Chapter 16 - The Falling House
The floor beneath Mark's feet shivered violently.
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!
The countdown timer from the basement was accelerating.
"The whole house is coming down!" Marcus shouted from the hallway.
Mark held Lily under his left arm and Emma under his right.
He bolted through the master bedroom doorway into the smoke-filled hallway.
Plaster and dust rained down from the ceiling as the support beams cracked.
Victoria was crawling along the floor, clutching her bleeding shoulder.
She reached out and grabbed Mark's ankle as he passed.
"Don't leave me!" Victoria begged in sheer terror.
"The house is falling!" she shrieked.
Mark looked down at her for a fraction of a second.
He pulled his foot free from her grip without saying a word.
"Marcus, move!" Mark yelled.
They raced down the creaking wooden staircase as the walls around them began to buckle.
BOOM!
The first primary charge detonated in the basement level.
The entire foundation bowed sideways.
The glass doors of the lower living room shattered into millions of flying sharp pieces.
Mark threw his body over his daughters as they slid across the hardwood floor toward the front entrance.
Marcus smashed through the front front door, clearing the path.
They threw themselves out onto the muddy lawn just as the second explosion rocked the structure.
BOOM!
The entire summer cabin collapsed inward on itself.
The heavy wooden roof caved into the burning center.
The entire structure slid off the muddy cliffside into the churning black ocean below.
A cloud of orange flame and black smoke billowed up into the night sky.
Mark lay on the wet grass, holding his daughters tight against his chest.
Their terrified cries were the sweetest sound he had ever heard.
"Is everyone okay?" Marcus panted, collapsing onto the grass beside them.
"We're alive," Mark breathed heavily, kissing the tops of his daughters' heads.
"It's over," Mark said softly.
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"It's finally over."
Suddenly, the headlights of three vehicles flashed on from the top of the dark driveway.
