The hallway is longer now. Narrower too. With every step, I almost hold my breath and pray that I don’t make a sound. We’re headed towards a crossroads up ahead, but it doesn’t seem to be getting any closer. It’s only getting further away as the voices below intensify.
Finally arriving at the fork, Faisal leads us down the right path without missing a beat. He’s in the front of the pack with his brother, while Salman is in the back. Amaan is moving too fast and is putting too much pressure on his good leg. He needs to slow down. I try to say something—whisper something to him, but I’m not quick enough. A few paces into it, he steps onto a floorboard that echoes a loud creak.
We all freeze. My heart stops. The noise reverberates down the corridor. It seems to last forever… and then some. Amaan slowly turns his head to look back at us, maybe thinking that it wasn’t as loud as he thought. But he sees our expressions. The squeak drives a stake into my soul. For a long moment, we just stand there, hoping and praying that—
“You three! Go look upstairs!”
“Move!” Salman hisses.
I see the second staircase, the one we’re going for. We’re almost there. Faisal and Amaan pick up their pace and we follow right behind them. Almost there.
But then we hear it. Those are… footsteps. They’re heavy and fast. And they’re coming from the staircase in front of us!
Faisal suddenly whips around. Fear is in his eyes.
“Get out of the corridor.” Salman takes a few quick steps back towards the hallway’s fork. He can see the other stairwell—the one we came up last night. His eyes widen before he motions towards the nearest room. “In there. Now!”
We rush in, Faisal and Amaan entering first. The room is empty, except for a couple of boxes, a closet, and a broken window. As he hurriedly comes in last, Salman closes the door lightly enough so that it doesn’t alert anyone. I recognize the look in his eyes. His mind is working as hard as possible. No sooner does he seal off the room than we hear the footsteps arrive at the top of the stairs. That’s two—no three pairs of heavy boots. They abruptly stop.
My breaths are quick. My heart is even faster. Behind the closed door, Salman keeps one hand pressed against it as if that will be able to hold them back. Everyone is paralyzed. My eyes are glued to the door, waiting for any sign that we’re safe.
“Did you see anything?” one of the voices asks.
“No. But I’m sure I heard that.”
“You stand here.” A machine gun is cocked and readied in a quick motion. “I’ll start checking the rooms.”
A door is violently kicked down. It flies on its hinges before slamming against the wall. Aggressive footsteps charge into it. Salman turns his head to look at the rest of us before turning towards the room’s window. He motions for us to go over there.
Faisal and Amaan are in front, followed by the three of us. This time, Amaan holds on to his brother so his bad leg doesn’t make another mistake. I move behind Fatima. Slow and soft steps. I put my foot down on the ground gradually, praying to Allah that my movements are silent. There’s broken glass scattered on the floor. With each step, I slide the glass shards away with my foot before moving forward. Another door swings open. The gunman is slowly making his way to this room.
Faisal outstretches his hand towards Salman. “Give me the gun, Salman.”
“Not yet. Is there anything out there?”
Amaan looks out the window before whispering back to the rest of us. Is that hope in his eyes? “There’s a fire escape.”
Coming to the window, I see the metal stairwell that leads to the sidewalk. Black smoke is everywhere. It’s thick, but I can make out the walkway. I barely stop myself from leaping onto the fire escape and making a run for it.
“Move,” Salman orders.
Faisal doesn’t hesitate. He grabs the fire escape’s railing before pulling himself onto it. It wobbles a bit under his weight. He keeps his steps quiet as he hastily makes his way down there. Amaan goes next, only half a step behind his brother. He doesn’t even offer anyone else a chance. For a moment, it seems like it’ll rattle… but it doesn’t. The two of them disappear into the smoke.
Fatima glances back at me. I know what she’s about to ask.
“Go.” I motion for her to climb on.
Grasping the railing, she climbs onto the metal steps. As she does, her sack taps against it, sounding off a soft echo. She freezes for a moment but then begins to descend towards the street. It doesn’t shake as much now. Faisal and Amaan must be on the ground.
“You’re next, Zaid.”
I look back at Salman. “You go f—”
Another door is busted open before the man charges in. It’s one down from us.
Salman pushes me forward, nearly shoving me onto the fire escape. Grabbing ahold of the hot railing, I steady myself onto the metal staircase. I ignore the chaos of my soul. There’s black smoke all over the street. It’s not as thick on the walkway; however, I can still barely even see the bottom of the fire escape.
One hand holds onto my sack, making sure it doesn’t hit the railing like Fatima’s. It’s heavier than hers and will cause a bigger echo. My other hand leans on the railing, keeping most of my weight on it. It’ll make my footsteps lighter… God-willing.
Move slowly, Zaid. Too fast and you’ll make too much noise. But too slow and—no! Don’t think about that.
I’m only three paces behind Fatima. With every step, my heart beats faster and louder. As my foot touches down on each step, I hold my breath. Don’t make a sound; please don’t make a sound! I feel Salman come onto the escape. He’s right behind me, not even half a step away. We’re out of view within moments.
The room’s door violently flies open. The heavy footsteps enter. As I continue to move, I hear the man walking across the floor. I stop myself from speeding up. I can’t move any faster without the risk of alerting him.
We’re halfway down. I see the others. Fatima is still climbing down, but Faisal and Amaan are already on the street, ducking behind an abandoned and emptied fruit stand. Above us, the man rips open the closet’s entrance. He’ll look out the window next. I’m nearing the sidewalk now. Salman is still right behind me. I can feel his breath on the back of my head and neck.
Fatima reaches the ground and joins Faisal and Amaan. I hear the heavy footsteps getting louder. The gunman is almost at the window. Coming to the last step, I race onto the sidewalk. Behind me, Salman’s hand is on my shoulder, urging me on, as we dash to join the others.
Out of sight from the window, I don’t feel any safer. Being surrounded by this smoke and not knowing what is even twenty feet in any direction is no comfort. No sooner do we get to the others than some footsteps arrive onto the sidewalk. They’re just as heavy as the men from upstairs. I look through a crack between two of the crates we’re hiding behind.
The footsteps are getting louder… louder… and louder. Each step they take injects more fear into my heart. I barely stop myself from trembling. They’re heading straight for us. Did they see us? If they did, t—then there’s no escape. We’re all cramped back here, like sheep waiting for the slaughter.
Salman is to my left and Fatima is crouched down against my right shoulder. I feel her soft hand touching my arm, and I can smell Salman’s sweat. Is he trembling too?
I see a pair of dirty, brown boots cut out of the fog and come into view. It’s immediately joined by another one. They halt right in front of the fruit stand. I stop breathing. These men are not wearing any kind of uniform, and I see the barrel of one of their rifles aimed at the ground. They’re looking right at the fruit stand—no… they’re looking up at the window. One of them speaks, his voice shrewd and deadly. “What are you doing?”