The Rescue (25 page)

It wasn’t like that for me.

I have to go,’ I said, simply. ‘I promised Luz I’d help her. And I got everything wrong and she died. Then I promised Tsonga I’d help save his daughter. I have to try.’

‘But you might die,’ Ketty said.

I shrugged. ‘I can’t live with myself if I don’t at least try. Not after I promised to help . . .’

The others all stared at me, then Nico spoke
.

‘You’ve got two minutes to get in and out, then I’m coming in after you and if that happens I’ll die too, so you’ll be killing me as well, okay?’

‘Fine,’ I said. ‘Just open the door.’

‘I already did.’

I raced down the side of the church. As I ran I tore a strip off my shirt and wound it quickly round my mouth. I reached the side door and hurled myself at the handle.

Inside the church I stood for a second, letting my eyes get used to the darkness. I was in a small room of some kind. I could smell smoke in the distance. A grey wisp curled under the door in front of me. I pushed it open.

Oh God.

Smoke rose up from a pathway of flames that led from the main door, all the way down the aisle, to the wooden altar where Tsonga’s brother and the other adults were tied to the legs. One of the men was slumped, unconscious, the others were shouting for help.

None of them noticed me. My stomach twisted as I looked round for Victoria.
There.
Almost hidden from view behind the altar, she was sitting down, tied with rope to the gold cross that towered up in front of the stained glass windows at the far end of the church.

She was coughing from the smoke – and crying. A shaft of sunlight fell across her black hair, lighting the wispy curls at the front.

My heart beat fast. The smoke was already almost suffocating. There was no way I was going to be able to save all five of them. My stomach cramped with fear. I took a huge breath, ready to run to the altar.

And then a hand grabbed my arm. I spun round, ready to fight.

It was Nico. Dylan and Ketty stood on either side of him looking grimly determined.
No.
They weren’t going to stop me. Didn’t they understand I
had
to do this? I ripped the scrap of cloth off my mouth.

‘I told you I—’

‘Don’t freak out, Mr Ethics,’ Dylan snarled.

‘We do this together,’ Nico said firmly.

‘Or not at all,’ Ketty added.

I blinked, huge waves of emotion flooding through me. Shock at their decision, mixed with honour at their loyalty and terror that now more lives were at stake.

I took another deep breath, as fresh hope surged through me. Maybe now there was a chance to save everybody.

‘Come on, then,’ I said. ‘Let’s go.’

26: Fire

We raced down the side aisle. Victoria’s screams filled my head. I made straight for her, trying to ignore the smoke that filled my lungs, burning my chest. Coughing, I reached the little girl and slid to my knees, feeling for the knots that tied her to the cross.

I couldn’t get a hold of the rope properly. Victoria was thrashing about, completely hysterical, eyes tight shut, kicking out with her legs. I glanced over my shoulder. I needed Nico’s help with the knots, but he was on the other side of the altar, busy telekinetically untying the adults’ ropes.

‘Nico!’ I called, choking in the foul air.

‘In a sec,’ he yelled, not looking round. Dylan was beside him, stamping her hands and feet at the flames threatening the rebels.

‘It’s okay, Victoria, I’m going to help you,’ I shouted, feeling my own panic rising.

‘Daaa-deee!’ she cried.

Ketty touched my shoulder. ‘I’ll deal with the rope,’ she said. ‘You calm her down.’

I nodded. ‘Victoria, look at me.’

The little girl didn’t even hear me. I grabbed her chin and forced her round. Her eyes shot open, wild and staring.

Whoosh.
I’d never felt such naked terror before. Victoria’s mind was a chaos of panic –
can’t breathe, can’t breathe
, was the only coherent thought in her head.

Listen to me, Victoria. We’re going to help you. Hold still so we can get your ropes off. Then we’ll take you to Daddy.

I could feel Victoria’s mind latch onto mine. She didn’t question the fact that I was inside her head, or even who I was.

Keep still
, I urged again.

