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had been painted shut, probably years ago. She didn’t know what
to do, but the sight of the two children staring at her in terror
cleared her head. She looked around, frantic, finally seizing the
rocking chair.
It was heavy, but somehow she lifted it above her shoulder and
heaved it at the window with all her might. It cracked but didn’t
break. She tried again, sobbing through a last burst of adrenaline
and fear, and this time the rocking chair went flying out, crashing
onto the overhang below. Moving fast, Katie raced to the bed and
tore off the comforter. She bundled it around Josh and Kristen and
began pushing them toward the window.
There was a loud splintering sound behind her as part of the wall
burst into flame, tendrils licking the ceiling. Katie turned in panic,
pausing long enough to notice the portrait that hung on the wall.
She stared at it, already knowing it was of Alex’s wife, because
there was no one else it could be. She blinked, thinking it was an
illusion, a distortion created by the smoke and fear. She took an
involuntary step toward the eerily familiar face when she heard a
roar above her as the ceiling started to give way.
Whirling around, she pushed through the window, holding the
kids in the circle of her arms and praying that the comforter
would protect them from glass shards. They seemed to hang in
the air for an eternity, Katie twisting as they fell so that the kids
would land on top of her. She hit the overhang on her back with a
whump. It wasn’t far, maybe four or five feet, but the impact left
her breathless before pain rolled over her in waves.
Josh and Kristen were hiccuping in fear, wailing and coughing.
But they were alive. She blinked, trying not to pass out, sure she’d
broken her back. But she hadn’t; she moved one leg, then the
other. She shook her head to clear her vision. Josh and Kristen
were struggling on top of her, trying to get free of the comforter.
Above her, tongues of flame began to flare from the broken
bedroom window. Flames were everywhere now, all over the