“Shit,” Frank said. “I’ve never come in from this side before.
“I know the way,” Luke said. “Follow me.”
He led around the corner into an alley, up a flight of stairs, then through a bashed-in door. We emerged into a spacious auditorium with hundreds of red velvet chairs and a large white screen. Someone had shredded the bottom half with a knife, probably for the material. Many of the cushions had been ripped off the seats as well, and a black spot on the floor let me know this place was used as a campsite at least occasionally.
I paused near the exit. Faded pictures of people had been pinned to the wall, along with handwritten messages.
Have you seen my daughter?
Sam, I’ve gone with Dad to the place we talked about. Hope to see you there soon.
Listen to them, the children of the night.
The floor was tilted uncomfortably as Luke lead us down a twisted hallway, out towards some kind of glass and metal bridge connecting two buildings. Planks of wood stretched between the foundation beams.
“That can’t be safe,” I said, eyeing the street level far below. We must have climbed several floors while cutting through the buildings.
“It’s fine,” Luke said, stepping through it quickly. He even paused to bounce a bit on a beam, before continuing to the other side.
I’d just stepped off the planks into some kind of office building when I heard a scream and the sound of broken glass behind me. Beatrice was hanging from her fingers, at least a dozen feet from the bridge, where one of the boards had shifted and was now wedged precariously against a pane of glass. It cracked as I watched, and splinters forked across its surface like lightning.
“Hang on!” I shouted. I reached into my pocket, popping the cork with my thumb, and downed the rest of the elixir. It wasn’t much, but it had to be enough. It ignited with the adrenaline in my system, filling me with a rush of energy. I slid across the floor towards the open window of the building, then flung myself out into the air just as the glass broke. I grabbed one end of the makeshift bridge and Beatrice’s wrist, gritting my teeth as she fell. But my grip held.
The bridge groaned under our combined weight, shuddering lower.
“Stay back,” I yelled as Trevor inched his way out towards us.
“What do you want me to do?” Trevor asked, his eyes wide.
I tried not to look below me. We were on the third floor, but the jagged maw of the sinkhole opened up below us, and there was nothing to break my fall.
Beatrice didn’t have any elixir, and even if she was strong enough to climb her way over me, I wasn’t sure if the bridge would hold that long.
“The window,” I said, jerking my chin towards the flat sheet of glass of the floor below us. The building was at least twenty feet away, but it was our best shot.
Luke pulled out his pistol and fired three rounds, shattering the glass to create an opening.
“Ready?” I asked, looking down at Beatrice. Her eyes were full of fear, but determined. I swung her back and forth twice, building momentum, before flinging her into the ledge of the next floor. She tumbled to a stop, rolling over the broken glass, but then stood and brushed herself off.
My turn. I tightened my grip, swinging gently. I had to cover more distance, with less leverage. On my second swing, the bridge snapped. I felt the instant gravity took hold. But I was faster. I scrambled up the falling bridge like a ladder, pushing off one end and throwing myself forward. I managed to catch the lip of the window, pulling myself up into the opening. The glass shards bit into my skin, but I hardly felt it.
“We made it,” I panted, turning around. I gave Beatrice a hand up, after wiping my bloody hands against my dark skirt.
My smile faltered when I noticed we weren’t alone. At least six large, bearded men, with homemade masks and weapons, were hiding in the shadows behind the overturned furniture. My elixir-fueled vision picked them out of the darkness easily.
“Elite!” one of them shouted.
I heard a gun fire a round.
I barely had time to shove Beatrice out of the way before the bullet pierced my shoulder.
3
“Hold your fire!” A voice barked a command. Someone made his way towards me, his palms raised. I looked up into pair of