HeartBLOOD

Chapter twenty-seven

"Maia!", he screamed and darted to that side of the room, glancing at the fire that seemed to be getting bigger every second, coming closer to where the wall had collapsed seconds ago, slowly but steadily trapping them. "Help!", she yelled, panting. The smoke made Alec's eyes tear up, but even through those tears he could see Maia laying on the floor, wooden pieces scattered all around her. "Hey, it's okay!", he tried to calm her down, though tears were running down her face. "Come on, get up, we need to get out of here!", Alec screamed and reached out his hand. "I can't!", Maia cried out, "My foot is trapped!" Bending over, Alec could see a large piece of the paneling had fallen onto her leg. "I got you!", he screamed and bent down. With a groan, Alec lifted the piece and Maia pulled her foot out just in time before his arms gave in ant the paneling crashed back onto the floor. "Come on, hop onto my back!", he commanded after helping her up. The piece of wood was so heavy, it for sure shattered her foot, if not her entire leg. Hot tears running down his face, she wrapped her arms around Alec's neck and her legs around his waist, enabling him to carry her while still having both of his arms available. By now, he could barely see his own hand in front of his face as the smoke kept getting thicker and thicker as well as the air getting shorter. Alec knew, if they wouldn't get out of here in minutes, they'd suffocate. And considering the fact they had lost any orientation as well as the fire spreading every second, he didn't like his chances. "I think I have seen something metal-ish over there! That might be the door!", Maia cried into Alec's ear, navigating him. Hope replacing the missing oxygen in his body, Alec started walking faster until he tripped and almost fell if he hadn't managed to catch himself on his right leg. The well known sharp pain shot through his knee, but he barely noticed it. "What was that?", Maia gasped in horror. An ice cold shiver ran down Alec's spine, despite it being incredibly hot in the room. Whatever he tripped over, it was soft. Terrified, he let his gaze wander to the floor, seeing exactly what he had hoped not to see. On the floor laid a body. "That's Jonathan!", Maia shrieked out in terror. "Almost forgetting Maia was on his back, Alec bent down and turned the body around, revealing its face- it in fact was Jonathan. "Is he dead?", she stuttered in horror. "No!", Alec screamed and picked the boy's slack body up, showing he was unconscious- at best. "We need to get out of here asap!", Alec yelled, "Where's what you've seen?" "You're almost there!", Maia navigated and made him walk forwards until he saw it too- a door. "Run, the flames are getting close!", she screamed. And somehow, he ran. He had been told that in near death situations, people's body set unbelievable powers free, making them accomplishing the impossible. And there it was- a silver knob on the wall. "I'll open it!", Maia yelled and cried out as the hot metal burnt her hand. "You've got this!", Alec screamed and in fact, seconds later the door swung open and they stumbled into the tunnel they first walked through- the tunnel that connected the old part of NYABM to its' main body. "Are you sure this isn't the door we came through?", Alec asked, panting. "Yes! Look, there's a lot less smoke in here.", Maia assured him. With a deep breath, Alec kept walking, simply praying she was right. At this point, he felt neither pain nor heat, all he did was hope this was the right tunnel. And Maia was right- the dim light of the tunnel reflected very little smoke, slowly but steadily his breathing improved. Out of nowhere, they heard a loud crash and felt a wave of heat. "I think the back just collapsed- we need to hurry!", Maia replied and wrapped her arms a bit tighter around Alec. Jonathan laid heavy in his arms and his eyes were still tearing up due to the smoke. As much as he tried, he couldn't walk faster. It didn't matter how often he looked into Jonathan's ashy face, it didn't matter how much Maia tried to motivate him, he felt like his knees would give in any second. "Come on, you can do it!", she whispered into Alec's ear, "Magnus is waiting for you outside, imagine how worried he must be!" Somehow, she always managed to press the right buttons. A last rush of energy flooded through Alec's veins, pushing him forwards until he finally saw the door. With a feeling of numbness, driven by fear and exhaustion he pushed open the door and found himself behind the cafeteria, in the main hall of NYABM- though it looked nothing like it used to. A part from the marble had fallen off the walls, revealing the bare cement. The entire hall was filled with smoke, disabling them to see much more from the destruction the fire had caused. "How did it get to the front?", Maia stuttered in confusion. "It was probably an electric burn, meaning the fire could have travelled through the whole building- we need to get out of here, the whole thing could go up in flames or collapse any second!", Alec realized and coughed up the last bit of smoke inside of him before stumbling towards the front door which was wide open. From the distance, he heard voices. "You can't go in there, it all might blow up!", he heard a voice say, it sounded like Luke's But Alec wasn't the only one who heard it. "Luke! Help!", Maia screamed from the top of her lungs, hoping for him to come and help them. Alec was stumbling more than he was walking, and the weight of Jonathan almost made him lose his balance. Through the dust, a man came running towards them- Luke. "Maia!", he screamed as he spottet their silhouettes, running towards them. Without another word he snatched Maia off of Alec's back. "You okay?", he asked and Alec nodded slowly- his head was spinning and he felt like he might pass out any second. Dragging Jonathan with him, he walked down the stairs that led up to NYABM and felt the cool air in his face. "Alec!", he heard Valentine exclaim and dart towards him, picking Jonathan off of his arms. All Alec saw was blurry lines, his head was spinning, but throughout all of that mess, he knew there was one thing he didn't see- "Magnus!", Alec gasped before his legs gave out underneath him- where was he, was the last thing he thought before slipping.