Chapter 5: The Collapsing Rafter
With explosive, desperate strength, Hannah scooped Toby entirely out of his wheelchair, pulling his small, fragile body tightly against her chest and wrapping her sturdy nurse's apron around him to shield his face from the intense heat and flying embers. Just a fraction of a second after she lifted him free, a deafening crack echoed through the room. A massive, burning wooden rafter snapped completely away from the ceiling, crashing down with catastrophic force directly onto the empty wheelchair, smashing the metal frame into twisted, glowing scrap metal. An explosive beam crash sound shook the floor beneath Hannah’s feet, vibrating through her bones as a low, mournful cello chord played out in the cinematic tension of the moment. The heavy beam blocked the exact path they had planned to use for their exit, sealing off the hallway entirely. Trapped inside a shrinking pocket of breathable air near the window, Hannah held the trembling boy even tighter against her heart. She didn't panic; her mind raced with tactical clarity. Looking up, she saw that the reinforced glass of the nursery's French balcony doors had already cracked from the extreme thermal shock. With a fierce grunt of exertion, Hannah charged forward through the smoke, using her shoulder as a battering ram to smash through the remaining glass shards, clearing a path out onto the stone balcony just as the interior wall of the nursery completely caved in behind them in a towering wall of fire and ash.
