Girls Save the World in This One - Ash Parsons Page 0,60

They don’t really act like a couple, do they?

“All it takes is for that door to fail, if enough zombies push on it who knows? And what happens then?” Linus says.

“Right,” I say, backing him up. “Not to mention that we don’t know what’s behind any of these other doors, maybe a zombie is there, and what if they come out somehow?”

“Well, we’d run,” Annie says.

“Where?” Rosa asks.

Annie gestures impatiently at the stairwell door. “We can go down to the first floor then. Go out the loading docks or whatever.”

“Right, so let’s at least check it out, huh?” I ask. “Let me just tiptoe out there now, while we’re not being chased by anything, and I’ll check out the lay of the land.”

I don’t say that I have no intention of coming back.

Siggy is still out there somewhere.

Siggy, and Blair.

And I suddenly want to see them, both of them, with a rush of feeling in my heart like a stretch, like a flood. My friends from childhood, Siggy, my goofy doofus, and Blair.

My prickly friend. Who hurt me.

But it doesn’t matter so much now, does it? Not when it’s life or death. Not when the chance to mend our friendship might never come now. Not if anything happens to them.

Or us.

Where did they go?

I have to find them or follow them out, if they got out already.

“It’s a good idea,” Linus urges her. “Better than running into the unknown.”

“Oh, shut up, Linus,” Annie snaps.

Rosa’s voice is measured and soothing. “We can be ready to pull June back and close the door if we need to.”

Annie crosses her arms under her chest again.

“Okay,” she sighs. “Go ahead. Fine. Whatever.”

“Good girl, Annie,” Mia says, checking her phone for a signal again.

“Mia, I swear to God—” Annie doesn’t finish the threat.

“Let’s keep together, everyone,” Imani says. “Rule one: We only fight zombies, right?”

I put my hand out to the lever handle, trying to feel steady in spite of my heart hammering in my chest like a runaway train.

Or something that isn’t a mixed metaphor or whatever.

Holding my breath, I push the door handle down silently.

It goes, and I feel the metal tongues pulling back into the door, feel it start to give as I gently press with my shoulder.

Then it stops. A solid stop. Something is blocking it.

“I said you can go ahead.” Annie’s voice is sharp like an ice pick.

“It’s blocked!” I crane my neck, shifting first up on my toes, then down low as I look through the window, trying to get a glimpse of what might be blocking it on the other side.

I push more, and Linus helps.

We try to be quiet at first, but end up slamming it with our shoulders, hard.

A loud bang resounds through the stairwell on the other side of the door, and down the hall for our efforts.

The door doesn’t budge.

“Well, that’s anticlimactic,” Mia quips, her voice dry.

“Okay, so we stay here.” Annie pulls her cell phone out of her tight pleather pants pocket, and swipes it on. “I’m going to try 911 again.”

We’re surrounded by cinder blocks and tile, so I don’t need to check my phone to know it’s useless.

“No signal,” Annie says. “Still.”

“No, none of us has one. I imagine it’s the corridor,” Linus says.

“Try the Wi-Fi,” I tell her. “Maybe we can use Skype.”

Annie starts rapidly swiping through her phone.

From the other side of the door is a loud groan.

“Oooookay,” I breathe, lifting the microphone stand arm, ready to jab.

“Let’s hope whatever is blocking that door can’t be easily moved,” Rosa says.

As a group, we back away from the door.

“The Wi-Fi is down!” Annie snaps in frustration. “This thing is useless.”