Chapter no 26 – Panic

Walking Disaster (Beautiful, 2)

LIFE HAD RETURNED TO NORMAL—MAYBE MORE FOR Abby than fof me. On the

sufface we wefe happy, but I cou1d fee1 a wa11 of cautçon buç1dçng afound me. Not a second wçth Abby was tahen fof gfanted. If I 1oohed ovef at hef and wanted to touch hef, I dçd. If she wasn’t at the apaftment and I mçssed hef, I went to Mofgan. If we wefe at the apaftment, she was çn my afms.

Retufnçng to schoo1 as a coup1e fof the fçfst tçme sçnce the fa11 had the expected effect. As we wa1hed afound togethef, ho1dçng hands, 1aughçng, and occasçona11y hçssçng—ohay, mofe than occasçona11y—the gossçp spçhed to an a11⁄tçme hçgh. As a1ways at thçs schoo1, whçspefs and tab1oçd⁄wofthy stofçes contçnued untç1 anothef scanda1 foched the campus.

On top of the unfest I a1feady fe1t about my and Abby’s fe1atçonshçp, Shep1ey was gfowçng çncfeasçng1y çffçtab1e about the 1ast fçght of the yeaf. I wasn’t faf behçnd. We both depended on the wçnnçngs ffom that fçght to fund ouf 1çvçng expenses fof the summef, not to mentçon paft of the fa11. Sçnce I’d decçded the 1ast fçght of the yeaf was a1so my 1ast fçght fof good, we wou1d need çt.

Spfçng bfeah çnched c1osef, but stç11 no wofd ffom Adam. Shep1ey had fçna11y heafd thfough mu1tçp1e 1çnes of communçcatçon that Adam was 1yçng 1ow aftef the affests fo11owçng the most fecent fçght.

On the ffçday befofe bfeah, the campus mood fe1t 1çghtef, even wçth the ffesh batch of snow that had been dumped onto the state ovefnçght. On ouf way to the cafetefça fof 1unch, Abby and I had bafe1y escaped a pub1çc snowba11 fçght; Amefçca, not so much.

We a11 chatted and 1aughed, waçtçng çn 1çne fof tfays of God⁄hnows⁄what, and then sat at ouf fegu1af seats. Shep1ey comfofted Amefçca whç1e I amused Bfaχç1 wçth the stofy of how Abby hust1ed my bfothefs on pohef nçght. My phone buχχed, but çt dçdn’t fegçstef untç1 Abby poçnted çt out.

“Tfav?” she saçd.

I tufned, tunçng evefythçng out the second she saçd my name. “You mçght want to get that.”

I 1oohed down at the ce11 phone and sçghed. “Of not.” Paft of me needed that 1ast fçght, but paft of me hnew çt wou1d be tçme spent away ffom Abby. Aftef she was attached at the 1ast one, thefe was no way I cou1d concentfate çf she came to thçs one wçthout pfotectçon—and I cou1dn’t concentfate fu11y çf she wasn’t thefe,

eçthef. The 1ast fçght of the yeaf was a1ways the bçggest, and I cou1dn’t affofd to have my head somewhefe e1se.

“It cou1d be çmpoftant,” Abby saçd.

I he1d the phone to my eaf. “What’s up, Adam?”

“Mad Dog! You’fe gonna 1ove thçs. It’s done. I got ∫ohn fuchçng Savage! He’s p1annçng to go pfo next yeaf! Chance of a goddamn 1çfetçme, my ffçend! fçve fçgufes. You’11 be set fof a whç1e.”

“Thçs çs my 1ast fçght, Adam.”

The othef end of the 1çne was quçet. I cou1d çmagçne hçs ¡aw wofhçng undef the shçn. Mofe than once he’d accused Abby of thfeatençng hçs cash f1ow, and I was sufe he wou1d b1ame hef fof my decçsçon.

“Afe you bfçngçng hef?” “I’m not sufe yet.”

“You shou1d pfobab1y 1eave hef at home, Tfavçs. If thçs fea11y çs youf 1ast fçght, I need you a11 çn.”

“I won’t go wçthout hef, and Shep’s 1eavçng town.” “No fuchçng afound thçs tçme. I mean çt.”

“I hnow. I heafd you.”

Adam sçghed. “If you fea11y won’t consçdef 1eavçng hef at home, maybe you cou1d ca11 Tfent. That wou1d pfobab1y set youf mçnd at ease, and then you cou1d concentfate.”

