SCREAM [ GMW ]

vii. the burning question

She heard nothing. She saw nothing. She felt nothing, except for Lucas's arms around her, shielding her from whatever had just happened in front of her. Something twisted. Every other sense but her smell was blocked.

Smoke. She smelled smoke.

"Lucas, get up!" She pounded with her tiny hands at his chest, urging him to move away from her- but he didn't. Of course he didn't. Maya gave up and pried one of his fingers away from her head, peering out of the small looking hole she had made for herself. There was fire everywhere. The inferno leaked out the windows, and rose all the way up to the ceiling.

They were going to suffocate if they didn't leave soon.

"Lucas, you're going to die if you don't get off of me. You're going to suffocate from all of the smoke." stated Maya. Nothing. Lucas didn't budge, his arms still wrapped around her head, too strong for Maya to break out of. She had to move. Lucas had to move.

"Lucas..." Maya paused and thought for a moment. If she didn't choose her next words carefully- she may kill them both.

"Lucas, if you don't move, I'm going to die." He didn't move, but that time- he spoke.

"Maya, we are surrounded by fire. If I move backwards even an inch, I'll fall into it."

Shit.

"O-okay." Maya squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to think of a plan. She couldn't see any way out. There was only one- and they couldn't do that. The blonde heard something drop from behind her, something large. There were fussing, grumbling noises, and her nose began to burn from all the smoke she had inhaled. She heard sirens shortly after, and she prayed to anyone out there that would listen that someone would find them before it was too late.

"My friend, Maya- s-she's stuck in there. Some other boy too, I didn't get to s-see who he was, but he came b-bursting into the room before we all hid. We t-tried to pull her inside, but s-she wouldn't m-move." Maya heard the voice. It came from outside the walls, but her hearing was starting to get echoey and she couldn't place who it was.

"Was that Farkle?" Lucas whispered.

"I don't know. Was it?"

"We need to move."

"Whoever that was just told the police we're in here. We can wait for them to rescue us." Lucas sighed.

"Maya, we need to move now. We can't wait for them to get down here." Suddenly a window shattered behind them, and they both gasped, careful not to fall backwards.

"This is the NYPD, we have the paramedics with us. Everything is going to be alright, don't move." Another voice called. Maya thought it may have been over a mega-phone, but she couldn't tell.

"Maya, we have to move." Lucas countered from in front of her. Maya furrowed her brows, thinking hard. If they just waited maybe a minute more, the firemen would come find them and drag them out to safety. They would both make it. But there was also the smoke. They couldn't breath the foggy, hot air much longer. Soon enough they would both collapse due to weakness right into the fire. Maya could already feel Lucas's grip on her loosening.

"Everything is going to be okay, just don't move. You are going to be okay."

"Maya, we need to move."

"I-"

"Maya!" She took a deep breath.

"Okay! We'll move!"

"We need to go out the broken window behind you. Stand up and run as fast as you can to it, and I'll hoist you up."

"Are you fucking kidding me? I'm not going to run through the fire!"