No Script For Me, No Mercy For Him

Chapter 3

After three days, Noah's attending physician asked me to come to his office.

"Ms. Brooks, your brother's condition has worsened. The infection in his lungs has spread."

He studied the scans with a deep frown.

"He needs a second surgery as soon as possible. It will cost approximately 300,000 dollars. His hospital account has less than 10,000 dollars remaining, so you need to make the payment quickly."

I carried the payment notice into the hallway. The world seemed to spin around me.

I had less than 50,000 dollars in savings, but I couldn't bring myself to beg Graham.

While I stood there with no idea what to do, the head nurse hurried toward me.

"Ms. Brooks, your brother is missing."

My ears rang. The notice slipped from my hand.

"What do you mean, missing?"

Sweat covered the head nurse's forehead.

"Mr. Pierce's people wheeled him out a few minutes ago. Your brother agreed to go with them, so we couldn't stop him."

I raced downstairs and called Graham with trembling fingers.

He rejected the first call. Then he rejected the second.

He finally answered the third.

"Where did you take Noah?" I screamed into the phone.

Graham clicked his tongue impatiently.

"Tessa, stop getting so worked up. Camille's production still needs one final fire scene. The extras' reactions looked too fake, so Camille said we needed someone who would respond naturally. I already spoke to Noah. We're at the abandoned West Bellmere Theater, and I'll send him back as soon as we finish."

All the blood in my body seemed to turn to ice.

"Graham, Noah's lungs can't tolerate smoke! Take him back to the hospital right now!"

"Enough. Stop using his illness as an excuse for everything. I asked a doctor, and Noah can manage for a few hours with a portable oxygen cylinder. The crew is using theatrical smoke, not real smoke. He'll be fine."

He ended the call.

I flagged down a cab and shouted at the driver, my vision blurred by tears.

"The abandoned West Bellmere Theater. Hurry. I'll pay extra!"

My heart pounded as if it might burst throughout the drive.

The West Bellmere Theater had been condemned after an electrical fire three years earlier.

When the cab was almost there, my phone rang. Noah was calling.

My hand shook as I answered.

"Noah, where are you? I'm almost there!"

Violent coughing came through the phone, accompanied by harsh, labored breathing.

"Tessa... there's so much smoke..."

His voice was frighteningly weak.

"They locked the door. I can't get out."

In the background, burning wood crackled.

"Don't be afraid, Noah. Cover your mouth and nose, and stay low to the floor. I'm coming to get you!"

My tears finally spilled onto the phone screen.

Then Graham's voice sounded in the distance. He seemed to be speaking through a megaphone outside.

"You're doing great, Noah. Hold on for three more minutes. Once Camille gets the camera closer, we'll wrap the scene."

I screamed into the phone until my throat felt raw.

"Graham, you monster! That fire is real! Open the door!"

Graham couldn't hear me.

Noah managed one faint word. "Tessa..."

Then something heavy struck the floor.

The call went dead.

"Noah! Noah!"

The cab screeched to a stop outside the theater, and I stumbled out.

The abandoned building had already been swallowed by black smoke and towering flames. Police tape surrounded the property, and members of the production crew were fleeing in panic.

"What happened? Weren't we only supposed to use theatrical smoke? How did the place catch fire?"

"The props team brought the wrong fireproof tarp! Call 911!"