The smoke and ash seared her lungs as soon as she stepped inside causing her to cough and squint against the waves of heat that engulfed the lower floor. Somehow it seemed even worse than it had before. The stairs barely existed and the walls bent and groaned as the fire ate away at the timber frame that had turned the vast floor into rooms with purpose. She ignored it and stumbled up a mould of rubble that bridged the gap between the ground and first floor. Even at the top she was still a good six foot from what remained of the steps. Lexi squinted at the ledge she needed to aim for and took a few steps back to give herself a run up. As the wood groaned again somewhere to her left she charged forward and leapt, hands outstretched to grab a hold of the stair. The wood shrieked in protest but held and the Commander hurled herself up before it decided to fall to join its comrads below.
She didn't pause on the first, nor the second or third floor. The screaming had come from the fourth or fifth she was sure of it. Sure enough as she climbed her way up the flaming building the shouting and pleading grew louder. The smoke had rubbed her lungs raw by the time she hurled herself up the last staircase and she had to pause to hack up bloodied Ash.
"Help us, please, God's!" The voice didn't belong to the one who was screaming and wailing like a banshee but, with dread, she realised it was one she knew. Lexi followed it through the black clouds and swore when she came upon the scene.
Four of them were huddled in what had been one of the communal rooms. The ceiling above them had completely caved in and the stars peaked in through the tear in the buildings fabric like curious spectators. One of the large timber beams which should have been holding the roof up had splintered and now skewered one of the cadets to the floor through his stomach.
"Peter," Lexi breathed and Alec looked up from where he was holding his friends bloodied hand. Tears streaked down his sooty cheeks.
"Lexi-- Commander... I... we couldn't..." she waved off his words and went to take a step forward only for the floor to give way beneath her.
"The whole floor is unstable," another cadet -- a girl that looked familiar... someone she had seen Peter blush around during training -- informed her. She was stroking the hair back from his face. "Davvid tried and then..." all their eyes flickered to a hole in the floor not far away. A pregnant silence filled the air.
"You're getting out of here," she snapped to draw them back from their bleak thoughts. Her mind raced for the spells she needed that would hold up in this heat.
"One at a time you're going to..."
Kain paced outside, his eyes never leaving the windows on the top floor where he had heard the screaming. He debated going up himself but knew if anything were to happen to Lexi it would do the Ravens no good to lose both their Second as well.
"She'll be OK," he reassured
Cassian as the healers all but sat on him to keep him down.
"She's--" a shout went up from one of the crew on the ground and then a figure appeared in the third window on the fourth floor. Hurriedly sheets were pulled taught and encouraging shouts went up for the cadet to jump. They seemed to pause but something inside made them step off the ledge and fall into the awaiting sheet. There was a cheer as she was hurled to her feet and passed to a medic but the cheers died down as another figure and another appeared in the window again...