Victoria stopped struggling. I broke the connection. Ketty was fumbling with the knot that tied Victoria to the cross. She was coughing badly. I glanced round. Nico was still with the adults. Two of the men were up now and racing down the side aisle, dragging Tsonga’s sister-in-law between them. She was clearly unconscious, her head slumped awkwardly to one side.

Tsonga’s brother lay on the ground. Nico stood over him. He looked at Dylan and shook his head. Dylan turned away, bent over, coughing like her lungs would explode.

My heart sank. Tsonga’s brother was dead. This little girl at my feet was all Tsonga had left. I
had
to rescue her.

‘Nico,’ I yelled.

He turned and held his hand up. With a twist the rope tying Victoria to the cross sprang free. On the other side of the altar table, Dylan slid to the ground. I jumped to my feet.

‘Dylan!’ I yelled.

She was out cold. Nico hauled her up with a mix of telekinesis and brute strength. He slung her over his shoulder and yelled at Ketty.

‘Bring the little girl,’ Nico shouted. ‘
Now!
Let’s go.’

He sped off, Dylan bumping against his back. I turned back to Ketty and Victoria.

‘Come on,’ I yelled.

Ketty looked past me to the door. She grabbed my arm. ‘Ed!’

I spun round, just in time to see Nico and Dylan disappearing behind a wall of flame. For a second I couldn’t make sense of what I was looking at, then I realised. The fire had brought down the archway that led out to the side door of the church. Nico and Dylan had just got through, before the collapse.

And now the fire was too big for us to pass. There was no way out.

‘Oh, God, oh my God.’ Ketty was shouting and choking and crying all at once.

I glanced round, my heart pounding. The side door and the main door were consumed with flames. What other exit could there be? Victoria’s hand crept into mine. She was doubled over, coughing. I reckoned we had about twenty seconds left of the two minutes Dylan had predicted we would last.

I looked at Ketty. Tears were streaming down her face. She met my gaze.

Whoosh.

I’m so sorry, Ketty. So sorry
. . .

This can’t be it
, she thought-spoke.

I’m so sorry.
I didn’t know what else to say. Beside me, I felt Victoria clutch at my shirt, burying her mouth against the cloth to try and keep out the smoke. I was coughing like my lungs were turning inside out. My head felt light. It was impossible to think. Ketty was gabbling thought-speech inside my head. I could barely hear her for the thunder of my own thoughts, my own fear.

It was over. The fire had got us.

And then Ketty’s words broke through.
Ed
, listen
, I mean it, this
can’t
be it. In my vision I saw the side of the church on fire, properly on fire with flames and everything.

So?

Well, I had to be outside to see that, didn’t I? Which means I’m going to make it outside, which means you are too.

I broke the connection, filled with fresh hope. If we couldn’t go forwards, maybe there was a way out behind us.

Yes.
Behind the altar, to the right, was a small wooden door.

I turned, dragging Victoria with me. Ketty ran alongside, her hand over her mouth.

We tore through the door into some sort of wood-panelled office. A table stood against one wall. Above it was a shelf covered in bowls and boxes. Robes hung from a row of pegs on the wall. I looked desperately round.

‘Here.’ Ketty raced across the room to a tiny wooden door set into the panelling. She flung it open. It led straight onto a narrow flight of stairs.

‘Victoria.’ I bent down to her level. She’d stopped coughing quite so furiously now and was staring at me with huge brown eyes.

‘Where do those stairs go?’

‘Up.’ She frowned. ‘Are you an angel?’ she said.

I blinked. ‘Er . . . no,’ I said.

‘Come on.’ Ketty raced up the stairs.

Coughing, I followed, clutching Victoria’s hand.

The stairs were narrow and twisty, but the air was a little clearer here. I took a breath, clearing my head a little, as we reached the top of the stairs.

‘Where now?’ Ketty looked round, frantically searching for another door.

‘Over there.’

