Ethan immediately closed the door.He ran into the bathroom to wet the towels, which he then draped
over Janet and himself "What would cause this fire? There’s no one else on our floor, and I’m pretty
sure the 21st floor is empty as well…"
Janet coughed, her eyes tearing up from all the heavy smoke she couldn’t fathom why this was
happening.
Their apartment was on the top floor, and no one else lived beside or below their unit. The fire had
escalated at this point, and a dark cloud of smoke spread through the corridor, turning the place into a
hot oven.
"Shh, it’s okay," Ethan comforted her.
"Someone must have called 911; the firefighters should be on their way. They'll be here soon."
His face was glistening with sweat, with drops trickling from his chin.
"I’ll go and check how bad it is out there.Let me see if we have a way to escape on our own.Stay here
and watch yourself, okay? Make sure you don’t get burned."
"Ethan!" Janet grabbed his arm in a vise-like grip.
"Be careful."
He hiked up her towel over her head and said, "I will.Don’t worry."
With that, Ethan pulled the door open and disappeared into the dark.
As the fire had come from the floor below, the stairs were naturally out of the question.
They couldn’t take the elevator, either. Judging by how fiercely the fire raged, Ethan figured that this
was no accident.
Moreover, their neighborhood had always been commended by the community for its fire safety
measures.
This disaster was definitely intentional. He was sure of it.
Meanwhile, Janet had been staring at the clock on the wall since Ethan left.
It had been almost ten minutes, and he still hadn’t returned.
Feeling restless and panicked, she opened the door and screamed into the burning hallway.
"Ethan!"
A tall figure soon emerged from the thick smoke and pushed her back inside their apartment.
"I told you to stay put, didn’t I?" Ethan rasped.
"Save your energy.We’re going to have to make a run for it."
"I was worried about you!"
Janet wailed, feeling aggrieved.
Ethan’s face had black patches from the ash in the air, but it did nothing to conceal his good looks.
He still looked dashing as ever, despite the severity of their situation.
He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into the bedroom, closing the door behind them.
Then, he took out his phone and dialed 911.
After a brief conversation with the emergency responder, he looked to Janet and considered their
options.
There was only one option left.
Without another moment’s hesitation, Ethan called Garrett.
"Send a helicopter over," he ordered as soon as the line connected, no longer caring about having his
identity exposed Janet froze, stunned at what she had just heard.
She turned to Ethan, but he had already dashed into the bathroom and was dousing his body with
water.
"Come here!"
He waved at her urgently.
She ran over, and he promptly poured a bucket of water on her. The air was rapidly getting heavy, and
tendrils of smoke were beginning to enter their apartment through the vent.
Ethan knew that it wasn’t safe to stay in the apartment anymore.
He grabbed two new towels and soaked them in water before handing one to Janet.He covered his
mouth and nose with the other and motioned for her to do the same.
"The stairway is blocked, and the elevator isn’t working.We can only escape through the rooftop, but
we’ll have to run through the corridor to get there.I need you to listen carefully.Once we’re out of the
apartment, just run as fast as you can.No matter what happens, you must not stop.okay?"
Janet nodded obediently.She could barely keep her eyes open because of the smoke.
They went to the front door and braced themselves.
The moment Ethan opened it, a wave of heat rushed past them and into the apartment.
Janet could feel the water on her clothes evaporate in a second.
Just as they had agreed, she blindly ran forward, pumping her legs with all the strength she had left.
Ethan was following close behind, making sure that the fire wouldn’t reach her as they fled.
With one last spurt, they managed to reach the rooftop.
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