Amara's POV
The smoke was so thick I couldn't breathe. Elijah grabbed my hand through the darkness inside room 418.
"Stay low," he said. "The air is cleaner near the floor."
We crawled toward the door, coughing and choking. Outside, Rebecca was screaming something, but I couldn't understand her words.
Then I heard a different sound. Glass breaking.
"Fire department!" a voice shouted. "Stay away from the windows!"
More glass shattered. Fresh air rushed into the room through the broken window. I took a deep breath and felt my head clear.
A firefighter climbed through the window.
"How many people in here?" he asked.
"Two," Elijah said. "Just us."
"Anyone else on this floor?"
"There's a woman outside our door," I said. "Rebecca. She needs help too."
The firefighter spoke into his radio.
"We've got three on the fourth floor. Sending them down now."
He helped me to the window first. Outside, a ladder stretched down to the ground. I had never been so scared in my life.
