Adam had been in and out of the club many nights and he had never seen anyone enter or exit there. Several people blindly followed them like a flock of sheep, assuming that they knew an escape route. As the smoke filled the room, visibility decreased. People coughed and wheezed violently, and some passed out due to smoke inhalation. It appeared they were trapped. He had to do something fast, or people were going to die.
Adam, convinced that Maddie had suffered from confusion or delirium from panic or from the smoke, made up his mind to take control. He grabbed Maddie by the arm to pull her and the others away from the wall to safety. She jerked away from him, grabbed the large curtain, and pulled as hard as she could. His mouth fell open as the curtain fell and revealed a large garage-like, rollup door. He rubbed his eyes.
How could she have known a door was there?
He realized it wasn’t the time to ponder the situation and quickly helped Maddie grab the large chain pulley to raise the door. It moved a little, but seemed to be stuck from lack of use. Several of the guys also grabbed the chain and pulled as hard as they could. To everyone’s great relief, the door finally gave way and began to open.
People poured out of the door even before it rolled all the way up. The next thing Adam knew they were standing outside coughing and sputtering, but they were alive. No one near them appeared burned or hurt. When he finally regained his composure and realized they were safe, he turned to Maddie and said, “Are you okay?”
She coughed and replied, “Yes. Are you?”
He looked himself over and said, “I think so.”
She visibly gave a sigh of relief and said, “I’m so sorry about that, Adam. I was so worried about you. You don’t know how glad I am that you’re alright…that we’re all alright.”
Adam furrowed his brow. “Sorry? It’s not your fault. I was worried, too. I have to admit that was the scariest thing I’ve ever been through.”
She didn’t reply. He scanned the faces of the people that were in the vicinity while he did a mental inventory. To his relief he saw all of the band members and all of their friends who had been seated closest to the stage.
“Is everyone okay?” he shouted.
He heard several positive responses and saw nods. He also heard the sound of the approaching sirens.
He turned back to Maddie and said, “How in the world did you know that door was there? As long as we’ve played here, I’ve never seen anyone entering or exiting through that door. Have you been in this club before?”
She hesitated briefly, as if choosing her words carefully, and said, “I’ve never been in this club before. I didn’t know for sure it was a door. It was a lucky guess.”
A lucky guess?!
He looked at her incredulously. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something about the way she said it made him doubt her story. He could believe that she had never been to the club before, but he found it odd that she, or anyone for that matter, would have guessed a door loomed behind that curtain just by looking at it, especially in a moment of panic. Maybe he had put her on the spot. Maybe she knew more than she wanted him to know. Anyway, it wasn’t the time to overanalyze things. Thankfully, she had been right about the door, no matter how she knew of its existence. Adam shivered as the realization sank in that if there hadn’t been a door there, they might not have made it out alive. Maddie had saved their lives.
As if reading his mind, Claire rushed up to Maddie and hugged her as she said, “Maddie, you saved our lives! Thank you so much.”
Claire’s voice caught as she barely held it together. “I was so scared. I couldn’t see anything and I was getting to the point where I couldn’t breathe. I thought we were all going to…”
She broke off as Zach took her in his arms, patted her back, and comforted her with calming words. “It’s okay. You’re okay. We’re all okay, thanks to Maddie.”
He gave Maddie a grateful nod as Claire buried her face in his neck and sobbed.
Luke patted Maddie on the back and, in a serious manner hardly ever witnessed by anyone, he said, “We owe you one, Maddie. Good going.”
He too gave her a respectful nod of gratitude. Several others verbalized their thanks and gratefulness. Maddie said nothing, but just stoically nodded back as if to tell them all “you’re welcome.”
Adam attempted to lighten the mood and said, “Maddie, you’re my hero.”
Maddie didn’t smile. She still looked shaken. “Well, I just did the best I could. I’m so sorry. I was so afraid for you, Adam. You could’ve been killed in there.”
Sorry? Why was she apologizing?
“It’s not your fault, Maddie. I’m fine.”
She looked at the ground and said, “I don’t think anybody was hurt badly. A few people have been taken off by ambulance.”
Adam thought it was a miracle that nobody had perished. As he pondered the implications of this, he saw Maddie shiver. The temperature had dropped, and in the rush to get out, she had left her jacket in the club. He usually wore some type of rocker-style leather jacket during performances, and tonight was no exception. He took off his jacket and placed it around Maddie’s shoulders.
She tried to protest. “Adam, don’t do that. There’s no sense in both of us freezing out here.”
“I insist,” he said. “Besides, what kind of jerk would I look like now if I took it back?”
She finally laughed a little. “Good point. Well, if you insist, then
