Calamitous (Kaylor)

41

It was like everything was moving in slow motion. Taylor stared down at the wall of fire, numbness settling over her as she struggled to comprehend what had just happened. She knew Karlie was yelling at her, telling her to move, but she couldn't hear anything. It was like all of her senses were dulled and all she could see was Arsyn's face as she desperately tried to grab her hand.

Logically, she knew that she shouldn't feel bad - the girl had tried to kill her multiple times, after all - but there was something deeply unsettling about losing the one constant she'd had in her life since she was sixteen. She might hate her, but she didn't want her dead. I should have been faster. I shouldn't have led her up here in the first place. It's all my fault...

"Taylor! The building's going down! We have to move!" Karlie shouted frantically, seizing her girlfriend's arm and tugging her back along the beam. The blonde turned to look up at her, and Karlie's heart clenched at the emotionless expression on her face. "Come on; let's go," she said, leading Taylor back toward the metal platform. The shorter girl followed along after her, as sure-footed as ever, which relieved Karlie tremendously.

They reached the metal platform and immediately took off, racing around the observation area to get to the nearest ladder. Luckily there was one nearby that was a fair distance from the worst of the inferno, and the couple quickly scrambled down, hissing from the heat. "Where do we go from here?" Karlie shouted. The fire had only continued to grow and its roar drowned out her voice.

"I don't know; I haven't been in this room before!" Taylor answered. "Find the nearest door. We'll go from there." A piece of wood fell from where they had just been, landing a few feet behind them and making Karlie shriek. "Let's go!" She grabbed her girlfriend's hand and started running, weaving a path through the flames as best she could.

As they approached the wall, however, it became apparent that there were no doors along the side they had approached. "What kind of factory is this?" Karlie groaned, skidding to a stop. The heat was getting overwhelming, and their lungs were working overtime with the smoke. Luckily they were in a room with a high ceiling, but even that couldn't protect them from the smoke forever.

"There's bound to be one along another wall. Keep moving," Taylor encouraged, taking off again. "Stick to the wall if you can; we don't want to lose each other in the middle of the fire." It was getting harder and harder to see, and their progress slowed considerably as they made their way around the enormous room.

"Nothing on this wall either," Karlie said, coughing slightly. "Maybe Arsyn was right."

"Don't say that," Taylor snapped, wheezing. "We'll make it. Just keep going."

"Maybe we should climb back up on the metal and head for the stairs over to the other factory floor?" Karlie suggested as they turned another corner, stumbling along the third wall.

"Those stairs are long gone," Taylor said. "And even if they weren't, I guarantee the metal is too hot to touch now."

"The vents?" Karlie asked desperately.

"Too hot, and also filled with smoke. We wouldn't get far." Another piece of wood fell nearby, sending up a shower of sparks over Taylor.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Karlie asked, trying to help put them out quickly.

"...That hurt a little," the blonde admitted.

"Okay, let's try to stay closer to the edge. There's less stuff to fall on us there." They continued, their breathing getting progressively worse and weakness washing over them.

"I can't believe it," Karlie breathed. "How have we not found a door yet?"

"There probably is one large entrance, and it happens to be on the wall that we haven't checked yet," Taylor ground out, focusing strongly on staying on her feet. Her vision was starting to get spotty, and she had an awful headache. Karlie didn't look any better.