Time Bomb

by Joelle Charbonneau

  “I got Kaitlin through. You’ll make it, Cas,” Z promised as, from somewhere above, Diana kicked something that rattled down the piles of broken desks to the ground. “Put your injured arm through first, and I’ll help guide you out.”

  “You can make it Cas,” Frankie said from the other side. “Think snake-like thoughts, and you’ll be fine. Trust me.”

  Trust him?

  She wanted to. And she really didn’t want to stay in here alone. She’d wanted to die alone before when it had been her choice. Now she was choosing to live, and she wasn’t going to let this stupid school beat her. Not this time.

  “Come on, Cas,” Frankie said.

  The smoke made her cough.

  Fine. Be a snake.

  Cas unfastened the sling from around her neck and winced as she slid her injured arm through the opening. She twisted and turned and grimaced at the pain while squeezing her chest through the gap in the doorway. Then she tried to pull the rest of herself through. When she got stuck, she knew her mother was wrong. Things weren’t worse in her mind. There was nothing worse than being in massive pain and stuck in the only path to possible escape because you were too big to fit through the hole others had already gone through.

  Panic bubbled. Heat flooded her face. Tears swam in her eyes because she was stuck and Z was now looking at her thighs and her butt and the way they were wedged in the opening that he needed to get through in order to live. She was stuck because she wasn’t thin and athletic like her father had tried to convince her she needed to be.

  She took a deep breath, wriggled her hips, and moved another inch as Frankie squatted down and yelled for Z to grab the desk and pull it up on the count of three.

  Frankie put his hands under her armpits.

  “One.”

  She bit her lip.

  “Two.”

  Cas held her breath.

  “Three.”

  The desk above her moved just a fraction of an inch, sending a bunch of other things flying, and Frankie pulled her free.

  She’d made it. She was through.

  Frankie helped her to her feet and pointed down the hazy, smoke-filled hall to a classroom.

  “We’re going to hole up in there until help arrives,” said a guy wearing a dirty tux shirt next to Frankie. “My friend is in there with the injured girl.”

  Frankie nodded. “Go ahead, Cas. We’ll all be there in a minute.”

  A backpack was coming through the hole, followed by Diana’s head, as Cas turned and made for Mrs. Radke’s chemistry room.

  Some of the tables in the room were overturned. There was a haze of smoke and a lot of dust and books on the floor, but the room was in better condition than most of the school. Kaitlin was lying across two chemistry tables that had been pushed together, and a boy Cas didn’t know was quietly talking to her while checking her pulse.

  “Is she still okay?”

  The boy glanced up at her, and she could see the answer in his eyes. “Her legs are crushed, and I think she’s in shock. She really needs a doctor.”

  People were always going into shock on TV shows, but Cas couldn’t remember what they did when it happened.

  The boy clasped and unclasped his hands. “For shock, the doctors would normally raise her legs and keep her warm, but I think it’s already too warm for her. And raising her legs might do more harm than good. Could you stay with her while I run to the classroom down the hall? I think Mr. Lott might have a stash of bottled water. She needs fluids.”

  The boy raced out of the room, almost knocking Diana over as she came in, holding a backpack that she hadn’t been carrying when they were on the third floor. Diana walked over to one of the windows to see what was happening outside. A minute later, Z burst through the door with Frankie and the boy in the tux shirt right behind.

  “Where’s Rashid?” Tux-Shirt Guy asked.

  Cas realized he was talking about the boy who had been helping Kaitlin. “He went to a room down the hall to get water.”

  “That’s good,” Z said as he went to take Kaitlin’s hand. “We have to figure out a way to get Kaitlin out of here.”

  The injured girl was small, and despite the slight rise and fall of her chest, she looked dead.

  Cas turned her back on the girl as the others huddled around Kaitlin’s incredibly still body and moved toward the open windows, wishing she were anywhere else but here. Looking out, she could see more fire trucks arriving and being directed toward the back of the school.