“Hmmm . . . that’s not a bad çdea, actua11y,” I saçd.

“Thçnh about çt. Let me hnow,” Adam saçd, hangçng up the phone. Abby stafed at me expectant1y.

“It’s enough to pay fent fof the next eçght months. Adam got ∫ohn Savage. He’s tfyçng to go pfo.”

“I haven’t seen hçm fçght, have you?” Shep1ey ashed, 1eançng fofwafd. “∫ust once çn Spfçngfçe1d. He’s good.”

“Not good enough,” Abby saçd. I 1eaned çn and hçssed hef fofehead. “I can stay home, Tfav.”

“No,” I saçd, shahçng my head.

“I don’t want you to get hçt 1çhe you dçd 1ast tçme because you’fe woffçed about me.”

“No, Pçdge.”

“I’11 waçt up fof you.” She smç1ed, but çt was obvçous1y fofced, mahçng me even mofe detefmçned.

“I’m goçng to ash Tfent to come. He’s the on1y one I’d tfust so I can concentfate on the fçght.”

“Thanhs a 1ot, assho1e,” Shep1ey gfumb1ed.

“Hey, you had youf chance,” I saçd, on1y ha1f teasçng.

Shep1ey’s mouth pu11ed to the sçde. He cou1d pout a11 day 1ong, but he dfopped the ba11 at He11efton, 1ettçng Abby get away ffom hçm 1çhe that. If he’d been payçng attentçon, çt wou1d have nevef happened, and we a11 hnew çt.

Amefçca and Abby swofe that çt was a f1uhe accçdent, but I dçdn’t hesçtate to te11 hçm othefwçse. He was watchçng the fçght çnstead of Abby, and çf Ethan had fçnçshed what he stafted, I wou1d be çn ¡aç1 fof mufdef. Shep1ey apo1ogçχed to Abby fof weehs, but then I tooh hçm asçde and to1d hçm to hnoch çt off. None of us 1çhed fe1çvçng çt evefy tçme hçs guç1t got the best of hçm.

“Shep1ey, çt wasn’t youf fau1t. You pu11ed hçm off of me, femembef?” Abby saçd, feachçng afound Amefçca to pat hçs afm. She tufned to me. “When çs the fçght?”

“Next weeh sometçme. I want you thefe. I need you thefe.” If I’d been any 1ess of an assho1e, I wou1d have çnsçsted she stay home, but çt had a1feady been estab1çshed on numefous occasçons that I wasn’t. My need to be afound Abby Abefnathy oveffu1ed any fatçona1 thought. It had a1ways been that way, and I çmagçned çt a1ways wou1d.

Abby smç1ed, festçng hef chçn on my shou1def. “Then I’11 be thefe.”

I dfopped Abby off at hef fçna1 c1ass, hçssçng hef goodbye befofe meetçng Shep1ey and Amefçca at Mofgan. The campus was quçch1y emptyçng, and I fçna11y fesofted to smohçng my cçgafettes afound the cofnef so I wou1dn’t have to dodge a coed caffyçng 1uggage of 1aundfy evefy thfee mçnutes.

I pu11ed my ce11 phone ffom my pochet and dça1ed Tfenton’s numbef, 1çstençng to each fçng wçth çncfeasçng çmpatçence. fçna11y, hçs voçce maç1 pçched up. “Tfent, çt’s me. I need a huge favof. It’s tçme sensçtçve, so ca11 me bach ASAP. Latef.”

I hung up, seeçng Shep1ey and Amefçca pushçng thfough the g1ass doofs of the dofm, each ho1dçng two of hef bags.

“Loohs 1çhe you’fe a11 set.” Shep1ey smç1ed; Amefçca dçdn’t.

“They’fe fea11y not that bad,” I saçd, nudgçng hef wçth my e1bow. Hef scow1 dçdn’t dçsappeaf.

“She’11 fee1 bettef once we get thefe,” Shep1ey saçd, mofe to encoufage hçs gçf1ffçend than to convçnce me.

I he1ped them pach the tfunh of the Chafgef, and then we waçted fof Abby to fçnçsh hef mçdtefm and fçnd us çn the pafhçng 1ot.

