5

Liam

The power was out. Liam didn’t realize it until he stepped into the hallway and registered how dim it was. The fire alarm was still pulsing. It was starting to give him a headache, actually.

His priorities: One, get Ms. Midio outside and turn her over to a responsible adult. Ideally Mrs. Hill, Sasha’s mom. Two, make sure Sasha and Ray got out okay. Liam knew he shouldn’t go back inside the building once he was out. Year after year, they’d all heard the same safety tips during their drills at school. But Liam didn’t like leaving his friends to fend for themselves, either.

The hallway in front of him led directly to the front doors of the school. Liam and Ms. Midio were only about fifty yards away from the freedom of the outdoors. The hallway was empty. Most of the other students and staff must’ve evacuated already.

Correction: the hallway was empty, except for the massive chunk of the ceiling that had fallen into the middle of the floor.

Liam stared at the huge piece of concrete in his path. Wires hung from the hole in the ceiling, limp and sad, like skinny arms reaching helplessly toward the concrete.

“Ohhhhkay,” he said to Ms. Midio. “We’re just gonna walk around that really carefully. Watch your step, Ms. Midio.”

Even with Ms. Midio a little unsteady on her feet, it wasn’t hard to sidestep the danger zone. Liam hugged the wall and stepped cautiously over smaller pieces of broken concrete. He held his breath, trying not to inhale the dirt particles floating in the air. Half a second later, he and Ms. Midio were clear of the rubble. Still, he didn’t feel any better.

There’s no way Sasha can get past that.

The rest of the hallway seemed to be intact. They had a clear path to the front entrance now. Liam picked up the pace, moving as fast as Ms. Midio seemed comfortable with. He shoved open a door and walked out into the sunlight, leaving the screech of the fire alarm behind.

Students milled around in the parking lot, hugging or searching for their friends. Teachers frantically tried to keep their classes together and take head counts. Liam didn’t see a single emergency vehicle.

He spotted Sasha’s mom sitting on the sidewalk curb with a crying freshman.

“Mrs. Hill!” he called to her. “Ms. Midio hit her head. We think she might have a concussion. Can you keep an eye on her?”

“Liam! Of course. Where’s Sasha?”

“She’s fine,” Liam told her, already turning around.

“But where—”

“Hold that thought, Mrs. Hill.”

Before anyone could stop him, he sprinted back into the school.