  “They must be trying to get the fire under control,” Frankie said, slapping the tuxedo guy on the back. “Once they put out the fire and the bomb squad gives the all clear, they’ll be able to get us out of here. We just have to hang tight, and it’ll all be okay. Right, Tad?”

  Tad shrugged off Frankie’s hand as Z said, “Did you hear that, Kaitlin? It’s almost over. We’re going to get you out of here. You just have to hang on.”

  Maybe the worst was over. Cas turned and smiled at Diana, but she didn’t seem to notice. Her eyes were fixed on the emergency workers climbing the steps to the entrance below—getting ready to come through the front doors. So Cas watched them too. If they were going to be rescued, then tomorrow really was going to come, and she wasn’t sure how she was going to face it.

  “I have water.” They all turned toward the doorway, where Rashid was juggling a twelve-pack of water bottles.

  “We think firefighters are coming in,” Tad said as he turned away from the window. “We just have to wait, and it’ll all be—”

  The cracking boom sent Cas to the ground as the building once again began to shake. Pain flared in her arm. Tears welled as outside the window, people screamed. Kaitlin moaned, and Z held her hand between both of his.

  This was bad.

  No. Things were already bad. This was worse, she thought, pushing up with her good arm while her injured one felt as if it were on fire. Her heart stalled, then stormed in her chest. Another bomb had gone off just when they thought they were going to be rescued. “They targeted the firefighters,” she whispered.

  “You okay, Cas?” Frankie asked. “Is everyone okay?”

  Tad and Diana both called out that they were unharmed. Rashid said he was fine too, but nothing was fine, Cas thought as she coughed and shook off Frankie’s attempt to help her sit up.

  Smoke billowed into the room, and she coughed again. Were the firefighters still fighting the fire? Could they?

  “The bomb,” Cas said, getting to her knees. “It must have been set off because the firefighters tried to come in and help us. And there could be more bombs.” Four had gone off so far. How many could be somewhere, just waiting to explode? How soon before the fire reached the survivors trapped in this room or before they breathed in too much smoke? “Close the door,” she called, but Rashid must have had the same thought, because he was already slamming it shut.

  “Tad!” he yelled. “Help me wet down some paper towels and shove them under the door to block out the smoke.”

  The two worked side by side, with Tad wetting the paper towels and Rashid shoving them under the door until the smoke coming in was less noticeable.

  “It would also help if we opened a window,” Rashid said.

  “But won’t letting oxygen in feed the fire?” Cas asked, looking out at the chaos of several injured firefighters being carried to one of the ambulances in the visitors’ parking lot.

  “Breathing in smoke will be even worse,” Rashid said. “Especially for Kaitlin.”

  Z didn’t have to be told twice. He slid over a chemistry table and headed for a window while Frankie made a beeline for the other one. A minute later, the latches were flipped and the windows were opened as far as they would go. Which wasn’t all that far, but it was better than nothing.

  Or not, since Z stepped back and kicked hard at the window, making them all jump.

  “What are you doing?” Cas asked.

  “Trying to break the arm on this thing to open it farther. If the fire
fighters aren’t coming in to get us, we have to rescue ourselves.”

  “Kicking isn’t going to break that thing,” Frankie said at the same time Cas asked, “You want us to go out the window?”

  The three windows in the room were narrow. It would be a tight squeeze for any of them, aside from Diana and Kaitlin, to fit through. And that was the least of their problems, considering there weren’t any trees to jump to—not that Cas would actually be able to do that. Even if she were the athletic type, she’d never be able to grab hold of anything with a strong enough grip to keep her from splattering against the concrete below. It had to be at least twenty-five feet up from here to there. People in movies survived that kind of jump, but that didn’t mean anyone would in real life.

  “We can’t jump,” Tad shot back. “That would be suicide.”

  Hooray for the voice of reason.

  “I’d rather jump and take my chances with the concrete than die up here doing nothing,” Z shot back. “If I widen the window, we can hang from the ledge before dropping to the ground. The drop will be shorter.”

