BTR

CHAPTER ONE

Ashley Monroe opened her eyes. At first she didn't know what woke her. The stocking cap on her head and her winter coat muffled most of the noise from the neighbors. A frightened scream, so different than the usual angry cursing, made her sit up straight.

Wisps of smoke twisted through the room like menacing phantoms. Eyes wide, her heart thudded against her chest as sirens whooped closer, rattling the glass in her window. A child's scream, then heavy thudding on the door of her one-room apartment.

"Fire! Fire! Get out!" The shout came through the wood. More thumping on the door next to hers and the same phrase repeated.

The smoke burned into her lungs and she coughed as her eyes began to water. She jumped to her feet, kicking angrily at the blankets when they tangled around her ankles. A cry rose in her throat as she realized the floor was almost too hot to walk on. The door, she had to get to the door. Six floors up, she thought, six floors. Dear God, let the stairwell be clear.

Ashley grasped the knob, thankful for the cool feel of metal as she turned and pulled. Nothing. The door didn't budge. She yanked again, rattling the ancient knob in a frenzy. With a gasp, she swallowed the hysteria. Don't panic. Don't panic.

The deadbolt. The door was locked. She twisted the button and then pulled again. This time the door swung open. She rushed into the hall, only to be slammed backward as a frantic, plump woman in a dime-store nightgown flew past, screaming incoherently.

Ashley shook herself into action and took off down the hall. Her bare feet hit the hot floor boards and she cursed. No shoes, and three feet of snow outside. The thought fled her mind as she joined the throng of occupants trying to cram into the stairwell. A man shoved her from behind. Someone stepped on her bare foot with heavy boots and she cried out.

The sound was drowned by the clamoring voices raised to high-pitched sopranic panic. A short man with a potbelly, dressed in boxers and an undershirt, hollered over the noise.

"Out of my way!" His brown irises swam, terrified in the yellowed whites of his eyes. "Let me out! I gotta get out!"

His hand fell on her shoulder just as the blocked stairwell opened and the throng pressed forward. He used her like a pogo-stick, forcing her to her knees as he flung himself toward the exit. The floor, dirty wood as hot as asphalt at the height of summer, burned into her hands and bare knees.

"Please," she cried hoarsely as smoke billowed up from the vent on the mopboard. She coughed again as a woman kicked her in the ribs and went sprawling beside her. Glazed with incoherent fear, the woman's eyes rolled toward Ashley before she scrambled to her feet and ran for the stairs.

The stampede ended and Ashley was alone with the growling noise from the fire. More shouts, distant now, rumbled from the stairwell. Glass shattered below, followed by a heavy explosion that shook the building. Fire leapt from a grate to her right and the line of dingy bulbs on the ceiling flickered and went out.

Ashley shoved up from the floor. Beneath her coat she wore only a t-shirt and shorts, her sleeping clothes. For the first time in weeks, she wasn't cold. At the stairway, she pushed against the heavy door. It opened, but black smoke rushed into her face and she closed it fast.

"Oh, God." She whispered, momentarily dumbfounded. No way out. She ran back toward her room. Shoes, get her shoes and try the fire escape. There was one at the end of the hall. Should have gone there first, should have-

"Maaaamaaa."

The wail stopped her and she glanced into an open apartment. A little boy, black curly hair over soft brown skin, stood in the doorway, rubbing his eyes. Someone left behind their kid? It didn't seem real, until the boy let loose a wail that rivaled the sirens below.

She bent and scooped him in her arms. He was heavy. "Hush, I'll take you to your mama."

"Maaa." He struggled, shoving at her with tiny fists and arching his back. "I wan' Mama."

"Don't hit me," Ashley begged. "Your mom's right outside, I'll take you there, okay?"

He calmed then and nodded as he grabbed a fistful of her hair streaming from beneath the knit cap on her head. She thudded down the hall, placing the bulk of his weight on her hip. Behind her, she felt heat and turned. Flames erupted from the apartment nearest the stairwell. No time for shoes.

