A DEADLY VINTAGE

"Hold your breath!" Hazel screamed, clapping her hands over her mouth and nose.

The toxic white dust plumed violently into the air. Dr. Sterling, sprawled on the wet floor, gasped in panic. That single breath was a fatal mistake. The doctor’s eyes went wide, his hands flying to his throat as the pure Aconitine slammed into his respiratory system. He convulsed once, his heart seizing instantly, and lay still.

The mastermind was dead. But the poison was rapidly spreading toward them.

"The doors!" Silas roared, pointing to the quarantine wards where Mia and the teenage boy were locked. The electronic locks had died when the water shorted the console. They were trapped inside, completely unaware of the lethal dust seeping under the doorframes.

"We have to get them out!" Victoria cried, trying to run forward, but Silas grabbed her by the waist, throwing her backward into the clean air of the hallway.

"You can't go in there! You'll die!" Silas shouted, coughing as a tiny fraction of the dust hit his own lungs.

Hazel’s mind raced. The concentration of the dust was heaviest near the doors. If they opened the wards to get the children, the sudden change in air pressure would pull the toxic cloud directly into the rooms, killing Mia and the boy before they could even scream.

They needed a filtration barrier. Fast.

Hazel looked down at her thick, heavy catering apron and jacket. They were made of densely woven cotton. She looked at the torrent of water pouring from the ruptured pipe in the wall.

"Silas!" Hazel yelled, her voice muffled behind her hands. "Water binds the powder! It makes it too heavy to remain airborne!"

Without waiting for his response, Hazel ripped off her uniform jacket and threw it into the freezing, spraying water, soaking it completely. She tied the soaked fabric tightly around her face, creating a crude, wet filtration mask.

"What are you doing?" Silas demanded, his eyes wide with a terrifying realization of her intent.

"I'm a biochemist," Hazel said, her voice distorted through the wet fabric. "I know the molecular weight. It won't pass through the water."

Before Silas could stop her, Hazel charged directly into the center of the toxic white cloud.

The air around her was thick and blinding. Her eyes burned fiercely, tears streaming down her face, but she refused to blink. She hit the heavy metal door of Mia’s ward and threw her weight against it. The manual override bar clicked, and the door swung open.

Mia screamed, backing into the corner of the room.

"Mia! It’s Auntie Hazel!" Hazel yelled, rushing forward. She grabbed the little girl, pulling off her thick catering apron—which she had also soaked in the water—and wrapped it completely over Mia’s head and face.

"Don't breathe until I tell you to! Hold your breath, bug!" Hazel commanded.

Mia nodded vigorously, clamping her hands over the wet apron.

Hazel scooped the six-year-old into her arms. She turned to the second door. She kicked it open. Victoria’s son, a terrified fifteen-year-old, was backing away.

"Grab my belt! Don't let go! Hold your breath!" Hazel yelled at the boy.

He grabbed the back of her belt.

Hazel plunged back into the toxic cloud, carrying Mia, dragging the teenager. Her own wet mask was drying out rapidly. She could feel the faint, bitter taste of the Aconitine slipping through the fibers. Her chest tightened instantly, a searing pain shooting down her left arm.

Just ten more feet.

She pushed blindly through the smoke. Suddenly, a massive hand grabbed her shoulder. Silas had pulled his own wet shirt over his face, wading into the poison to meet her. He grabbed the teenage boy, throwing him over his shoulder, and placed his other hand firmly on Hazel’s back, guiding her out.

They burst through the heavy double doors into the clean, untainted air of the main hospital corridor.

Hazel collapsed onto the linoleum, rolling Mia away from her and ripping the wet apron off the little girl's head.

Mia gasped, crying hysterically, but her skin was pink. She was breathing normally. She was safe.

Victoria fell to her knees, sobbing as she pulled her teenage son into her arms, kissing his face repeatedly.

Silas stood over them, his massive chest heaving. He looked down at Hazel.

Hazel tried to smile, but her vision was blurring. The edges of the hallway were turning black. The bitter taste in her mouth was overwhelming now. The wet mask hadn't been enough. She had inhaled a micro-dose of the pure toxin.

Her heart fluttered wildly, like a trapped bird, and then slowed to a terrifying crawl.

"Hazel?" Silas dropped to his knees beside her, his cold exterior completely shattering. He grabbed her face, his hands shaking. "Hazel, look at me."

"I got her out," Hazel whispered, her voice fading into nothing. She reached into her pocket with a trembling hand, pulling out the tarnished silver baby bracelet, and pressed it into Mia’s small hand.

"Auntie Haze?" Mia cried, shaking her arm.