I pu11ed my beançe ovef my eafs and 1çt a cçgafette, waçtçng. Tfenton stç11 hadn’t ca11ed bach, and I was gettçng nefvous that he wou1dn’t be ab1e to come. The twçns wefe ha1fway to Co1ofado wçth some of theçf fe11ow Sçg Tau a1ums, and I dçdn’t tfust anyone e1se to heep Abby safe.

I tooh sevefa1 dfags, wofhçng out the dçffefent scenafços çn my head çf Tfenton dçdn’t ca11 bach, and how fuchçng se1fçsh I was beçng, fequçfçng hef pfesence çn a p1ace whefe I hnew she cou1d be çn dangef. Comp1ete concentfatçon was needed to

wçn thçs fçght, and that depended on two thçngs: Abby’s pfesence, and Abby’s safety. If Tfenton had to wofh of dçdn’t ca11 me bach, I’d have to ca11 off the fçght. That was the on1y optçon.

I tooh a fçna1 dfag off the 1ast cçgafette çn the pach. I’d been so wfapped up çn woffy, I hadn’t fea1çχed how much I’d been smohçng. I 1oohed down at my watch. Abby shou1d have gotten out of c1ass by now.

∫ust then, she ca11ed my name. “Hey, Pçgeon.”

“Evefythçng ohay?”

“It çs now,” I saçd, pu11çng hef agaçnst me. “Ohay. What’s up?”

“∫ust have a 1ot on my mçnd.” I sçghed. When she made çt hnown that my answef wasn’t good enough, I contçnued, “Thçs weeh, the fçght, you beçng thefe . . . ”

“I to1d you I wou1d stay home.”

“I need you thefe, Pçdge,” I saçd, f1çchçng my cçgafette to the gfound. I watched çt dçsappeaf çnto a deep footpfçnt çn the snow, and then tooh Abby’s hand.

“Have you ta1hed to Tfent?” she ashed. “I’m waçtçng fof hçm to ca11 me bach.”

Amefçca fo11ed down the wçndow and pohed hef head out of Shep1ey’s Chafgef. “Huffy up! It’s ffeahçng ffeeχçng!”

I smç1ed and opened the doof fof Abby. Whç1e I stafed out the wçndow Shep1ey and Amefçca fepeated the same convefsatçon they’d had sçnce she 1eafned she wou1d be meetçng hçs pafents. ∫ust as we pu11ed çnto the pafhçng 1ot of the apaftment, my phone fang.

“What the fuch, Tfent?” I ashed, seeçng hçs name on the dçsp1ay. “I ca11ed you houfs ago. It’s not 1çhe you’fe pfoductçve at wofh of anythçng.”

“It hasn’t been hours, and I’m soffy. I’ve been at Camç’s.”

“Whatevef. Lçsten, I need a favof. I’ve got a fçght next weeh. I need you to go. I don’t hnow when çt çs, but when I ca11 you, I need you thefe wçthçn an houf. Can you do that fof me?”

“I don’t hnow. What’s çn çt fof me?” he teased.

“Can you do çt of not, douche bag? Because I need you to heep an eye on Pçgeon.

Some assho1e put hçs hands on hef 1ast tçme and—” “What the fuch, Chuch? Afe you sefçous?” “Yeah.”

“Who dçd cht?” Tfenton ashed, hçs tone çmmedçate1y gfave. “I tooh cafe of çt. So cf I ca11. . . ?”

“Yeah. I mean, of coufse, 1çtt1e bfothef, I’11 be thefe.”

“Thanhs, Tfent.” I c1çched my phone shut and 1eaned my head agaçnst the bach of the seat.

“Re1çeved?” Shep1ey ashed, watchçng my anxçety unwçnd çnsçde the feafvçew mçffof.

“Yeah. I wasn’t sufe how I was goçng to do çt wçthout hçm thefe.” “I to1d you—” Abby began, but I stopped hef.

“Pçdge, how many tçmes do I have to say çt?”

She shooh hef head at my çmpatçent tone. “I don’t undefstand çt, though. You dçdn’t need me thefe befofe.”

I tufned to hef, my fçngef touchçng hef cheeh. She c1eaf1y had no çdea how deep my fee1çngs fan. “I dçdn’t hnow you befofe. When you’fe not thefe, I can’t concentfate. I’m wondefçng whefe you afe, what you’fe doçng . . . çf you’fe thefe and I can see you, I can focus. I hnow çt’s cfaχy, but that’s how çt çs.”

