The footsteps of the others are close behind me. When I make it back to the incinerator, the heavy iron grate creaks as I swing it open and climb in. Shoes scrape metal as the others scale the rungs of the ladder after me. I’m almost level with the Administration floor when a rush of hot air rolls up from below.

I look down. The heads of the others are silhouetted by a bright orange glow. Black smoke billows up from the bottom of the shaft, choking and thick. Someone’s lit the incinerator.

“Climb! Hurry!” Poppy shouts.

I scramble up the rungs, stitches pulling. The ladder shakes under our combined weight. Steam hisses up through the cylinder as Julio wrangles the moisture from the caves. The thin cool mist settles over us, insulating us from the heat, but it’s not enough to quench the fire. The metal bars are getting hotter by the second.

I look up, gauging the distance to the Admin level, just as Lixue’s head stretches through an opening in the shaft. A flame ignites in her hand. It grows, stretching downward until I feel its heat on my face. Guards above us. A fire below. We’re trapped between floors.

“Hurry!” Marie shrieks. “The bars are too hot! I can’t hold on!”

“Holy crap, Chill! Your hand is cold! Let go of my ankle,” Julio snaps.

“Sorry, buddy. I need a little juice for this. Everybody hold on!” Chill’s voice echoes up the shaft, carried by a howl of icy wind. The blast chases Lixue’s flame back. The metal rungs groan with the rapid change in temperature.

“I can’t hold it for long,” Chill shouts. “Move it, Jack!”

I start to climb, propelled by the wind. A screw cracks loose from the ladder, nicking my cheek as it flies past. The metal rung under my foot creaks.

We’ll never make it to the dormitory level. The others have too far to climb, and the fire below us is blazing hotter. The access panel to the Admin level is only a few feet above me. I already know Lixue (and probably her team) is waiting on the other side, but it’s our only way out.

I climb the last rung and crawl through the opening. Lathered in sweat and soot, I tumble into the thick haze of the hall. Smoke pours from the access panel. Marie coughs as I haul her, then Poppy, through it.

Lixue’s voice comes from behind me. “You and I have a score to settle.”

I turn, positioning myself in front of the opening. Lixue plays with a fireball, tossing it between her hands, staring at me down the length of the hall as if she’d like to skewer me and roast me for dinner. Two Guards flank her. Behind me, Marie shouts down to Chill, Amber, and Julio, screaming at them to climb faster.