The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 68

Tilly's desperate cries drifted out from the darkness, mangled by agonizing coughs that shredded everyone's nerves.

"The door's jammed, the passageway is blocked, and it's too small. We can't get in!" Garrison covered his mouth, coughing as he fought down his rising panic, forcing a level tone. "The smoke is spreading too fast! Professor Harrison, Abigail, you need to evacuate with Sloane right now!"

He shot a look at the young man beside Sloane—a guy he thoroughly detested, but who at least looked capable. "Josh, right? Escort the professor and his wife out. The coach and I will stay behind and figure something out!"

"No! I'm not leaving without my Tilly!" Abigail wailed, collapsing onto the floor.

"I'm not leaving either... I'm her father..." Professor Harrison stubbornly clung to the hatch.

"I swear we'll do everything we can! But staying here won't get you inside! Are we all just going to die down here for nothing?!"

Garrison roared, his voice tearing from his throat.

He knew how brutal the call was, but there was zero time left for debate. The thick black smoke was already creeping up!

"I can fit."

A crisp voice sliced through the chaos.

The men whipped their heads around. Sloane was already crouched in front of the narrow hatch, using her hands to measure the width of the gap and the clearance inside.

"Sloane, do you have any idea what it's like in there?!" Garrison's voice spiked with a furious panic he didn't even register.

Frantic, Josh grabbed for her, but Sloane caught his forearm first. "Josh, trust me."

Garrison stared wildly at the woman before him. He was clenching his jaw so hard that the veins pulsed at his temples. For a split second, he genuinely considered knocking her out just to carry her to safety.

But the dying whimpers of the little girl strangled that impulse in his throat. All he could do was stare at her with an intense, agonizing dread, etching this exact moment into his brain.

Sloane didn't spare another glance at Garrison or Josh.

She faced the pitch-black, smoke-belching tunnel and took a massive, deep breath—exactly as she had thousands of times before diving into the pool.

Then, dropping to the floor, she slithered with lethal agility and utter conviction straight into the jagged metal maw.