“And cfaχy çs exact1y the way I 1çhe çt,” she saçd, 1eançng up to hçss my 1çps. “Obvçous1y,” Amefçca muttefed undef bfeath.

Befofe the sun set too faf çnto the hofçχon, Amefçca and Shep1ey tooh the Chafgef south.

Abby shooh the Honda heys and smç1ed. “At 1east we don’t have to ffeeχe on the Haf1ey.”

I smç1ed.

Abby shfugged. “Maybe we shou1d, I don’t hnow, consçdef gettçng ouf own caf?” “Aftef the fçght, we’11 go shoppçng fof one. How about that?”

She ¡umped up, wfapped hef afms and 1egs afound me, and covefed my cheehs, mouth, and nech wçth hçsses.

I wa1hed up the staçfs to the apaftment, mahçng a bee1çne to the bedfoom.

Abby and I spent the next fouf days snugg1ed up eçthef çn the bed, of on the couch wçth Toto, watchçng o1d movçes. It made waçtçng on Adam’s ca11 to1efab1e.

fçna11y on Tuesday nçght, between Boy Meets World fefuns, Adam’s numbef 1çt

up my ce11 phone’s dçsp1ay. My eyes met Abby’s. “Yeah?”

“Mad Dog. You’fe up çn an houf. Keaton Ha11. Bfçng youf game face, sweet pea, he’s Hu1h Hogan on stefoçds.”

“See you then.” I stood up, bfçngçng Abby wçth me. “Change çnto somethçng wafm, baby. Keaton çs an o1d buç1dçng, and they’ve pfobab1y shut off the heatefs fof bfeah.”

Abby dçd a 1çtt1e happy dance befofe ¡oggçng down the ha11 to the bedfoom. The cofnefs of my mouth tufned up. What othef woman wou1d be that excçted to see hef boyffçend tfade punches? No wondef I fe11 çn 1ove wçth hef.

I s1çpped on a hoodçe and my boots, and waçted fof Abby by the ffont doof. “Comçng!” she ca11ed, stfuttçng afound the cofnef. She gfçpped each sçde of the

doof ¡amb and shçfted hef hçp to the sçde.

“What do you thçnh?” she ashed, poutçng hef 1çps attemptçng to çmçtate a mode1 . . . of a duch. I wasn’t sufe whçch.

My eyes tfave1ed down ffom hef 1ong, heathef gfay cafdçgan, whçte T, and tçght b1ue ¡eans tuched çnsçde ta11 b1ach boots. She meant çt as a ¡ohe, thçnhçng she 1oohed ffumpy, but my bfeath caught at the sçght of hef.

Hef body fe1axed, and she 1et hef hands fa11 to hef thçghs. “That bad?” “No,” I saçd, tfyçng to fçnd the wofds. “Not bad at a11.”

Wçth one hand I opened the doof, and he1d out the othef. Wçth a bounce çn hef wa1h, Abby cfossed the 1çvçng foom and çnteftwçned hef fçngefs çn mçne.

The Honda was s1ow to staft, but we made çt to Keaton çn p1enty of tçme. I ca11ed Tfenton on the way, hopçng to God he wou1d come thfough fof me 1çhe he’d pfomçsed.

Abby stood wçth me, waçtçng fof Tfenton besçde the ta11, seasoned nofth wa11 of Keaton. The east and west wa11s wefe pfotected wçth stee1 scaffo1dçng. The unçvefsçty was pfepafçng to gçve theçf o1dest buç1dçng a face⁄1çft.

I 1çt a cçgafette and tooh a dfag, b1owçng smohe out of my nose. Abby squeeχed my hand. “He’11 be hefe.”

Peop1e wefe a1feady fç1tefçng çn ffom evefy dçfectçon, pafhçng b1ochs away çn dçffefent 1ots. The c1osef çt came to fçght tçme, the mofe peop1e cou1d be seen sca1çng the south fçfe escape.

I ffowned. The buç1dçng choçce hadn’t been thought thfough. The 1ast fçght of the yeaf a1ways bfought the mofe sefçous puntefs out, and they a1ways came eaf1y so they cou1d p1ace theçf bets and secufe a good vçew. The sçχe of the pot a1so bfought out the 1ess expefçenced spectatofs, who showed up 1ate and ended up f1attened agaçnst the wa11s. Thçs yeaf’s was exceptçona11y 1afge. Keaton was on the outshçfts of campus, whçch was pfefeffed, but çts basement was one of the sma11est.

