Everyone watched in horror as Alex and Maryann fell from the fourth-story window.
Alex held Maryann tight in his arms, and then he threw her silk stockings around a water pipe, hoping that it would break their fall.
Unfortunately, the stockings couldn't bear the weight of two people, and they ripped, sending the two of them crashing toward the ground.
Luckily, Alex's quick maneuver had slowed their descent before they slammed into the grass.
Alex landed on his back with Maryann still in his arms. They lay there, stunned, but they were both conscious. Alex wiped the blood from his lip and groaned in pain.
Maryann lifted her head to look at him, and she could see the pain etched on his face, but she had no idea how badly he was injured.
"Don't move," she whispered to him. "You're going to be okay."
Julie and the paramedics came rushing over, shouting their names.
Alex coughed and then wiped another trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. "I'm fine. Don't worry."
If he hadn't been holding Maryann, then he wouldn't have sustained as many injuries, but the impact had clearly done some damage.
"You're coughing up blood. Are you sure you're okay?" Maryann asked. She was concerned that he might have internal bleeding. "Why did you hold me the whole way? We should have jumped separately."
"I didn't want you to get hurt," he replied, shrugging. "Go and get checked out by the medics now. Leave me be."
But Maryann refused to leave his side and unexpectedly kissed him.
Alex was speechless.
Julie stood next to them, looking worried. "Are you sure you're both all right?" she asked, biting her lip.
"We'll be fine," Alex replied. "What about you? Are you okay?"
"No, not really," she said, clearly on the verge of tears.
"What's wrong?" Maryann asked.
"My sister is still up there," Julie said. She had just realized that her sister was not among the crowd that had fled the building when the fire had broken out.
They both looked at her, too stunned to speak.
That afternoon, Julie had brought her sister to meet Maryann and had asked if she could join the new project.
Maryann had refused because Alex had said that he didn't want anyone new who wasn't familiar with the project. This had upset Julie, and she had pleaded for her sister to be able to work. She explained that her sister had had a difficult life, but that she was now a medical student, and she really needed this job.
Maryann had pointed out that the company had regulations aimed at preventing nepotism, and she couldn't hire someone who hadn't been thoroughly vetted. She also hadn't been comfortable hiring someone so young. When Julie had begged, Maryann had ignored her and had gone to the seventh floor to relax, but Julie and her sister had stayed in the office, finishing their coffees.
When the fire had broken out, Julie had gone to see what was going on and had left her sister in the office. Later, once the fire had spread and everyone had been evacuated, Julie had left the building, assuming that her sister would have gone down with everyone else.
Maryann found it strange that Julie wouldn't have noticed her sister's absence until now.
"How could you not notice? Why did you leave her?" she asked reproachfully. She looked up at the flaming building with despair.
The fire trucks still hadn't arrived, and the entire building was engulfed in flames. There was no way anyone could still be alive inside.
"I don't know. It's just human instinct to run." Julie put her hands up to her face and began to weep. "It's all my fault!"
Alex looked up at the building and said, "We need to get her out of there."
Maryann turned to look at the crowd. "Why haven't the fire trucks come yet?" she asked incredulously.
"I called them, and they were on their way, but they got held up by traffic," one of the security guards said quickly, stepping forward. "Then the road in here was blocked by a white car, and it caused a bit of chaos."
"They'll get here," another guard said. "But it's going to take a while."
"A white car?" Julie stopped crying. "Is it mine?"
"You're hopeless," Maryann said, rolling her eyes.
"What's wrong with you?" she demanded, looking at the security guards. "Tell your team to go and get any cars out of the way. I'll pay for any compensation if you need to do any damage."
Alex exhaled a long breath and tried to sit up. "I'll go back in."
"What? You can't!" Maryann pleaded. "We almost died up there."
"I have to save her," he replied calmly.
Maryann took his hand and tried her best to talk him out of it. "I don't want you to go up there again."
"It's okay," he said. "I rescued you, and I can get her out, too."
He didn't want to go back in, but he couldn't leave someone in there to die.
The expression on Maryann's face was a mixture of worry and anger. "You can't go!" she cried, unable to stand the thought of losing him.
Alex gathered his remaining strength and slowly got to his feet. Maryann didn't have the energy or strength to stop him, and she couldn't walk on her sprained ankle.
She cried out anxiously, "Alex, what are you doing? Please don't go in there."
"Julie, stay with her," he said, ignoring her pleas.
When Maryann saw him heading back toward the fire, her heart sank. For the first time, she wasn't sure he would survive. She began to weep, knowing how risky it was for him to go back into the burning building.
Beside her, Julie also wept as she wrapped her arms around herself.
Alex went up to a security guard and said, "Give me your coat." When the guard handed it over, Alex soaked it before putting it on, and then he rushed back into the building with a flashlight in hand.
"Is he crazy? Why is he going back in?" the security guard asked, watching him go. "He already saved you. Is there someone else still inside?"
"Julie's sister is in there," Maryann replied.
"I don't know if he's brave or just stupid, but I'm impressed," he said. "Remind me to buy him a drink. If he makes it out alive, that is."
Everyone saw Alex heading back into the building and watched in awe.
He headed straight for the third floor, where Julie had said that her sister had been. He hoped he could get her out before there were any more explosions.
The fire was worse than before, but it only took him a few minutes to get to the third floor.
The coat he had borrowed was shielding him from some of the heat, but the fire had become so intense that the heat was unbearable.
The whole corridor was filled with thick smoke, so he could hardly see anything, but he made his way over to the conference room and kicked the door open.
Outside, Maryann stared up at the building and cried out Alex's name. She wanted to run in and drag him back out, but all she could do was pray that he would make it out alive.