  Not enough to make a difference. The drop . . . the cement and brick below them . . . Even with a fire burning and the chance of more explosions, it wasn’t a good option. Still, Z wasn’t giving up. He rammed his shoulder against one of the open windows and grunted as the frame shuddered but didn’t break.

  “Kaitlin can’t make that drop,” Cas quietly said. “She’ll die if you try.”

  Z spun toward Cas. Anger burned on his face.

  “You can leave me, Z,” Kaitlin said, her eyes fluttering open. Cas had thought the girl was unconscious. Clearly, she’d just been conserving her strength. “If you can get out of here, you should go. I don’t want you to die. Your mother wouldn’t have wanted you to do this.”

  “We both know whose fault this is. I was the one who was pissed at this place and wanted to let them know it. You’re not going down because of me.”

  “Z . . .” Kaitlin panted hard, winced, and closed her eyes.

  “No one is going down if we can help it,” Frankie said as Z looked ready to beat the heck out of something. “We might not have come to this stupid school together, but we’re all here now and we have to work as a team. Right, Tad?”

  Frankie looked expectantly at Tad. Only Tad didn’t agree. He just stared at Frankie as the silence stretched and tension Cas didn’t understand crackled between them.

  Finally, Frankie said, “The firefighters have to still be fighting the fire, but who knows when they’ll be allowed to try to come back in the building.”

  Cas looked at Tad, who had turned away from Frankie before moving to one of the windows. She angled herself so she could see the far end of the building as Frankie continued, “We need to come up with a plan that will get us out of here. I don’t know about all of you, but I’d rather not jump. If this were the gym, we’d have dozens of ropes and mats to use to lower Kaitlin to the ground, and the rest of us could climb to safety.”

  “Too bad chemistry teachers don’t keep a stash of mats and ropes handy just in case of emergency,” Z sneered. “Otherwise we’d be set.”

  “You’re the one who said you wanted to get out of here, so maybe you should listen instead of being a jerk,” Cas shot back. On any other day in this building, Cas would have looked away and said nothing. She would have just accepted that people never listened to someone like her and thought she was useless, because she knew that making waves might cause things to get worse. A lot worse. But there wasn’t much worse than what was happening now.

  “She’s right.”

  Cas spun to face Diana, who smiled at her.

  “There has to be something that we can use to create some kind of rope,” Diana explained calmly. “And with all the broken wood around here, how hard could it be to make some kind of stretcher for Kaitlin that we can use to lower her to the ground?”

  “Okay, then.” Frankie clapped his hands together. “Spread out. Grab anything you think might be useful. No idea is too stupid to try.”

  “Thanks,” Cas said. No doubt Z would have turned his anger on her had Diana not shot him down.

  Diana shrugged. “I try to agree with people who aren’t acting irrational.” She glanced over toward Z, who was tucking a strand of hair behind Kaitlin’s ear. He then leaned down and whispered something to the seemingly unconscious girl before he headed to the storage closet on the far side of the room. Frankie made for the cabinets. Tad stared at Frankie’s back for several long seconds, looking as if he wanted to say something. Then, shaking his head, he walked over to ransack the teacher’s desk.

  “Why don’t you sit while the rest of us search the room?” Diana offered Cas.

  “Why?” Cas asked. “You don’t think I’m capable of helping us get out of here?”

  “Actually, I was thinking you look like you’re going to pass out and that it might help us a whole lot more if you conserved your energy.” Diana’s eyes narrowed. Then she shrugged and turned away. “But if you want to be as stubborn as Z, go right ahead.”

  Humiliation burned Cas’s throat and made her want to crawl under the table. Finally, she just blurted out, “I really am sorry. I just hate this school. Even before today, I’ve hated it.”

  Diana cocked her head to the side and frowned. “Then why are you here?”

  “What do you mean?” Cas stiffened as Frankie yelled that he’d found a radio.

  Cas took a step toward Frankie, but Diana stepped into her path. When Cas tried to go around her, Diana put a hand out to stop her.

