“I’ll come back!” Grandma shouted.
The woman nodded.
“Just get him out!”
Grandma ran.
She couldn’t see the doors anymore.
Only smoke.
People pushing.
A narrow strip of light ahead.
The boy pressed his cheek against her shoulder.
She held the coat tightly around him.
Then, behind her, came a terrible cracking sound.
A crash.
The floor shook beneath her feet.
Grandma stumbled.
For one awful second, she thought they would fall.
But somebody grabbed her arm.
A firefighter.
He pulled them through the doors.
Outside, cold air struck her face.
She dropped to her knees.
The boy was still coughing.
Still breathing.
A paramedic took him from her arms.
And pulled the green coat away to check his breathing.
It fell beside Grandma’s knees.
Grandma tried to stand.
“The mother,” she gasped. “There’s a woman inside.”
The firefighter held her back.
“You can’t go in.”
