me. How could they? Everyone just continued to scream, certain that death was moments away. Our downward trajectory to this new planet grew shorter by the second. The teacher kept smashing the same useless button.

But Jess heard me. 

She set aside her fear and gave me an acknowledging look. Then she started crawling with great difficulty towards the red lever. I followed her lead. I forced my body into motion, using my elbows to push and slide. Together we made our way through the scattered students towards the centre of the ceiling. The surrounding flames flickered with unimaginable heat. A distant portion of my brain wondered if we’d melt in the sky before ever reaching the surface. I waved it off and kept moving forward, which under this pressure felt nearly impossible. The downward spira...

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