🩶 CHAPTER FOUR — Smoke and Shadows
746 Words
Riley POV — rewritten, stronger tension, darker atmosphere, deeper emotion
The smell of smoke dragged me out of sleep before the alarms even began.
I bolted upright, disoriented, heart slamming against my ribs. A heartbeat later, the deafening wail of the fire alarms shattered the silence of the dorms. Red lights flashed against the walls like blood splattered across the ceiling.
Something was wrong.
Terribly, horribly wrong.
I threw myself out of bed, barely managing to slip my shoes on before sprinting into the hallway. Students poured from their rooms in waves, some screaming, some crying, all of them terrified as smoke rolled through the corridors like a living thing.
But my fear had only one target.
Alex.
A sick twist formed in my stomach. She had been upset. She had run out earlier. She went to the library.
“Oh no…” I whispered, panic clawing at my throat.
I shoved through the crowd, ignoring shouted warnings. I didn’t care about protocol. I didn’t care about anything except—
“RILEY!”
I spun toward the sound just as Mason burst out of the smoke-filled library doors, coughing violently, soot streaked across his arms and face.
And in his arms—
“Alex!” I screamed.
Her body hung limp, her skin pale except for smudges of ash along her jaw and neck. Her clothes were singed. Her hair clung to her face, damp with sweat.
I rushed to them, my legs nearly giving out when I reached her.
“Mason, is she—?”
“I don’t know,” he choked out, staggering but refusing to drop her. “She wasn’t breathing at first. I found her on the floor… the shelves were—” His voice cracked. “We have to get her out of here.”
Fear froze my blood.
Together, we ran.
Heat licked at our backs, flames roaring behind us as if trying to swallow the world whole. Smoke stung my eyes until tears streamed down my cheeks, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.
Not when Alex’s fingers were cold.
Not when her chest barely moved.
We burst into the courtyard where dozens of students stood, terrified and helpless as the ancient library burned, flames devouring centuries of knowledge like it was nothing.
We lowered Alex gently onto the grass.
I took her hand immediately, gripping it so tightly my knuckles turned white.
“Alex… come on…” My voice cracked with desperation. “Please wake up. I just found you. Don’t leave me now.”
Her eyelashes didn’t flutter.
Her chest barely rose.
Terror sank its claws deep into my ribs.
Mason knelt beside me, jaw clenched, eyes wild with panic even though he tried to look strong. “The paramedics are almost here,” he said softly. “She’s strong, Riley. She’ll hold on.”
But I saw the fear in his eyes.
He wasn’t sure.
Sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder until flashing lights painted the courtyard blue and red. Paramedics swarmed us, immediately assessing her vitals, speaking fast, clipped medical jargon that made my stomach twist tighter.
“She has a pulse—weak.”
“Possible smoke inhalation.”
“We need oxygen—now.”
“Prep for transport.”
They lifted her onto the stretcher.
Her hand slipped from mine.
Something inside me broke.
“Riley,” Mason murmured, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Come on. She needs us to be strong.”
“I can’t lose her,” I whispered. “Not after everything. Not after finding her.”
“You won’t.” His voice was rough. Determined. But there was a tremor hiding beneath it. “We’ll figure this out. Whatever happened in that library—it wasn’t an accident.”
My heart dropped.
Because I knew he was right.
I felt it.
Something big. Something dangerous. Something we weren’t prepared for.
The paramedics shoved the stretcher into the ambulance.
Without thinking, I climbed inside.
Mason followed close behind.
As the doors closed and the sirens began to scream through the night, I held Alex’s cold hand and whispered:
“Please… don’t leave me. I finally have a family. Don’t take it away.”
Outside the burning windows reflected the ambulance lights, an omen blazing in the dark.
Somewhere deep inside me, a voice whispered:
This is only the beginning.
And I knew, with a dread that hollowed out my bones, that destiny had finally woken up.
- Writer
