled for Nick. He yelled for him to respond, he yelled, hoping for an answer but as the smoke filled the building, it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

He ran down the stairs as he felt like passing out. His knees felt weak and his head felt as if it were going to explode. He couldn't continue to run, he was going to collapse.

He was on the second floor. He couldn't go further. The fire was speeding up, the roof was going weak. His cries sounded muffled as he coughed from his lungs filling up with smoke.

You could tell which rooms Nick wasn't in as they were wide open from people not closing them as they fled. There were so many people who'd checked out of the hotel already so it was nowhere near its full capacity. Many doors were still closed, many were still locked.

A thought passed through his mind. He remembered Tao recounting how he was trapped in a room on the second floor. He didn't say which room number, he probably didn't pay attention to the room number, he was probably too focused on escaping, rather than checking fine details.

He looked at the wide-open rooms. The first three doors were open, and the fourth one,-room 204- was shut. He jiggled the doorknob but it wouldn't budge. The fifth door was open, the following four were shut.

"Nick," He coughed. His voice wouldn't be able to be heard by anyone as the crinkling roar of the fire got louder and louder. It was getting impossible to see, there was smoke in his eyes.

Maybe Nick was on the second floor like Tao was. Perhaps he was so close by, maybe all that was separating them was a wooden door that would soon be burnt to crisps.

He was sure that his friends were out of the building by now. They were probably terrified, maybe they were huddled on the grass, or maybe they were panicking and searching the mass of people for him.

Black spots filled his vision, followed by what felt like tight pressure in his head. He remembered the same thing had happened when he didn't eat enough. He remembered that same feeling the day he had passed out.

He didn't want to pass out, he couldn't let himself. If he was going to die, he was going to do it by Nick's side.

His knees gave out and he fell to the ground, coughing. He could see the ceiling starting to crumble just ahead of him. It wasn't fair, he had so many more rooms to search. He was only in the first hall of the second floor, he'd made it so far but he still couldn't find Nick.

He couldn't save him.

With his last remaining energy, which at this point, he was only running off of adrenaline, he gave out another cry, "NICK!?," Yelled the weak voice. Took a sharp breath that only ended in pain. He could see the glowing orange from the fire but couldn't comprehend where it was coming from. His vision was fading more and more as he inhaled his last breath of smoke before his eyes drifted shut. His last thoughts were of Nick. He hoped he was alright.