The last thing twenty-one-year-old Pat Fletcher saw before the explosion was the chemical-filled steel tank beside her suddenly ballooning outward. With alarm she realized the plastic hose in her hand had grown unusually hot. Then the world flashed blindingly bright and turned a brilliant blue, the color of the flames engulfing her body. When she awoke, Pat thought she might be dreaming. The world around her was featureless and dark, as though she were lost in a gray, smoky fog.

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