"Oh, God, Ellie," I cried, holding the girl tight in my arms. Her eyes fluttered open, but moments later, she passed out completely. I looked down and saw my hands shaking. With relief? Or fear that this still wasn't over and that Ellie wouldn't make it?
Her face was a collage of bruises and cuts and her clothes torn in many places. Tears trickled down my cheeks as I held her. We were so close. She had to survive!
"Zac…" Ellie mumbled.
"Zac!" I exclaimed. "Where's Zac?"
"I've got him, Celine," Taylor called from above. "I found him off in the tunnel a ways." Taylor helped Zac down and I immediately noticed that something was wrong with his arm.
Taylor followed my gaze. "I think it's broken," he said. I nodded, agreeing.
"We have to get Ellie to the hospital right away. Zac needs to come, too," I said. "But what about Gabby and Ike?"
"I'll stay here," Taylor suggested. "I'll get them back to your house. You take care of Ellie and Zac."
Eric reached down and scooped Ellie up and we headed to the limo. I squeezed her hand. "I love you, Ellie. Don't give up."
A slurred response replied, "Love you too…I won't…" Then she was silent again.
I sat worriedly across from Celine, who was holding Ellie in her arms. How I ached to hold her too, but my arm throbbed. We were lucky to have gotten out alive.
The sight of the two of us shocked me as I glanced in the sideview mirror. My face was red, bleeding and bruised, and my arm a tangled mess. Ellie looked worse.
"Celine, do you think she'll make it?" I asked.
Celine looked at me. "I don't know," she answered. "Will you call her mother for me?"
"Yeah." I picked up a phone and dialed the number Celine told me.
"Hello?" a strangled voice asked.
"Mrs. Silverman?"
"Yes?"
"It's Zac Hanson. Ellie, Celine and I are on our way on the hospital."
"Oh, thank you, God!" Mrs. Silverman cried. "Is she all right?"
"She'll be fine," I half-lied.
"I'll meet you there." The line went dead. I looked over at Ellie again. She had to pull through!
Relief poured through me as Ellie and Zac were taken away. They both looked bad, but my little brother was all right!
I crept out of the room and down the hallway. I wondered where Ike and Gabby were. "Great…we've lost them too!" I mumbled.
It was hard to tell how long we'd been in the little room. Gabby was on the floor, playing with her hands, as I wandered along, trying to find a way out. I had heard Randi say downstairs. We must have come in on the second floor then.
Suddenly, the room felt hotter. The slight cool breeze that had coming from somewhere had stopped. I could see the light from the hallway go out. Gabby got to her feet.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"I don't know." I felt around the walls. When I reached the one farthest from Gabby, my hand felt hot. "Ouch!" I said, shaking my hand.
"Isaac!" Gabby cried. "The room next to us in on fire!"
I whirled around to see Gabby was right. Smoke was pouring in from underneath the small crack in the door.
"No, no, no," I whispered. This was bad.
My eyes fluttered open. Something was beeping and there were tubes all over the place. Someone was standing by my bedside.
"Ellie? If you can hear me, squeeze my hand."
I pressed gently and heard a sigh of relief. "Relax. You're going to be fine." I looked up and saw Celine. I felt drowsy, so I closed my eyes again.
As I hopped down another flight of stairs, I heard a commotion. People were running towards me, so I flattened myself against a wall.
"We've got to get out of here!"
"What about Ike?"
"Leave him."
"And Zac?"
"Leave him, too. We'll be back for them. We need to find a way to get the fire out."
Fire?!
As soon as the girls left, I ran down the hall. Smoke drifted all through the hallway, and coughing, I made my way closer.
The girls had opened the door to the small kitchen, where a huge fire had half-engulfed the room. It must have been an accident, I thought. This couldn't be a plan!
Someone was pounding on the door next to the room. I knew if I stayed, I may get hurt, but there was a chance the people in that room were Ike and Gabby. I ran to the doorknob and yanked. Nothing.
"Ike! Gabby!" I shouted frantically, hoping they could hear me.
"Did you hear that?" I asked from my place crouched low on the floor.
"No!" Gabby yelled.
I heard something again. It was saying my name. "Help!" I shouted, crawling as close to the door as I could. "Help us!"
"Ike?!"
"Taylor!" Gabby's head shot up. "You've got to get us out of here!"
