Free dragons breath 01 - stalked by flames by susan illene Page A

phones as we hurried deeper into the library. The sun’s rays couldn’t reach this area. Some of us headed toward a row of mesh cages that ran from the floor to the ceiling against the side wall, while others went farther back to hunker down between bookcases.
    I’d always been a little creeped out by the cages, though some students used them as private study areas, but they seemed like a safe place to hide now. I got inside one by myself and shut the mesh door. It might have been even better to go to the lower basement level, but there was always the chance we could get trapped if the library was hit directly. Better to stay closer to the first floor.
    Other than a few people whispering, it was quiet—unnervingly so. The sounds of the storm didn’t reach us from where we waited, making me feel like I was in a tomb. I shut off my cell phone, not wanting to waste the battery.
    Just as I began to relax, figuring this whole thing was a false alarm, a loud roar rose up. It sounded like a freight train. Glass shattered down the corridor and the ground shook. I ducked my head to protect it with my hands like we were taught in school during tornado drills.
    A child began to cry. Wind rushed through the library, rattling chairs and knocking down anything loose. Someone began praying loudly. Justin shouted for everyone to be calm and that it would pass soon.
    He was right. A few moments later the winds calmed and he announced we could come out. I got out of the cage and turned on my cell phone again, using the flashlight feature to get a look around the room. None of the bookcases had been knocked over, only the small stuff.
    Justin sent Miles and another guy upstairs while the rest of us checked out the damage on our floor. The learning center was in a state of disaster. People’s personal items had been blown around, chairs and tables were knocked down, and everything was sprinkled with broken glass. Two of the large windows gaped open and there was a branch sticking through one of them.
    I checked the room where Trish and I had slept and found everything okay in there. The door had been closed so the wind didn’t get inside. Back in the learning center, people gathered their things and one industrious woman already had a broom in hand to sweep up the glass. Justin sent someone else to search for a dry erase board or something to cover the windows.
    Miles and the guy who’d gone with him returned from their scouting mission a few minutes later.
    “What did you find?” Justin asked.
    “The library has some minor exterior damage, but nothing major to worry about,” Miles answered, his tone deep and serious. “We narrowly missed the tornado here, but the nearby buildings and neighborhood are in bad shape.”
    Justin asked everyone to gather around him. “I need eight volunteers to form two scouting teams. We need to make sure no one is out there who needs our help. Also, since the storm should have scared the dragons away for the time being, we need another team to go out and gather more supplies.”
    Several of us raised our hands right away. Miles came around with his clipboard and wrote down the names of the volunteers.
    “I’ll go on the scouting team,” I said when Miles reached me.
    Sitting in the library would drive me stir-crazy. I preferred to get out and actually do something, rather than stick around for busy work in the library. Trish could have that responsibility.
    He nodded. “You’re on team two with me. Go downstairs and grab a bottle of water and something to eat. I’ll meet you there.”
    My stomach rumbled. I hadn’t eaten dinner the night before and hadn’t realized I was hungry until he mentioned food. Leaving the learning center, I made my way down to the food supply room and found Conrad already there.
    “Which team are you on?” I asked.
    “Team two.” He took a bite of his donut.
    I grabbed one for myself. “Then we’ll be going together.”
    Miles arrived a few minutes later with a