billowing joy

She sat crouching with her back against the cold, hard wall. A white sheet was pulled over her head and hung limply, coming to rest just beyond her feet. The fabric rippled gently with every breath she took, and she waited patiently in the cold silence of the apartment. Then, deep from beneath the floorboards, an eruption of air escaped the vent between Madelyn's feet. She shrieked, catching the flapping sheet sent sailing through the air. She quickly repositioned her shelter and secured it to the ground with her hands and feet. Laughing, she marveled at the dome of air that formed around her. The warmth seemed to penetrate her frozen limbs and she heaved a great sigh. A muted light fell through the cover. Her eyelids soon began to droop. But the air began to turn colder and gradually, ceased to blow. The billowing sheet fell, again coming to rest atop Madelyn's head. She could feel the warmth leaving. Her muscles tightened and her toes curled.
Lifting the drape from her face, Madelyn stared at the door. The faint clamor of hurried foot steps echoed in the hallway outside. The noise grew closer and closer until, finally, it seemed as though the person were right outside her doorway. The footsteps stopped. Her heart began to race. A silent white light flashed through the room followed by the earsplitting scream of the fire alarm. The footsteps picked up again, but this time in a run. Plugging her ears, Madelyn started toward the door, planning to head downstairs. As she rose to go, however, a smile broke across her face. Grabbing her coat from the foot of her bed, she pivoted toward the nearest window. In screeching defiance the pane slid open, and Madelyn stepped out onto the fire escape. The morning air was not much colder than that inside, but she shivered as the thin metal shifted beneath her weight. Rounding the corners of the spiraling stair, she imagined an escape from a murderous captor, skipping steps as she jumped along. A grasping hand stretched out to tear her dress, inches away. With frightening speed, the ladder swung Madelyn towards the ground. Landing heavily, she regained her balance on the slick surface and reveled in her evasion.
The residents of the apartment building had formed in a mob outside the front entrance, and as Madelyn approached, she could hear the disquiet among her neighbors. Offered with a strong waft of liquor, a bystanding woman breathed, "Some goddamned kid..."