TRAPPED

She escaped the cell. But freedom was on fire

The power cut out.

She counted: one one-hundred. Two. Three.

Nothing.

The generator should’ve kicked in. Usually did. But not tonight.

She opened her eyes to darkness. Real darkness.

She wanted to savor it. But she didn’t have time.

She stood. Felt her way along the wall. Wood turned to steel. A door. It gave under her touch.

Her heart raced—loud enough, she feared, for them to hear it.

She crouched. Waited. No footsteps.

She dropped to her hands and knees and crawled. Slowly. Carefully. The floor was cool, slightly damp. Sometimes, her knee struck a rock. She swallowed every sound.

She found the stairs. Climbed. Ten at a time. Paused. Listened.

She had only reached the top once before.

The door radiated heat.

She shrank against it, made herself small. Reached up. Turned the knob.

Cracked the door.

Heat spilled in.

Fire.

Flames just beyond.

She slammed it shut. Scrambled halfway down.

Free from the cell.

Trapped by the fire.

She waited.