Fire Alarm

Joanne awoke slowly, hearing a vague beeping from around the condo. Her eyes fluttered, and saw nothing but a dim darkness spread across the room. Occasionally, her eyes would catch a glimpse of white light flashing through the window, followed by a loud ringing from the hallway. Now more awake, Joanne slid to the side of her bed, and began to process the events that were unfolding. "Ringing... Flashing..." Joanne said in murmurs to herself, as she rubbed her eyes. Joanne took in a deep sniff of the air, and her eyes widened. "Fire!"

Immediately, Joanne picked herself up out of the bed, and ran into the room across from the master bedroom. "Lacey! Sam!" She yelled, entering the room with a wide-eyed sense of alertness. She quickly figured out neither of her daughters were in their beds, and looked towards the doorway to see them putting on shoes with a glassy, tired expression over their faces. Joanne rushed towards them, and made sure to step into a pair of flip-flops as she opened the hallway door. "Come on, hurry!" She exclaimed, motioning out the door. Lacey looked up, and her eyes widened as if she was going to say something. "Mom, I-"

"There's no time, hurry up!" Joanne interrupted, putting her hand on Lacey's shoulder and urging her out the doorway. Lacey looked ready to speak up again, but a sly grin from Sam convinced her to keep quiet. The two decided to head down the stairs, leaving their mom behind. Joanne took just a few minutes debating whether to grab her suitcase, when she noticed smoke beginning to come up from below the window. In a panic, Joanne slammed her door shut, and took off down the empty hall.

It was only once Joanne was halfway to the stairwell that she realized two things. One, Joanne noticed she hadn't grabbed her room key on the way out the door. And secondly, she was stark naked in a hotel hallway.