“I’m sure he’s outside freaking out about where you are,” a voice said softly in my ear. Comforting. I felt a little better. I glanced over my shoulder and froze.
“Manny.” The horrible man with the deceptively kind face gave me a sweet smile.
“Keep moving. The roof looks as though it’s about to come down.” He gave me a shove in the middle of my back and pushed our way through the hysterical crowd that were scrambling like rats to find safety.
Finally we were outside and I gulped in fresh air. It hurt, but I was thankful I could finally breathe.
“Don’t stop. We need to get clear of the building in case it collapses,” Manny instructed but I hesitated, jerking my arm from his grasp.
“I need to find Yoss. I won’t go anywhere without him. Especially with you,” I hissed, glaring at the man I had been so grateful to only minutes before.
Manny blew out an exasperated breath. “I know Yoss and that boy will survive no matter what. He’s here somewhere. Stop being such an idiot and come on.” He wrapped his fingers around my wrist and pulled me again.
There was a violent roar and I looked back towards The Pit, watching the building become entirely engulfed in flames. I could hear sirens in the distance.
There were at least a hundred people milling about adrift, hopeless. Defeated.
We had all lost something.
The only place we could call home.
“Yoss!” I sobbed. What if he was still inside?
Not able to hold myself up, I collapsed to my knees, not paying any mind to the bite of gravel through the holes in my jeans. It was freezing. A fine dusting of snow had started to settle over the ground. I only wore a hooded sweatshirt and a lightweight jacket but I didn’t feel the cold.
I was panicking.
“We’ll find him—”
“I’m not going anywhere with you!” I snarled. Manny held up his hands in surrender.
“Fine, suit yourself. Die out here. I was just trying to help.” He hurried off and I was glad when he left me alone.
I got to my feet and started to run back towards the building. “Yoss!” I screamed. I’d go back inside if I had to. I wouldn’t leave him!
“Imi!”
I turned around, convinced I was hallucinating. Yoss sprinted over to me, pulling me into his arms and holding me close. He pressed his face into my hair and I buried my nose into his flannel shirt that stank of sweat and smoke. It was the best smell in the world.
“I thought you were still inside! Oh my god, Imogen, I thought—” Yoss’s voice broke and shattered, his entire body trembling as he held on, refusing to let go. He let out a sob and clutched me so tightly it hurt.
I didn’t care. I hurt him back.
“Imogen! We were freaking the fuck out!” Di exclaimed, appearing beside us, a dazed Shane and a shell shocked Karla with her.
“We have to get out of here. The authorities are here. They’ll start asking questions. We can’t be here,” Shane rambled nervously. He was twitchy and pale, obviously coming down from something.
“Where’s Bug?” Yoss asked, his hands running up and down my back.
“I don’t know. I thought he was with you,” Di said, looking around. We couldn’t see much. Too many people. Too much smoke.
“No, I didn’t see him. I thought he was with you tonight.” Yoss had a note in his voice. One that bothered me.
“He was. He passed out hours ago…” Karla said, her voice trailing off.
“Did anyone wake him up when the fire broke out?” I asked, almost hating to. Because I felt it. Deep inside.
We all did.
“I shook him. He woke up. I was pretty sure he was behind me—” Di started to say.
“Did you even wait for him? He was high as fuck this evening, Di! He can’t even tie his shoes when he’s like that!” Yoss yelled, causing us all to flinch. I had never heard him like this.
Yoss let go of me finally, running a hand through his hair, the long dark strands sticking up on all sides. “We have to find him.”
“Yoss, I don’t think—” Shane began, glancing at me nervously. I knew what he was going to say.
Bug was still inside.
He never got out.
“Come on. He probably passed out again somewhere. We’ll find him,” Yoss insisted, tugging on my hand.
“Okay, let’s look,” I conceded. Di nodded. Shane and Karla exchanged looks but followed us.
“He’s here somewhere. We can’t leave him. He’ll be flipping out. Bug doesn’t handle shit well,” Yoss mumbled, his thumb running up and down the back of my hand in a frantic, repetitive gesture.
“Let’s see if we can find him,” I said.
Yoss started asking everyone whether they had seen Bug. No one had. Most people had already left, trying to find someplace warm to sleep.
The snow was falling heavier and my face was going numb. I couldn’t feel my toes and the shock of the evening’s events was starting to wear off.
“Yoss, he’s not here. The fire department is working to put the fire out and police are starting to round up people and send them to shelters. I think we need to get out of here,” Di stated after a few minutes.