Chapter 3 - Martha's Desperate Escape
The reinforced door had been blown slightly off its hinges by the pressure of the oxygen tank explosion.
Martha used every ounce of her remaining strength to wedge her shoulder into the cracked wooden frame.
With a sickening screech of splintering wood, the door gave way, opening a narrow gap into the smoke-choked hallway.
“Come on, Clara, crawl through! Follow my voice!” Martha coughed violently, her eyes stinging from the thick black soot.
Clara gripped her swollen stomach, gasping for air as agonizing contractions ripped through her lower back.
She dragged herself across the scorching floorboards, her hands bleeding from the broken glass scattered everywhere.
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Martha grabbed Clara’s wrists, hauling her out of the burning room just as the ceiling began to cave in behind them.
They tumbled into the safety of the rear service stairwell, coughing and gasping for oxygen in the cooler air.