  “What?” Cas asked as the sound of static from the radio filled the air. “Don’t you want to hear what’s happening out there?”

  “It might also be helpful to figure out what’s happening in here.”

  “What does that mean?” Cas pulled her bag up onto her shoulder and held it tight.

  “You tell me. School doesn’t start until next week.” Diana looked hard at Cas. “You said you didn’t have to be here and that you hate this place. So I was wondering why you came to school today.”

  Cas racked her brain for what to say. A second passed. Two.

  Sweat snaked down her chest while Diana looked at her as if she already knew why Cas was here. A voice floated through the static.

  On the other side of the room, guys fought over the dials as Cas thought about a lie to tell. Like the lies she told her father and her mother and the shrink every time they asked how she was feeling. But today was the day she’d decided to stop lying. She found herself looking at the girl she knew was the kind of daughter her own parents actually wanted, and when Diana asked again, “Why did you come here today, Cas? You must have had a reason,” the truth just tumbled out.

  “I came here to die.”

  1:00 p.m.

  Diana

  — Chapter 37 —

  DIANA STARED AT THE GIRL standing with her turquoise bag pulled against her, her chin raised as if waiting for Diana to act horrified that she’d ever consider what she had just admitted to.

  “Quiet!” Frankie yelled as the static cleared. A nasal female voice filled the room.

  “. . . uncertain as to the location of the bomber, and after the last explosion, which we are told was detonated remotely, there is debate about how to proceed with the rescue mission. From what we have learned, the person behind the bombing is in communication with the police, and they are working hard to identify both the individual or individuals behind the attack and the location of any other explosive devices. Firefighters continue to fight the blaze from a distance while the three first responders caught in the last blast are being rushed to the hospital—”

  Three firefighters could die or were already dead.

  “God, this blows!” Z shoved one of the chemistry tables toward the wall.

  “Shut up,” Tad snapped. He leaned toward the radio, and Z caught his arm and jerked him back.

  “Don’t you tell me to shut up. You think you can—”

  “H
ow about you both shut up so the rest of us can listen?” Frankie said, getting in between the two guys and pushing them apart. “Some of us would like to know if we’re going to live or die.”

  “Frankie’s right,” said Cas, still clutching her bag against her side. “We have problems enough without fighting among ourselves.”

  “Or maybe you guys just want to go along with Miss Princess here, because that’s what you always do.” Z started at Diana. “And that’s what you expect people to do, because your father is some big-shot senator with a lot of money, and that makes you important.” Z crossed his arms over his chest. “You ain’t jack to me, and in case you didn’t notice, you’re still stuck in here the way we all are, so you aren’t all that.”

  “. . . confirmed that his daughter, Diana Sanford, is trapped inside.”

  Z’s jaw clenched, and Diana gave the guy a satisfied smile.

  “FBI and Homeland Security believe this to be an act of domestic terrorism, since no international group has thus far taken credit, but they are investigating all leads and working with local authorities to determine if it is safe for first responders to enter the building or if the threat of additional explosive devices is still credible.”

  “Which means Kaitlin is screwed if I don’t get her out of here,” Z said. “Did anyone find anything yet that looks like it will help?” When no one immediately said yes, Z threw up his hands and stalked back to the storage locker.

  It was only then that Diana realized there was one person not huddled around the radio or looking for something to help them get out of the building: Rashid. His eyes were fixed on Kaitlin, but Diana wasn’t sure he was actually seeing the dying girl in front of him. His mind seemed to be on something else.

  Diana looked at Cas, who hadn’t moved while the woman on the radio interviewed someone about first-responder procedure and how difficult it was to navigate this kind of situation when firefighters had already been injured by one device and no one knew if there were more. A bomb robot had been brought in and was entering the building now, and everyone was waiting to see what would happen next. The first responders were battling the blaze from a distance, but the fire was still burning. The people on the radio made it sound a lot like a game of chess where any move was one play from checkmate.