Enigma Black Read Online Free PDF Page B

silenced by the sound of concrete striking the floor. Smoke invaded The Lakes blending in with the hurricanes of dust generated with each explosion—three in all—creating the perfect storm. In the aftermath of the final explosion, the railing that served as my sanctuary began to buckle.
    The steel squealed in defeat as the piece supporting my body suddenly swung out over the center of the mall, bringing me with it. In shock, I looked down at the floor below my dangling feet, noticing that the majestic thirty foot fountain, the crowning glory of The Lakes, now stood in nothing more than piles of broken concrete.
    My heart raced rapidly inside my chest as my body hung over the chasm. Tears welled inside my eyes from the fog of smoke encasing me, impairing my vision. A sudden tremor shook throughout the mall causing the third floor to shift once more, and the portion of the railing I clung to with every ounce of my being creaked as it slowly started to break away from its foundation. Holding on tighter to the metal bars, I knew that if I didn’t act fast I, too, would be in pieces like the concrete beneath me.
    Taking a deep breath, I slid my body upwards to the third floor. Inch by inch, I hoisted myself along the railing in a near vertical climb up the side of what had once been the floor beneath me.
    “Keep going, Celaine, you aren’t going to die here… not like this,” I repeatedly told myself unconvincingly.
    Halfway to relative safety further disaster struck. Droplets of water rained down from the mall’s sprinkling system, dripping unrelentingly down the sides of the metal railing, rendering it a virtual slip-and-slide in my hands. Any grasp I’d had on it was suddenly compromised, forcing me to slide back down. If I couldn’t find a way to battle my way back quickly, I would be in dire trouble.
    Before that day, I hadn’t realized just how amazing the sheer human will to live was. At the point when I should have lost my grip, my adrenaline kicked in. With this new burst of energy came an overpowering determination that only intensified as I forced my body back up the railing. Before I knew it, I’d surpassed the point where I’d slid down. Water continued pouring in steadily from both the sprinkling system and the remnants of the mall’s ceiling, soaking me to the bone. The bitterly cold December air from the outside began creeping its way inside sending my damp body into shock.
    “Inch by inch,” I repeated to myself.
    I could feel the varietal mountain I was climbing, beginning to tremble again, making me fully aware of the fact that I didn’t have much longer before the final avalanche struck. It was a culmination of every horror movie I could think of, except I kept telling myself that the lifeless figures scattered on the floor below me were nothing more than mannequins. That illusion was shattered when I saw the blood.
    The railing shuddered again, forcing my body to swing precariously back and forth. I looked back up the metal pole and gasped in shock upon realizing that less than an inch of steel was left binding it to the rest of the railing. Desperately, I made one last heave, propelling myself away from the pole and, to my relief, my hands managed to grasp the jagged edge of the third floor foundation. Using the remaining energy I could manage, I pulled my body safely to the floor just as the railing broke loose, crashing to the rubble below.
    On the debris-covered floor, I lay sobbing. Dust and smoke created such an impenetrable haze that, if not for the mini fires spouting from the perforated gas lines, I wouldn‘t have been able to see at all. In pain, I managed to stand up and assess myself. There were a few minor cuts on my arms, but they were otherwise unscathed. I knew that would not be the case elsewhere. As I inspected the burning pain in my thigh, I noticed blood flowing down my leg from an extensive cut leading from the upper thigh halfway to my knee. My jeans had been torn all