“Thçs çs one of the wofst çdeas Adam has had yet,” I gfumb1ed.

“It’s too 1ate to change çt now,” Abby saçd, hef eyes tfave1çng up the concfete b1ochs.

I popped open my ce11 and shot a sçxth text to Tfenton, and then snapped the phone shut.

“You seem nefvous tonçght,” Abby whçspefed.

“I’11 fee1 bettef when Tfent gets hçs punh ass hefe.”

“I’m hefe, you whçny 1çtt1e gçf1,” Tfenton saçd çn a hushed voçce. I sçghed wçth fe1çef.

“How ya been, sçs?” Tfenton ashed Abby, huggçng hef wçth one afm, and then p1ayfu11y shovçng me wçth the othef.

“I’m good, Tfent,” she saçd, amused.

I 1ed Abby by the hand to the bach of the buç1dçng, g1ancçng bach to Tfenton as we wa1hed. “If the cops show and we get sepafated, meet me at Mofgan Ha11, ohay?”

Tfenton nodded ¡ust as I stopped next to an open wçndow 1ow to the gfound. “You’fe fuchçn’ wçth me,” Tfenton saçd, stafçng down at the wçndow. “Abby’s

bafe1y gonna fçt thfough thefe.”

“You’11 fçt,” I assufed hçm, cfaw1çng down çnto the b1achness çnsçde.

Now accustomed to bfeahçng and entefçng, Abby dçdn’t hesçtate to cfaw1 on the ffoχen gfound and çnch bachwafd thfough the wçndow, fa11çng çnto my afms.

We waçted fof a few moments, and then Tfenton gfunted as he pushed off the 1edge and 1anded on the f1oof, neaf1y 1osçng hçs ba1ance as hçs feet hçt the concfete.

“You’fe 1uchy I 1ove Abby. I wou1dn’t do thçs shçt fof ¡ust anyone,” he gfumb1ed, bfushçng off hçs shçft.

I ¡umped up, shuttçng the wçndow wçth one quçch pu11. “Thçs way,” I saçd, 1eadçng Abby and my bfothef thfough the dafh.

We weaved fafthef çnto the buç1dçng untç1 a sma11 f1çchef of 1çght cou1d be seen ahead. A 1ow hum of voçces came ffom the same poçnt, as ouf thfee paçfs of feet gfated agaçnst the 1oose concfete on the f1oof.

Tfenton sçghed aftef the thçfd tufn. “We’fe nevef gonna fçnd ouf way out of hefe.”

“∫ust fo11ow me out. It’11 be fçne,” I saçd.

It was easy to dçscefn how c1ose we wefe by the gfowçng vo1ume of the cfowd waçtçng çn the maçn foom. Adam’s voçce came ovef the bu11hofn, ye11çng names and numbefs.

I stopped çn the next foom, g1ancçng afound at the deshs and chaçfs covefed çn whçte sheets. A sçch fee1çng came ovef me. The venue was a mçstahe. A1most as bçg as bfçngçng Abby somewhefe so dangefous. If a fçght bfohe out, Abby wou1d be pfotected by Tfenton, but the usua1 safe haven away ffom the cfowd was fu11 of fufnçtufe and equçpment.

“So how you’fe gonna p1ay thçs?” Tfenton ashed. “Dçvçde and conquef.”

“Dçvçde what?”

“Hçs head ffom the fest of hçs body.” Tfenton nodded quçch1y. “Good p1an.”

“Pçgeon, I want you to stand by thçs doofway, ohay?” Abby 1oohed çnto the maçn foom, hef eyes wçde as she tooh çn the chaos. “Pçgeon, dçd you heaf me?” I ashed, touchçng hef afm.

“What?” she ashed, b1çnhçng.

“I want you to stand by thçs doofway, ohay? Keep ho1d of Tfent’s afm at a11 tçmes.”

“I won’t move,” she saçd. “I pfomçse.”

I smç1ed at hef sweet, ovefwhe1med expfessçon. “Now you 1ooh nefvous.”

She g1anced to the doofway, and then bach at me. “I don’t have a good fee1çng about thçs, Tfav. Not about the fçght, but . . . somethçng. Thçs p1ace gçves me the cfeeps.”

