Leapholes (2006) Read Online Free PDF Page B

on, Coach!"
    Ryan pushed one last time with all his leg strength. The door slid open. Ryan swung on the rope like Tarzan on a vine. Then he let go. For a moment, it seemed as if he were flying in slow motion. He could smell the smoke above him. Beyond the opening, he saw the clean, tile floor stretching out before him. Mostly, however, he saw the dark, seemingly bottomless shaft below. He was falling, not flying. He had nowhere near enough liftoff to soar all the way to safety. He was going down the shaft.
    "Ryan!" the coach shouted.
    Ryan was dropping fast, but the rope was beyond his reach. Thankfully, the elevator door was still open. Somehow, he managed to reach up and grab the very edge of the floor. Ryan was hanging by his fingertips at the threshold. He stayed there just long enough to regain his strength. His elbow was a throbbing reminder of his bicycle accident, but he worked through the pain. His Phys-Ed teacher would have been proud. It was the fastest pull-up in the history of the universe. Ryan shot through the opening and rolled onto the tile floor.
    He looked back through the open doorway. All he could say was, "Whoa."
    He quickly got his bearings. This floor, one-story below his friends, appeared to have been untouched by the fire. It was definitely the safest way out. He spotted the emergency stairwel l n ear the elevator. He ran to it and turned the door handle. It opened.
    "Yesssss!" he said aloud.
    He sprinted up the stairwell, gobbling up two and three steps at a time. In no time, he reached the door to the higher floor. He turned the deadbolt and pushed the door open.
    Smoke immediately hit him in the face. The fire had reached a new level of intensity. He coughed and said, "Come on, everyone! This is the only way out!"
    They came in a rush--Coach, Sling Man, Head Case, and Flu Lady, who was still toting her bucket. "Where's Kaylee?" said Ryan, holding the door.
    "Right here." She emerged through the smoke, then gave him a wink and said, "Nice of you to worry."
    It made him blush. "I wasn't--oh, never mind. Follow me."
    Ryan led them down the stairwell. The smoke followed them. When he reached the bottom, he tugged on the door handle. It wouldn't turn. "It's locked!" said Ryan.
    "It must have locked automatically from the other side," said Coach.
    The stairwell was sucking in smoke like a chimney. They rushed down another flight of stairs and found another door. "This one's locked, too!" said Kaylee.
    "Stand aside," said Coach.
    The door was made of metal, but it had glass on the top half. The coach stepped back, then leaped and delivered a martial-arts kick. The glass shattered and fell to the floor. An alarm sounded, but they didn't care. Coach reached through the opening and unlocked the door. It opened, and the six hurried inside.
    "We made it!" said Kaylee.
    "Stop right there!" a stranger shouted.
    Ryan spotted a man at the end of the hallway. He was dressed in what looked to be a spacesuit. The alarm suddenly stopped. Two other men in identical strange suits ran to the broken door. They quickly sealed the opening with heavy tape and thick plastic sheeting.
    "Sorry about the door," said Ryan. "We're just trying to get to safety."
    "It isn't safe here," the man said. His voice had a mechanical sound. He was speaking through a microphone in the glass helmet that encased his head.
    "Please," said Kaylee, "this is the only way out."
    The man's tone turned even harsher. "You have no idea how much danger you're in."
    "Where are we?" asked Coach.
    Ryan's gaze drifted toward the broken glass on the floor. He hadn't noticed earlier, but now he saw the red-painted lettering. The glass was shattered, so it was a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. The jagged shards were just large enough for him to piece together the warning.
    It read: INFECTIOUS DISEASE CONTROL CENTER: QUARANTINED.
    At that moment, Ryan realized that these men weren't wearing spacesuits. These were hazmat suits. They wore them as protection from