I followed Victoria’s pointing finger to a small door set into the far wall. I reached up and slid back the bolts, then pushed Victoria through.

‘Where does this lead?’ Ketty asked.

‘To the bells,’ Victoria said.

Of course
. . . a bell tower. Maybe there’d be a way out through here onto the roof. I helped Ketty scramble through after Victoria, then hauled myself up. As I pulled myself through the opening, I glanced back down the twisty little staircase. Smoke was already pouring up after us. A finger of flame curled round the doorway.

God
, how could it spread that fast?

I wriggled inside the bell tower, then slammed the door shut behind me. The tower was tall, but narrow. Three bells hung high above our heads from the centre of the peaked ceiling. Their ropes dangled in the small space. Ketty and Victoria were crouched opposite me, beside an empty crate. Victoria was sobbing for her dad, Ketty stroking her hair.

I looked round, my heart sinking. There was no door . . . no window . . . no way out. Wait, there
must
be. There was enough light in the room to see the others quite clearly – where was it coming from? I turned round and stood up. There, above my head, was a tiny, shuttered window. Sunshine filtered through its slats, casting a series of shadowy stripes across the wooden floor. A fly buzzed past my head. For a second I felt the dampness of my shirt against my back and the soreness of my eyes from the smoke. I stood on tiptoe, opened the window and flung the shutters wide. Light flooded the room.

‘YES!’ Ketty yelled. ‘Come on!’

Victoria rubbed her eyes as I grabbed the crate beside them, turned it over and stood on it. From here I could see out through the window. Flames from the other end of the church were already licking towards us, twisting up into the bright blue sky above. Just below the window was a narrow ledge. Barely enough room for one of us to balance on. And then how did we get down? We were at the very top of the church here. Any attempt to jump would kill us.

The cries of the people at the front of the church wafted up towards me but I could only see the street at the side of the church from here. It was deserted – everyone must still be at the front.

‘Can we get down from here?’ Ketty asked from inside the bell tower.

‘Sure,’ I said.
Please, God, let that be true.

‘Can you see the others?’ she asked.

I searched for a flash of Dylan’s red hair. There was no sign of her, and yet she and Nico must be down there somewhere, mustn’t they?

A new panic grabbed me round the throat. Suppose they
hadn’t
got through the fire in time? I tried to picture Nico’s face.

Nico! Nico!

Whoosh.

Frigging hell, Ed, man, are you okay?

Thank God.

Yes, we’re on top of the church roof, in the bell tower. There’s a window but you can only see it from the side.

We’re coming.

I broke the connection. Seconds later, Nico and Dylan appeared in the street to the side of the church. They were looking up, their hands shielding their eyes from the sun.

I waved my arms frantically and focused on Nico’s face again, struggling to keep my breath steady enough to picture him in my mind’s eye.

There.

Can you see us?
I thought-spoke.

Yeah. Hold on, I’ll teleport you down.

Wait. Let me get the others.

No. One at a time. I can’t handle more.

Okay, Victoria first.

I drew back, into the bell tower. Ketty and Victoria stared anxiously up at me.

‘Come on.’ I hauled Victoria up and balanced her on the window ledge.

‘Ed, there’s smoke coming in,’ Ketty said, her voice tight with fear.

‘No . . . no . . . too high . . .’ Victoria was struggling against me, trying to get back inside the bell tower.

I focused on Nico again.

Can you see her?
I thought-spoke.

Yes. Let her go. I’ve got her.

I broke the connection, then turned to the little girl.

She was shaking, crying, clutching my hand. With a jolt I realised she had wet herself. I took a deep breath.

‘Listen, Victoria, you have to be really brave now. When I said I wasn’t an angel, I lied. I am. And I’m going to let go of you now and another angel’s going to float you down to the ground, back to your dad.’

Victoria stopped struggling for a second, her mouth wide open with shock. At that moment I felt the tug of Nico’s telekinesis pulling her away. I let go. Victoria screamed, then toppled off the roof.