"I'm gonna set you down for a second, okay? I have to open the window."

He stuck his thumb in his mouth and stared. About four-years-old, she figured, but he looked like he understood. The window didn't want to budge. Remembering her door, she ran trembling fingers along the top sill. Hurry, hurry, open the lock.

It wasn't locked, it was painted shut. "Damn it!"

She spun around, searching the empty hall. Nothing. No fire-extinguishers, nothing to break the glass. Not a stick of furniture. She turned her eyes heavenward, intent on begging God to help, and her eyes fell on the brown window shade.

"Thank you, God!" She jumped and managed to grab hold of one corner. Yanking it free she held it in her hands like a spear. "Turn you're head, baby. Don't look. I have to break the window."

He just whimpered and continued to stare at her with wide-almond shaped eyes. There wasn't time to shelter him. The hall behind her was heating up, rapidly. Ghostly fire danced in the glass and she saw her own, pale and frightened face reflected in the window as she slammed it with the shade.

The glass broke, falling into splinters around her bare feet. No time to worry about that now. Working fast, she cleared the window frame enough for her to climb through. "Come here, honey."

She grabbed the boy up in her arms and gingerly stepped over the shards of dirty window pane in her path. His hands fisted tightly into her coat. Wind whipped into her face, icy, but refreshingly clear of the foggy smoke. Below, people filled the sidewalk across the street. Lights from the fire trucks and other emergency vehicles around the corner cast odd shadows over the building.

"Here we go, kid." She put one leg through and slipped on a piece of glass. Pain curled into her toes and she hissed. This wasn't going to work. On the landing outside, she pulled the shard from the soft padding beneath her big toe and dropped it. The metal grate was like a block of ice.

"You ever get a piggy back ride before?" She asked, forcing a smile to her face. He nodded and she rubbed his back, wishing she had something to warm to put him in. His thin pajamas couldn't block the wind. "I'm gonna give you a piggy back ride down the stairs, ok? You hold on real tight."

He nodded again and when she transferred him to her back, his arms went around her throat. What a grip! "Not that tight," she strangled out and loosened his hold.

With both hands free, she held the rails and started down. Cries echoed up to her from the street. She'd been spotted, thank God. Help would surely be on the way now. Her hands curled around the frozen metal. The cold seeped up her arm and into her bones. The boy whimpered and she looked down.

Smoke poured from a broken window but the one beside it, glowed an ominous orange, directly in the path of the fire escape. If she didn't hurry, the fire would turn the icy metal into a molten steel.

"It's gonna be ok," she whispered to him, and then to herself, "It's gonna be okay."

Frosty patches on the fire escape made the going difficult, but she increased her pace. As she neared the orange-lit window, the shouts on the street intensified. Her foot slipped once and a collective gasp went up from the onlookers. She gripped the rail tighter, keeping her eyes on the steps.

The hairs on the back of her neck rose as she came level with the glowing window. Her instinct told her to run, but there wasn't time. The window exploded and she spun, trying to shield the boy with her body. Glass flew through the air and the surge of flames slapped her like a hot hand. The boy slipped and she pulled on his thin forearms. More pain erupted in her side, hot and fierce, but she wouldn't, couldn't think about that now.

Spinning back around, she hurried toward the second floor, and then the fire escape stopped. No ladder, no more steps. She was trapped.

"No!" She cried, and felt the boy stiffen. Control, she had to get control of herself. Now. Her body prickled and her stomach flip-flopped. The pain was so intense. She crushed her eyes closed and concentrated on breathing. The roar of the fire covered all other noises and it occurred to her that she was dangerously close to passing out.

Ashley opened her eyes to a concerned face, blessedly peering at her from beneath the rim of a fireman's hat. Her elbows were locked, bracing her body on the last rail, as if they'd been frozen. Cold shivered through her, followed by a wave of heat.

"It's all right Miss, pass the boy over." He held his arms out, but the boy tightened his hold on her.

