Holocaust

         He had to get to the control room. The fire was spreading too rapidly. He didn’t know how the fire had started; it didn’t matter. All that he knew was that he was inside a huge chemical plant. If the fire spread to the chemical tanks, then any area downwind of the plant would be engulfed in a toxic cloud. Thousands would die.
         The problem was that the main facility was an inferno. Flames ripped trough drywalls and paper stacks, turning the building into a furnace. Getting into the control room would be difficult. But he had to.
         The building was beginning to fall apart. As he moved through the facility, he saw that the corridor leading to the control room was blocked by fallen debris. No matter. Pulling the sledgehammer off his back, he swept the pile aside with a few swift blows. Then, he stared down the corridor in shock. The passage was ablaze, the walls burning like a torch and fire shooting in all directions. He thought of turning back; then he envisioned the catastrophe that would follow. Gathering his courage, he charged through the inferno as fast as his ponderous gear would allow him. He could feel the scorching heat of the flames even through his oxygen mask. Almost certainly, he thought, he was burning. But he kept going.
         He made it to the other side and was surprised to come through unscathed. His radio squawked.
         “Six, where are you?”
         “I’m in the control quad, one floor below the control room. The A corridor is on fire. I don’t think I can get out that way.”
         “Try the C Corridor. Two, Three, Five and Nine are down in that area.”
         “Six out.”
         Six’s attention turned back to the situation at hand. He sprinted up the stairs having to adjust his footing as they crumbled in places. He opened the control room door and pressed several keys. The tanks were now protected. His radio barked urgently.
         “All units pull back!”
         Six sprinted toward the stairs. As he began to run down them, the building shook violently. The stairs collapsed, bringing Six with them.
         “Six, come in.”
         “Yeah?”
“The fuel tanks at the truck bay blew up. Get out.”
         Picking himself up, Six took off down Corridor C as the building collapsed. He sprinted until he reached the outside, diving to safety. Six tore his mask off, gasping for air. He had succeeded.