InSight

Away from the door. Get away from the door . Her eyes burned and flames shot from her nostrils, like a medieval dragon. I can’t really see that, can I?
    “Can anyone hear me?”
    * * * * *
    Luke smelled the chemicals as he got close to the door.
    Jeff pointed and forced him to pay attention “Lights on the third floor. Abby’s on the second. The bastard’s mixing a brew. He won’t do it if he’s still in there. Now watch me, Luke. This is important. With all the chemicals in there, he’s probably rigged a slow burn to give himself time to escape. You and Norm get Abby and the others out of the building. I’ll search the third floor for the incendiary device. Norm’s called for the bomb squad, but we can’t wait. If he’s set some kind of timer, I’ll know how to defuse it. Do you read me, Luke?”
    Luke forced himself to pay attention. “I read you. Be careful.”
    Norm joined them, and the three men clasped hands. Luke slid the key into the lock. They were in. The smell inside brought him back to the night the explosion of the meth lab took his hearing. A wave of panic shot through him.
    Abby.
    “To hell with the third floor,” Jeff said. “It’s too late. When those vapors fill the building, this place will blow sky high. We need to find Abby and the others before they succumb to the fumes. Put something over your nose, a handkerchief, your jacket, anything. You two take the side of the building where Scanlon said Abby was; I’ll head to where the others are. Call if you need help, and so will I.”
    They bypassed the elevator and took the stairs three at a time. Luke called Abby’s name. He assumed the others were doing the same, though he wouldn’t hear any of them. Jeff left them in the dust, splitting off to cover his side of the massive old warehouse with the speed of an Olympic sprinter. Luke and Norm bypassed the open doors of small offices or empty rooms and concentrated on the closed doors.
    “Do you hear her, Norm?”
    Norm shook his head.
    Luke, his eyes burning, mind frantic with the thought of Abby trapped or worse, took one end of the long corridor while Norm took the other. Empty. They moved to the next. Jeff joined them.
    “Anything?” Norm asked.
    “A few rooms of frightened people, but no sign of Abby. I let them out. We’ll catch up with the attendants later. Bastards.”
    The three men pushed against closed doors, found offices and labs but no people. No Abby.
    Luke knew Jeff and Norm were talking, but he couldn’t take the time to read them. His eyes and nasal passages were watering acid.”
    Jeff stopped him. “This side’s worse. The burn must be upstairs. We’d better find her soon or we’re all dead.”
    They divided into different corridors, staying on the backside of the building.
    “Abby’s supposed to be here. Where the hell is she? Abby, can you hear me?” Luke shouted. “Abby,” he repeated, knowing he couldn’t hear her response, but that the others might.
    He found a locked door and thrust himself against it, but it held fast. The acrid fumes were making his head spin. He shook it and hit the door again. Norm appeared from the other side and signaled they go together. The two men synchronized their approach and the door burst open.
    “Abby.” She lay unconscious on the other side of the door clutching her purse. She’d torn off part of her blouse to cover her nose and mouth. Luke felt the pulse on her neck. “Her breathing’s shallow, but she’s alive. Hurry, we have to get her out of here. Abby, can you hear me?” The sight of her curled up on the floor, face bloody and swollen, cleared Luke’s head. Nothing mattered now. Not the searing fire in his throat, not the red-hot burning in his eyes. All that mattered was getting her out of the building and into the fresh air. All that mattered was keeping her alive.
    Jeff appeared from the other side, lifted Stewart’s lifeless body, and threw him over his shoulder. Norm said something, but Luke didn’t stop. He ran toward the stairs, carrying Abby’s limp body, talking to her, trying to rouse her from unconsciousness.
    The three men ran for the exit while the vapors filled the building. Meeting the stragglers from Scanlon’s experiments, some impaired by illness and drugs, Norm urged them toward the entrance. Pushing. Prodding. In one case, he lifted an old man and carried him. Bursting through the front door, they hustled everyone past the car. Across the street. Onto an empty lot. They