"He'll take you to your mama." Ashley fought the haze in her head and stroked his arm. The fireman stood on a ladder sticking up from the back of one red fire truck. She wondered for a moment how it had appeared there. Maybe she'd had her eyes closed longer than she thought. The wind gusted and she felt something cold and wet on her thigh. Don't look, don't look, she told herself.

The boy allowed her to pass him over and the fireman grasped him in his arms. "Grab the ladder, Miss. I'll be right below you."

Ashley nodded and backed onto the ladder. He hovered behind her, his heavy coat brushed the back of her calves as she tried not to think of the wetness on her skin. At the bottom of the ladder, the fireman left with the boy and another helped her to the ground. She held her coat closed, determined to keep her injuries to herself. A hospital would be too risky.

Someone passed her a spare set of firemen's boots and she slid her feet into the oversized, heavy pair.

"The ambulance is waiting to check you over. Come with me." Another soot-streaked fireman said.

"I'm fine," Ashley croaked, surprised how raw her throat felt.

"Please," the fireman said, "you need to be checked over. You did a brave thing, but now you need to take care of yourself."
Shouts from the front of the building caught his attention and Ashley took the opportunity. "Go, they need you there. I'll get to the ambulance on my own."

He glanced back and she followed his gaze. Two emergency techs headed her way with boxes in hand. "They'll take care of you."

He nodded, squeezed her arm gently and took off with the other firefighters toward the front. Bright lights blazed into her face, blinding her. The black-hole of a video camera's eye wavered before her. She threw a hand up to cover her face.

"Are you all right, Miss? Do you know how the fire broke out?" A blonde woman shoved a foam-covered microphone in her face. "Can you tell me if anyone else is trapped inside?"

Reporters. Oh God! Ashley hadn't even thought of that. A quick sweep of the area and she saw that there were at least three local news stations present. Damn! She slapped the microphone away and tugged her hat low on her forehead.

"Back away." On of the Emergency Techs shouted as he wrapped a blanket around Ashley's shoulders. "Get across the street, you're too close."

She thanked the EMT with her eyes. He nodded and tugged her to the ambulance. Her side ached fiercely, but she managed to keep her coat shut. It wouldn't do to have them take her to a hospital, but she had the option of refusing treatment, where as the reporters would love to plaster her face all over. If that happened, the <I>he</I> might see.

An EMT shoved an oxygen mask on her face as she sat on the metal bumper. He tried to get her to open her coat. "I'm fine. Really."

"I need to take your blood pressure. Can you climb inside?" He asked, nodding toward the back of the ambulance.

"I'm ok." Ashley tried to make sure she didn't cough, but her throat burned badly. She thought of the boy, hoping he was all right. "Where's the kid?"

"They probably took him to St. Mary's." The other EMT said.

"I'll go there." Ashley pulled the mask from her face and handed it to the first EMT. "I can walk, it's not far."

As she spoke, the west wall of the fourth floor inward, the top half of the building swayed. "Look, I'm refusing treatment, all right? I'm on my way to the hospital now, if something happens, I'll be all right. Get back over there and help someone who really needs it."

"Are you sure?" They both asked at the same time as they stared at the burning apartment building. Soft, amber light lit their faces.
"Yes." Ashley turned and walked down the street without looking back. With each step, the borrowed boots felt more like lead then insulated rubber. Snow crunched beneath her feet and she slipped twice.

Away from the building, the late January air crept beneath her coat and hat, grasping her flesh with icy fingers as her breath came in white puffs. She could no longer feel her legs and was mildly surprised they continued to lift and fall. That wetness slithered a trail down her leg and as her left foot hit the pavement, it squished.

Make it to the hospital. Just that far. If she could get there, than she could steal something to bandage the injury to her side and check on the boy. As long as she kept quiet and didn't draw attention to herself, she'd be fine. No one would recognize her there, hopefully.

Then she'd figure out where to hide next.