Page 163 of River of Deceit

Asch and I run down. I spot Holden cowering in one corner, and I grip his wrist to get him to move.

“Holden! Get up before the fire spreads!” I shout. The towel muffles my words.

Holden shakes his head. “I… I can’t, I’m?—”

I glance at Asch, and he nods to me before awkwardly tying the towel around his mouth and nose. I do the same, although I can already tell it’s not going to hold for long.

Asch and I grab Holden by the arms and force him upright. He coughs and keeps shaking his head. I have no idea what the issue is until I notice the dark spot on his knee-length shorts, and the puddle underneath.

He’d pissed himself in fear.

Not something to worry about now.

Asch and I drag Holden forward, and it takes a few seconds before he starts stumbling along through the smoke-filled house.

“Back door is closer,” Asch says, and I nod in agreement.

Except we turn the corner to the kitchen, and we realize our mistake. The fire is going strong here, the fire alarm from the kitchen blaring intermittently. The ceiling has collapsed, and I can see the blazing remnants of the bedroom above. I grimace and immediately turn back.

The towel around my nose starts slipping, and I inhale several lungfuls of smoke.

Shit. I start coughing, and Asch stops to look at me with concern. I shake my head and motion for us to keep moving. I can stop to breathe when we’re outside.

The smoke gets worse, and Holden’s movements get more sluggish. By the end, we’re practically dragging him along.

I never thought the frat house was this big. It should have been easy to get out, but there are more walls than I remembered, and the smoke makes my eyes tear up.

It takes forever to get outside, to stumble out the front door. Several of the other brothers are there, and they take Holden off our hands. Sirens wail in the distance.

Asch and I collapse onto the front lawn.

“Fuck. Blaze, Asch.” River jogs up to us, and he hands us both bottles of water.

I take it and drink gratefully, chugging the entire bottle. When it’s empty, I finally look around to assess the situation.

I spot Zayden talking to people and directing them farther away. He’s got a tablet out, and I hope that means he’s making a tally of everybody. I should start making calls too, but my phone is still in my bedroom, probably melted by now.

“How did this happen?” I ask, staring at the burning building.

River shakes his head. “I have no idea. I just got here. I was done with class and wanted to discuss…” He glances around. “Things. With you two.”

“I’d just gotten back, too. I was in my room when the alarm went off,” Asch says. He laughs bitterly. “Actually, on a call with my mom.”

“I was taking a nap,” I answer. “I was with…”

With Pandora. Who isn’t here.

I look around the lawn, at all the students stopping to gawk and stare at the fire. Some sorority girls, a few students I don’t recognize. But no Pandora.

What had she been wearing again? Jeans, hot pink panties. A black t-shirt, but I wasn’t paying attention to the design on it.

My heart, already racing, beats faster. Is Pandora still inside the building? But that doesn’t feel right. She wouldn’t be trapped inside. Pandora’s smarter than that.

She probably snuck out the window, like I told her to.

Had the window been open when I’d left?

I can’t remember anything.