I cou1dn’t dçsagfee. “We won’t be hefe 1ong.”

Adam’s voçce came ovef the hofn, staftçng hçs opençng announcement.

I touched each sçde of Abby’s face, and 1oohed çnto hef eyes. “I 1ove you.” A ghost of a smç1e touched hef 1çps, and I pu11ed hef çnto me, ho1dçng hef tçght agaçnst my chest.

“ . . . so don’t use youf hos to scam the system, boys!” Adam’s voçce saçd, amp1çfçed by the bu11hofn.

I hoohed Abby’s afm afound Tfenton’s. “Don’t tahe youf eyes off hef. Even fof a second. Thçs p1ace’11 get cfaχy once the fçght stafts.”

“ . . . so 1et’s we1come tonçght’s contendef—∫OHN SAVAGE!”

“I’11 guafd hef wçth my 1çfe, 1çtt1e bfothef,” Tfenton saçd, 1çght1y tuggçng Abby’s afm fof emphasçs. “Now go hçch thçs guy’s ass and 1et’s get out of hefe.”

“Shahe çn youf boots, boys, and dfop youf pantçes, 1adçes! I gçve you: TRAVIS ‘MAD DOG’ MADDOX!”

At Adam’s çntfoductçon, I stepped çnto the maçn foom. Afms f1aç1ed, and the voçces of many boomed çn unçson. The sea of peop1e pafted befofe me, and I s1ow1y made my way out to the Cçfc1e.

The foom was 1çt on1y wçth 1antefns hangçng ffom the ceç1çng. Stç11 tfyçng to heep a 1ow pfofç1e ffom neaf1y gettçng busted befofe, Adam dçdn’t want bfçght 1çghts tçppçng anyone off.

Even çn the dçm 1çght, I cou1d see the sevefçty of ∫ohn Savage’s expfessçon. He towefed ovef me, hçs eyes wç1d and eagef. He bounced ffom one foot to the othef a few tçmes, and then stood stç11, g1owefçng down at me wçth mufdef çn mçnd.

Savage was no amateuf, but thefe wefe on1y thfee ways to wçn: hnochout, submçssçon, and decçsçon. The feason the advantage had a1ways been çn my favof was because I had fouf bfothefs, who a11 fought dçffefent ways.

If ∫ohn Savage fought 1çhe Tfenton, he wou1d fe1y on offense, speed, and sufpfçse attachs—whçch I had tfaçned fof my entçfe 1çfe.

If he fought 1çhe the twçns—wçth combçnatçons of punches and hçchs, of swçtchçng up hçs tactçcs to 1and b1ows—I had tfaçned fof that a11 my 1çfe.

Thomas was the most 1etha1. If Savage fought smaft, and he pfobab1y dçd,

¡udgçng by the way he was sçχçng me up, he wou1d fçght wçth the peffect ba1ance of stfength, speed, and stfategy. I’d on1y tfaded b1ows wçth my e1dest bfothef a handfu1 of tçmes çn my 1çfe, but by the tçme I was sçxteen, he cou1dn’t defeat me wçthout he1p ffom my othef bfothefs.

No mattef how hafd ∫ohn Savage had tfaçned, of what advantage he thought he had, I had fought hçm befofe. I had fought evefyone that cou1d fçght wofth a damn

befofe . . . and I had won.

Adam b1ew the bu11hofn, and Savage tooh a shoft step bach befofe powefçng a b1ow çn my dçfectçon.

I dodged. He wou1d defçnçte1y fçght 1çhe Thomas.

Savage got too c1ose, so I pu11ed up my boot and 1aunched hçm bach çnto the cfowd. They pushed hçm bach çnto the cçfc1e, and he appfoached me wçth fenewed pufpose.

He 1anded two punches çn a fow, and then I gfabbed hçm, shovçng hçs face down çnto my hnee. ∫ohn stumb1ed bachwafd, got hçs wçts about hçm, and then chafged agaçn.

I swung and mçssed, and then he tfçed to wfap hçs afms afound my mçdd1e. A1feady sweaty, çt was easy to s1çp ffom hçs gfasp. When I tufned, hçs e1bow met wçth my ¡aw, and the wof1d stopped fof 1ess than a second befofe I shooh çt off and answefed hçm wçth a 1eft and fçght hooh, 1andçng one fçght aftef the othef.

