A jet of hot steam shot out of the side of the boiler, hitting the brick wall opposite us.

The sound was like a roaring jet engine.

The basement began to fill with white mist.

“Carl, we have to turn the main gas line off!” I yelled over the noise.

“The shutoff is in the back hallway,” Carl shouted back.

He started toward the rear of the basement, but Mallerie blocked his path.

She raised the heavy steel wrench in her hand.

“You’re not touching that valve,” she said.

Her face was slick with sweat and condensation from the escaping steam.

“Mallerie, you’re going to kill us all if that boiler blows,” Carl said.

“It won’t blow,” she said, though she took a step back from the hissing valve.

The pressure gauge on the front of the boiler was rising rapidly into the red zone.

The needle vibrated violently against the glass.

“Derek, get out of here!” I screamed.

Derek didn’t move.

He was still holding his phone, capturing the scene as the steam began to obscure his mother’s face.