Free The Centerpoint Trilogy by Kayla Bruner Page B

something had broken. The chains gave way and she and Ethan were freed from their imprisonment.
    The fire whipped and turned around them. It did not touch them, at first though, as much as she could feel the heat on her skin. It went towards their captives, specifically the blonde woman. As she watched, Anna saw as the flames surrounded her, as though consuming her.
    “Help! Help!” screamed the woman. The flames licked at her skin delicately for a moment, before catching in her hair. It caught and the man next to her staggered to his feet, while she attempted to put the fire out. It caught through her hair and then she was on fire. The woman in front of them was writhing in pain while the man struggled to put her out.  He took off his shirt revealing a pale, hairy, undefined chest. He threw his shirt at her. She tried her best to roll around. Anna looked at her one more time before looking to Ethan. They took their opportunity and ran out the door that the man and the women had come through earlier. Thankfully it was still unlocked. They ran as fast as they could down what seemed to be a long hallway.
    They ran like their lives depended on it. Ethan reached forward and held Anna’s hand to him and she didn’t allow him to let go. She needed that tight hold on herself as they bolted down the hallway. Her heart pounded hard, so hard that she could hear it in her head. It felt as though her blood was on fire. She took a deep, shuddering breath but she could not get enough oxygen.
                  “Was it Alicia?” she asked, realizing that she had no idea where the blast came from.
                  Ethan stooped down and scooped a small child into his arms. The toddler was crying, screaming her head off. Her face was red and streaked with tears and she was crying so hard that she was gagging, gasping for air like she was on the verge of throwing up. Ethan soothed her, making hushing sounds and rubbing her back. “No, I don’t think that it was Alicia,” he said dryly. He picked the toddler up close to his chest and then started running again. Anna ran after them.
                  “Momma!” screamed the child, the only coherent word amongst her childlike babbling. “Momma!”
                  They ran and ran until they found their families.

Chapter Eleven
     
    The baby screamed desperately and flailed her hands about. Ethan could tell that she was absolutely terrified and tried to soothe her by rubbing her back as they ran, but he could do no such thing. The baby was screaming her lungs out, tears in her dark eyes. She had the same eyes that Alicia did.  “Stop! Momma!” she wailed in absolute terror and that was when the flames sprung forth again. They shot from her like lightning bolts and then the wood walls caught fire. The flames spread like wildfire. There was nothing to stop them.
    Ethan screamed out to Anna. “Go ahead of us,” he said, slowing down so that the woman could dart ahead. Anna paused and looked at him, not understanding. “Get her mom here!” he added. If the baby saw her mother, she would calm down. The flames began licking up the walls and were certain to engulf the whole building at the rate they were spreading, using the bare, dry walls as fuel.
    He followed after her as fast as he could. “Please stop,” he begged the child. The flames seemed to chase them down the hallway, running as fast as they could. It was faster than he was; he hoped they could get to their families and get them out, if they still remained in the building. He sighed with relief when he saw figures huddled together at the end of the hallway and down the stairs. They were all huddled together. They seemed to have gathered in the lobby. “Get out of the building. It’s burning down!”
    Alicia came running up to him. Her jaw was slack and tears were streaming down her face. Her eyes were red and protruding slightly from her face in shock.  “Baby!” she