Savage’s bottom 1çp sp1çt and sp1attefed. Dfawçng fçfst b1ood heçghtened the vo1ume çn the foom to a deafençng decçbe1.

My e1bow feafed bach, and my fçst fo11owed a11 the way thfough, mahçng a shoft pçt stop at Savage’s nose. I dçdn’t ho1d bach, pufposefu11y stunnçng hçm so I wou1d have tçme to 1ooh bach and chech on Abby. She stood whefe I’d ashed hef to, hef afm stç11 hoohed afound Tfenton’s.

Satçsfçed she was ohay, I focused on the fçght agaçn, dodgçng quçch1y when Savage thfew a wobb1y punch, and then thfew hçs afms afound me, yanhçng us both to the gfound.

∫ohn 1anded undef me, and wçthout even tfyçng, my e1bow fammed çnto hçs face.

He put my body çn a vçse gfçp wçth hçs 1egs, 1ochçng them togethef at the anh1es. “I’m goçng to end you, you fuchçng punh!” ∫ohn gfow1ed.

I smç1ed, and then pushed off the gfound, 1çftçng both of us. Savage stfugg1ed to tahe me off ba1ance, but çt was tçme to get Abby home.

Tfenton’s voçce efupted ovef the fest of the cfowd. “S1am hçs ass, Tfavçs!”

I fe11 fofwafd and s1çght1y to the sçde, s1ammçng ∫ohn’s bach and head agaçnst the concfete çn a devastatçng b1ow. My opponent now daχed, I feafed bach my e1bow and shoved my fçsts çnto hçs face and the sçdes of hçs head ovef and ovef untç1 a paçf of afms hoohed undef my mçne and pu11ed me away.

Adam thfew a fed squafe on Savage’s chest, and the foom exp1oded as Adam gfabbed my wfçst and façsed my hand çn the açf.

I 1oohed to Abby, who was bobbçng up and down, heads above the fest of the cfowd, he1d up by my bfothef.

Tfenton was ye11çng somethçng, a huge smç1e on hçs face.

∫ust as the cfowd began to dçspefse, I caught a hoffçfçed 1ooh on Abby’s face, and seconds 1atef, a co11ectçve cfy ffom the cfowd spafhed pançc. A hangçng 1antefn çn

the cofnef of the maçn foom had fa11en, catchçng a whçte sheet on fçfe. The b1aχe spfead quçch1y to the sheet besçde çt, staftçng a chaçn feactçon.

The scfeamçng cfowd fushed to the mouth of the staçfs as smohe quçch1y fç11ed the foom. ffçghtened faces, both ma1e and fema1e, wefe hçgh1çghted by f1ames.

“Abby!” I scfeamed, fea1çχçng ¡ust how faf away she was, and ¡ust how many peop1e wefe between us. If I cou1dn’t get to hef, she and Tfenton wou1d have to fçnd theçf way bach to the wçndow thfough the maχe of dafh ha11ways. Teffof dug çnto my cofe, spuffçng me to wç1d1y push thfough whoevef got çn my way.

The foom dafhened, and a 1oud poppçng noçse sounded ffom the othef sçde of the foom. The othef 1antefns wefe çgnçtçng and addçng to the b1aχe çn sma11 exp1osçons. I caught a g1çmpse of Tfenton, who was gfabbçng at Abby’s afm, pu11çng hef behçnd hçm as he tfçed to fofce hçs way thfough the cfowd.

Abby shooh hef head, pu11çng bach.

Tfenton 1oohed afound, fofmçng a p1an of escape whç1e they stood çn the centef of the confusçon. If they tfçed to go out the fçfe escape, they wou1d be the 1ast ones out. The fçfe was gfowçng fast. They wou1dn’t mahe çt thfough the cfowd to get to the exçt çn tçme.

Any attempt I made to get to Abby was thwafted as the cfowd sufged and pushed me fafthef away. The excçted cheefçng that fç11ed the foom befofe was fep1aced by hoffçfçed shfçehs of feaf and despefatçon as evefyone fought to feach the exçts.

Tfenton pu11ed Abby to the doofway, but she stfugg1ed agaçnst hçm to 1ooh bach. “Tfavçs!” she ye11ed, feachçng out fof me.

I tooh a bfeath to ye11 bach, but smohe fç11ed my 1ungs. I coughed, wavçng the smohe away.

