Imperial Coffee

Hot-Wired: Part Twenty-Two

Cinder bolted up. There was another scream. She looked down at Kai, who was blinking his eyes open.

"What's happening?" he asked, voice blurry. He made to stand up before remembering he couldn't and sat back, tense.

"I don't know," Cinder whispered.

Then came the sound of a gun going off.

Cinder was paralyzed. The sound was familiar, too familiar, too loud—it was the sound of life ending, of bleeding out and last words. It was the sound of death.

"Weneedtogo," Cinder said, breaking out of her stupor. "How do we get out?"

"The entrance is where the sounds are coming from," Kai said. "I don't know any other exits."

Cinder grabbed the back of Kai's chair and started the push. It would be stupid to try to run since the inertia of the wheelchair would make it very hard to stop, but Cinder's mind was blank and all she knew was that she needed to go fast.

A siren started, then cut off. Cinder and Kai barreled down the wide hallway, passing people standing in shock, others running behind doors. She heard the clicks of locks, of people trying to hide. She heard more screams.

And then the sound system crackled to life.

"Selene," a female voice said, filling the hallway. "The waiting is over. The battle is on."

Cinder's heart was in her throat. She could hear her heart, could feel it in every inch of her body. She could feel the ground beneath her feet, could see just enough to keep steering them down more and more hallways. Her vision seemed tinged with red, undulating, coming in and out of focus. Her breathing was rough, ragged, not enough, and together they blocked out all other sounds. The gunshots. The screams. It was nothing but her beating heart, sweating hands, pounding legs, and struggling lungs.

"There," Kai said. Cinder barely heard him, but he was pointing at a door with red exit signs. She tried to slow down, and they skid across the hallway. Cinder steered the wheelchair so that it dragged against the wall, creating friction. They came to a stop a foot from the doorway, breathing hard. Cinder pulled the door open and pushed Kai through. There was another hallway on the other side, but a narrower one. Kai would fit, but barely.

Cinder started off again, this time at a jog.

"What did she mean," Kai asked. He was gripping the hand rests so hard that his knuckles were white. If Cinder could see his face, she would think that he was about to puke. "Who is Selene? Isn't that what—"

Cinder pulled them to a halt and Kai lost his breath as he almost tumbled from his seat.

"Stairs," Cinder said, then cursed.

They could still hear the screams. A gun went off every half minute, and every time Cinder felt herself get a little weaker. It wouldn't be long before the gunmen found this doorway. They needed to get out.

"Try to get up," Cinder said. She stood in front of him and held an arm out. Kai took her hand and pulled himself to a standing position. He leaned against her heavily. She wrapped an arm around his waist.

"We're going to get down these, okay?" she said. She walked forward slowly. Every step for her was a hop for Kai. She could see another exit sign at the bottom and it looked like it led out.

She heard the slam of a door and shouts, then the pounding of boots. She cursed again.

"We will get out of this," she said again, as much for herself as him. They made their way down the stairs slowly. Sweat beaded on Kai's forehead and Cinder's hand shook on his waist. They were only feet from escape when the footsteps reached the top of the stairs.