Between the Stacks

Chapter 49

The streak of fire was a shocking burst of color in the darkness of the room. I instinctively threw myself backward, into the hallway, as Katherine scrambled from behind her desk. She rushed by me moments later, her heels stomping awkwardly against the floor as she ran as fast as she could. "Get out of here!" she yelled. Heads popped out of other offices in the hallway.

I started to follow her - the corridor was already becoming lit by the fire in the room - when I had a sudden image pop into my mind.

The fire safety manual.

The one on my desk.

The one I had read, after my first fiery incident.

My vision tunneled to what was immediately in front of me: the brightly-lit room. The hallway. The fire extinguisher on the wall-

And next to that, the fire alarm.

I ran over to the small red box and pulled down the lever. A shrieking alarm blared from speakers I hadn't noticed in the ceiling. By now other people on the floor had started to evacuate.

That wasn't good enough.

I knew what I should do. Close the door if I could, and follow everyone else down the stairs.

But.

How much damage would be done? Would the blaze spread to the other floors? Were the people below in danger?

I didn't have time to think through the answers. Instead I rushed over to the fire extinguisher, wrenched it away from the wall, and fumbled with its awkward heaviness. This time I didn't need to think over the instructions; after reading the fire manual, I knew exactly what I needed to do without any hesitation.

Pull. Aim. Squeeze. Sweep.

The heat from the room instinctively made me want to take a step back, drop the fire extinguisher, and run away. There was some instinctive, monkey-brain part of me that Did Not Like Fire.

But the library - and everyone in it - needed me.

Leaving the door wide open behind me, I crept cautiously into the room, staying low, the sweat already beading on my face. The flames had already costumed all of the paper of the desk, but had yet to spread to any other surface. That would only take a few more seconds, judging by the way the fire seemed to breathe on its own.

I had to act. Now.

Pull. I threw away the tiny blue pin.

Aim. I pointed the nozzle at the base of the fire, where the bright colors were so mesmerizing that they almost blinded me.

Squeeze. The blast of chemicals somehow took me by surprise. It spurted out, jumping towards the fire.

Sweep. My whole body ached. Was this smoke inhalation? Heat exhaustion? I ignored the pain in my arms, the stinging in my eyes, the shortness of breath as I swept the extinguisher back and forth over the base of the fire.

Heat. Ash. Sweat. The adrenaline was starting to fade into something close to terror. I continued to spray the extinguisher, but somehow the flames persisted.

An indeterminable period of time passed. Perhaps thirty seconds, or a minute, or a millennia. But I could hear voices behind me, voices that were accompanied by the sound of heavy boots on the floor.

"Leave!" a voice commanded. A hulking figure stood in the doorway - a firefighter, dressed to the nines in their protective gear. I wanted to kiss them.

I'm sure I said something - maybe a "thank you" or "I tried" - before running through the door, finally turning my back on the fire. The hallway was packed with first responders. And was that a hose coming through the window?