"How?"
"I don't know! Use your head!"
"Isaac, we can't stay in here forever," Gabby sobbed. I looked over at her. She was pressed flat against the floor, yet a ring of smoke engulfed her. She was worse off than me.
"Ike, stand back!" Taylor yelled. I knew he was picking the lock.
"Gabby, keep talking to me!" I coughed. "Hurry, Tay!" I guessed Gabby had lost consciousness. I began to feel light-headed. As hard as I fought it, I had to give in.
"How is she?" I asked quietly. Celine whirled around to see me, my arm encased in a plaster cast, standing in the doorway.
"Does it hurt?" Celine asked.
"How is she?" I asked again, ignoring the sharp pains radiating from wrist to shoulder.
"She'll be okay. She just bruised a lung. Zac, how did you guys get through it?"
"I dunno. The days blur together…how long were we there anyway?" I asked, moving slowly to Ellie's bedside.
"A couple of weeks. I'm just glad you're back."
"Zac?" Ellie mumbled. I picked up her head and squeezed it. Ellie's eyes drifted open, and tears filled her eyes. "I…can't…breathe…"
"Shh, sweetie, it's okay," I said. "Just stay calm. You're gonna be fine."
"She's completely out of it," Celine mumbled.
"Zac…" I looked at Ellie. "I…thank…you…"
"There'll be time to talk later," I said gently.
"Zac…"
"Ellie, be quiet," Celine warned. When Ellie opened her mouth again, I felt her tense up. Suddenly, she started moving her head around restlessly and she started turning a faint shade of red. Celine ran from the room.
"Ellie!" I moved just a little, and the pain in my arm made black spots in my vision. I had to hold on for Ellie! I squeezed her hand forcefully as doctors rushed in, put Ellie on a stretcher and wheeled her away. I collapsed into a chair, physical and emotional pain overwhelming me. Celine came in, crying, and we sat in the room, hugging for a while.
My head was swimming. Even if I'd wanted to answer Isaac, I was afraid of losing too much air.
Taylor suddenly fell into the room. "Guys, come on!" he shouted. I dragged myself to my feet and went over to Taylor.
"Tay, he's trapped!" I screamed.
"Gabby, you need to go outside."
"No!" I couldn't leave him there!
"Gabrielle, go!" Taylor yelled. I ran out into the hall, blindly finding a door and collapsing outside. I took deep breaths, coughing. Soon, I began to feel much better.
The fire was slowly spreading and there were girls running all over with fire extinguishers. I hid behind a tree, stifling coughs.
Taylor emerged from the building, barely holding Isaac up. I ran over to him and together we get him behind the tree.
"Oh, God, Taylor…" I whispered. Taylor's face was black with soot and he was coughing, but what really worried me was Isaac's condition. He was unconscious, and close to not breathing.
"We've gotta go!" Taylor said. We dragged Isaac to his feet and stumbled away from the building before any girls could see us.
I knew Isaac wasn't breathing now. "Taylor, he's not breathing!" I screeched.
"We've got to get him to a hospital," Taylor said. "You go call an ambulance."
Carefully, we laid Isaac down. I didn't want to leave. Before I did, Taylor grabbed my hand, one of Isaac's and put Isaac's other hand in my own. I looked up at Taylor. We whispered a silent prayer and I squeezed Isaac's hand before I left.
I opened my eyes and started coughing uncontrollably. I briefly remembered blacking out. I wondered where Gabby was.
"Take it easy, buddy," Taylor was saying. "You'll be okay."
"Gabby…?" I managed to cough.
"Getting an ambulance. She's fine," Taylor assured me.
"Man, you saved my life!" I said.
Taylor blushed. "Be quiet."
"Tay, the ambulance is on its way!" Gabby called, rushing over to us. She knelt beside Taylor. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," I said. I struggled to sit up, but I felt too weak. I saw the flash of pain and worry in Gabby's eyes. God knows I didn't want to cause her more pain! She's been through so much. I looked up at Gabby. "I'm glad you're okay."
Gabby blushed. I closed my eyes when I heard the ambulance approaching. Finally, things were back to normal. My last words before falling into a deep sleep were, "I'd do things that couldn't be done. I'd fly to the moon and around the sun, if you'll just say that I'm the one."
