Chapter 34Joe tried to scoop Abi up in his arms, but she jumped up grabbing her bathrobe from the foot of the bed. It was already sopping wet. “What the hell?” She ran out onto the landing with Joe behind her. They choked on smoke billowing up from the floor below. She pressed the wet robe over her nose and mouth and Joe grabbed up a sleeve and pressed it to his face. They were already drenched and noxious fumes and smoke swirled around them as they fought to breathe.
In the eerie flickering illumination, crumpled waterlogged newspaper littered the staircase all the way up. With fire creeping up the stairs, the peach colored carpet glowed flame-orange and hissed and popped in protest of the sopping mess. The walls and other areas not reached by the sprinklers were ablaze. Water from the s
