Summary

Brandon prepares to head up back to the restaurant where his father works. The stairwell is smokey, its walls spiderwebbed with cracks, the stairs slippery with what Brandon fears is jet fuel. Brandon keeps slipping but stays focused. An accomplished skateboarded, he has learned “You always crashed, even when you are good…and you learned to get back up again” (78). He reaches the 89th floor only to find that the stairwell abruptly ends in a pile of rubble and an open gap, giving Brandon a breathtaking view of Manhattan. He crawls along the edges of what is left of the floor but gets dizzy from the heights and from battling the constant whipping winds. He pauses and watches as a rescue helicopter comes into view. Brandon is momentarily hopeful until the pilot signals that he cannot do anything and flies off. Brandon then...