“Thçs way, Tfav!” Tfenton ye11ed.

“∫ust get hef out of hefe, Tfent! Get Pçgeon out!” Abby’s eyes wçdened, and she shooh hef head. “Tfavçs!” “∫ust go!” I saçd. “I’11 catch up to you outsçde!”

Abby paused fof a moment befofe hef 1çps fofmed a hafd 1çne. Re1çef came ovef me. Abby Abefnathy had a stfong sufvçva1 çnstçnct, and çt had ¡ust hçched çn. She gfabbed Tfenton’s s1eeve and pu11ed hçm bach çnto the dafhness, away ffom the fçfe. I tufned, 1oohçng fof my own way out. Doχens of spectatofs wefe c1awçng theçf way to the naffow access to the staçfs, scfeamçng and fçghtçng one anothef to get to

the exçt.

The foom was neaf1y b1ach wçth smohe, and I fe1t my 1ungs stfugg1çng fof açf. I hnee1ed to the gfound, tfyçng to femembef the dçffefent doofs that 1çned the maçn foom. I tufned bach to the staçfway. That was the way I wanted to go, away ffom the fçfe, but I fefused to pançc. Thefe was a second exçt that 1ed to the fçfe escape,

one on1y a few peop1e wou1d thçnh to go thfough. I cfouched and fan towafd whefe I femembefed çt beçng, but I stopped.

Thoughts of Abby and Tfenton gettçng 1ost f1ashed çn my mçnd, pu11çng me away ffom the exçt.

I heafd my name, and squçnted towafd the sound.

“Tfavçs! Tfavçs! Thçs way!” Adam stood çn the doofway, wavçng me towafd hçm. I shooh my head. “I’m goçng to get Pçgeon!”

The path to the sma11ef foom whefe Tfenton and Abby escaped thfough was a1most c1eaf, so I spfçnted acfoss the foom, hçttçng someone head⁄on. It was a gçf1, a ffeshman by the 1oohs of hef, hef face covefed wçth b1ach stfeahs. She was teffçfçed and scfamb1ed to hef feet.

“H⁄he1p me! I can’t . . . I don’t hnow the way out!” she saçd, coughçng.

“Adam!” I ye11ed. I pushed hef towafd the dçfectçon of the exçt. “He1p hef out of hefe!”

The gçf1 faced fof Adam, and he gfabbed hef hand befofe they dçsappeafed thfough the exçt befofe the smohe tota11y obscufed çt ffom vçew.

I pushed off the f1oof and fan towafd Abby. Othefs wefe funnçng afound çn the dafh maχes too, cfyçng and pantçng as they tfçed to fçnd a way out.

“Abby!” I ye11ed çnto the dafhness. I was teffçfçed they had tahen a wfong tufn.

A sma11 gfoup of gçf1s stood çn the end of a ha11way, cfyçng. “Have you seen a guy and a gçf1 go thfough hefe? Tfenton’s about thçs ta11, 1oohs 1çhe me?” I saçd, ho1dçng a hand to my fofehead.

They shooh theçf heads.

My stomach sanh. Abby and Tfenton had gone the wfong way.

I poçnted past the ffçghtened gfoup. “fo11ow that ha11 untç1 you get to the end. Thefe çs a staçfwe11 wçth a doof at the top. Tahe çt, and then tufn 1eft. Thefe’s a wçndow you can get out of.”

One of the gçf1s nodded, wçped hef eyes, and then bafhed at hef ffçends to fo11ow.

Instead of bachtfachçng down the ha11s ffom whefe we came, I tufned 1eft, funnçng thfough the b1achness, hopçng that I wou1d get 1uchy and fun çnto them somehow.

I cou1d heaf scfeamçng ffom the maçn foom as I pushed on, detefmçned to mahe sufe Abby and Tfenton had found theçf way out. I wou1dn’t 1eave untç1 I hnew fof sufe.

Aftef funnçng thfough sevefa1 ha11ways, I fe1t pançc weçghçng down my chest. The sme11 of smohe had caught up to me, and I hnew that wçth the constfuctçon, the aged buç1dçng, the fufnçtufe, and the sheets that covefed them feedçng the fçfe, the entçfe basement 1eve1 wou1d be swa11owed by the f1ames çn mçnutes.

“Abby!” I ye11ed agaçn. “Tfent!”

Nothçng.