I woke up choking and gasping for breath. My eyes burned as I tried to pry them open. It took my sleep-fogged brain a moment to register what was going on. The room was filled with smoke. Where were the fire alarms? Where was the sprinkler system? Where was everyone else?
“Annie!” I bellowed, hoping that she would hear me through the walls. The effort of trying to yell made me break into a cough. I had to get out of bed. I threw back the covers and grabbed the controls. But when my fingers pressed the buttons, nothing happened. I groaned and sat myself up, but immediately I was overwhelmed by the smoke. I reached for my wheelchair, but somehow found myself landing heavily on the floor instead. The air was better down there, but not by much.
I army-crawled my way to the door,
