She did her best to take deep breaths, which did nothing but bring on more coughing. She shook her head, took small, shallow breaths, and willed herself to remain calm. She was a surgeon, after all. It was in her blood to face adversity and chaos and come out ahead. She could do this.
But it was looking tough.
Suddenly, through the smoky gloom, there was a shape and before she could even wonder who or what it was, Alex was there.
“Alex!” she said through a raspy voice. “I thought you’d left me.”
“Never,” he replied.
She thought for a moment and realized that he’d been gone maybe ten, fifteen seconds – though in this situation, that had seemed like minutes.
Alex took her hand and he ran, half pulling her along in his haste. They were soon back into the engine bay, where she thou
