CHAPTER 48

Malcolm had made it to the closet and was opening the door.

Suddenly a loud blast deafened her. The ground shook. She grabbed at the blinds to steady herself, but they swayed, causing her to stumble. Alarms rang out. And another sound that Aya realized was people screaming.

"Oh my God." She peeked out the window. In the glare of the morning sun, she spotted a plume of smoke.

"An explosion?" Malcolm whispered. "Where?"

"I'm not sure. All I see is smoke." Aya glanced back. He was sagging against the closet door, deathly pale.

"They timed it this way, so I couldn't do anything."

Aya peered through the blinds again. "It's the wing across from us. The cafeteria! Elizabeth was there." She ran to the phone and dialed 911.

"There… will be many people there." Malcolm pushed away from the door, stumbled forward a few steps, and fell to his knees.

When an operator answered,