Chapter 10: Confinement

MAE:

The flames burn my left leg, but a hand hauls me off my burning rope and I slam into someone next. It’s Xannon. I hold onto him, looking into his eyes as time stops. He’s incredible, using one hand to hold my waist and the other to hold us up.

“Cut off the damned burning rope. That’s what you should have done, Mae!”

“What?”

“Get on my back,” he orders me instead, “You had better hold on tight this time.”

I twist, clasping my hands over his shoulder, holding on tight.

“Listen, Mae. When I tell you to cut the rope below, start from the place underneath my knee. Can you reach it safely?”

I try. It’s almost futile at first, but I try harder with my shard. The cut end falls into the hot flames, vanishing in a split second. So many are still struggling to live.

“Good. Keep doing that. It’s the only way we will survive.”

Xannon climbs the rope faster, even with me on his back. I begin to understand the pattern. We must outrun the rope’s speed and manage not to get burned. If w