There was no way Colin could catch him. Manning’s figure receded and there was nothing Colin could do. He wondered why it was taking so long for the police to arrive and hoped they’d catch him.
His thoughts were interrupted by a roar as fire suddenly mushroomed through the roof of the icehouse, alive and screaming, the sound almost deafening. Part of the wall exploded, sending burning pieces of wood and sparks in their direction. He could barely hear Serena crying through her coughs, and he realized they were still in danger, too close to the fire. There was no way Colin could drag her farther, but he could get help, and he forced himself to rise. He needed to get to a place where someone would see him. He staggered forward a few dozen steps, losing blood, his left arm and hand now useless, his nerve endings radiating agony.
By then, Manning had reached his car and Colin saw the headlights flash on. The Camry tore away from the curb, heading directly toward him.
And toward Serena.
Colin knew he couldn’t outrun the car; no way he could so much as dodge it. But Serena was even more helpless, and Manning knew exactly where she was.
Gritting his teeth, Colin staggered forward as fast as he could, creating distance between him and Serena. Hoping Manning would follow him. Hoping Manning would flee. But the headlights remained aimed in Serena’s direction. Not knowing what else to do, Colin stopped and began waving his right arm, trying to draw Manning’s attention.
He flipped Manning the bird.
The Camry immediately veered away from Serena and toward Colin, accelerating and closing the distance. The icehouse continued to emit an eerie high-pitched shriek as fire consumed it. Colin staggered as fast as he could away from Serena, knowing he had only a few more seconds, knowing he was about to die. The car was almost upon him when all at once, the ground in front of him was bathed in another set of headlights racing up from somewhere behind him.
He barely saw the blur of Evan’s Prius as it crashed into the Camry with ear-splitting force, pushing both cars toward the fire. The Camry smashed into the corner of the icehouse, the Prius bulldozing it forward. The roof of the building began to collapse as flames leaped farther upward, toward the sky.
Colin tried to rush forward, but his legs gave out. Blood continued to pulse from his wounds, and as he lay on the ground, he could feel himself growing dizzy again. He could hear sirens now, competing with the sound of the fire. He suspected they were too late, that he wouldn’t survive, but that didn’t matter to him. He couldn’t take his eyes from the Prius, and he watched for the door to open or for the window to go down. Evan and Lily could escape the fire if they moved fast, but the chances of that happening were slim.
He had to get to them, and tried again to rise. Lifting his head nearly caused him to black out. He thought he saw swirling red and blue lights on the side streets and bright headlights moving closer. He heard panicked voices calling out for Serena and for him, and he wanted to shout at them that they should hurry, that Evan and Lily needed help, but all that came out was a raspy whisper.
He heard Maria then, heard as she screamed his name and reached his side.
“I’m here!” she cried. “Hold on! The ambulance is coming!”
Even then, Colin couldn’t answer. Everything had begun to spin and images became disjointed, nothing making sense. In one instant, the Prius was swallowed whole by flames; when he blinked again, only half of the car was gone. He thought he saw the passenger door creak open, but there was too much smoke and there were no other signs of movement, and he couldn’t be sure. He felt himself slipping away, darkness settling in, and in his last moment of consciousness, he prayed that the two best friends he’d ever known would somehow make it out alive.
EPILOGUE