by Paul Moxham
“It’s not too far,” Logan said. “I think one of us could manage to get down to the doors.”
“What then?” Muscles asked. “Those doors would probably require two people to open them as well. It’s risky enough for one person to jump down, but impossible for two people.”
“I say we wait it out,” Baldy suggested. “I trust Peter and Xavier, so whatever the problem is, I’m sure they’ll be able to fix it.”
“It’s not about trust,” Muscles said. “And no, we’re not going to wait.” He glanced up at the roof. “We’ll have to try to get through the service hatch.”
Muscles pressed the stop button on the elevator several times. “I’m doing this just in case the power returns before we leave. I wouldn’t want anyone to get crushed if this started moving again.”
Muscles looked up at the hatch. “If someone sits on my shoulders, they might be able to reach it.” He turned to his son. “Do you want to try? You’re probably the lightest.”
Jet nodded. “I’ll do it.” He climbed on his father. He was just able to reach the hatch. With Logan shining his flashlight up at the roof, Jet had no trouble finding the screws that held the hatch in place.
But he couldn’t undo them. Deciding that they didn’t have time to waste, he used all the force in his arm and punched the hatch with his fist. “Yes!” Jet yelped as the hatch came away from the screws and fell down into the elevator.
“Can you climb up onto the roof?” Logan asked.
“I’ll try.” Feeling about with his hands, Jet was able to get some sort of a handhold, and a couple of moments later, he was standing on top of the elevator. He glanced around, but it was too dark to see anything. He bent down and reached out his hand. “Hand me the flashlight. I’ll see how close we are to the next floor.”
Logan handed the flashlight to Muscles, who handed it to Jet.
The teen swung it around, the darkness swept away by the powerful beam. He grinned as he saw that the roof was just about level with the next floor. “The floor is only a foot higher.”
“That’s good news,” Baldy said, speaking for the first time in ages. He had been sitting down in the corner of the elevator since the power had gone out, but now he was standing next to the others.
“You two go first,” Muscles said, “then you two can help me up.”
As Baldy walked forward, Logan put a hand on his shoulder. “Wait!” He turned to Muscles. “I’m not sure Baldy and I could pull you up.”
“I’m sure we could,” Baldy said. “Come on, give me a lift.”
Muscles hesitated. Then he looked at Logan. “Good thinking. It might be easier if you two hoisted me up.”
With Muscles telling them what to do, Logan and Baldy lifted Muscles up until he grabbed the side of the service hatch. Then, using his powerful muscles, he pulled himself up. Once he was through, he bent down and helped Baldy up.
Soon, everyone was on the roof of the elevator. With Jet and Baldy staying where they were, Logan and Muscles climbed up onto the ledge and attempted to open the elevator doors.
They were easier to open than the first set of doors. As they slid open, Logan peered out, hoping there wouldn’t be anyone in sight.
Chapter 23
Kenneth didn’t know what he’d do if he encountered the Seod, but he couldn’t just hide. Especially as he had told the teens to go to the rear of the boat.
Seeing the paddle that he had dropped earlier, he picked it up and slowly crept forward. His only hope was to knock the creature into the water.
He paused and listened as he reached the far end of the vessel. He frowned. He couldn’t hear anything. Stepping forward, he still couldn’t hear anything. Then, to his left, he heard footsteps. They seemed to be coming from the other side of the boat. As he listened, they became fainter.
Walking around to the other side, he couldn’t hear them. He walked back to the cabin and didn’t hear a single thing. Then, just for a second or two, he heard something by the rocks.
He breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed as though the Seod had walked around the boat and then left, not bothering to do a search of the cabin. He didn’t know why he wouldn’t have done a thorough search, but maybe he, or humans for that matter, weren’t that important to the Seods. After all, it was the briefcase they wanted, not them.
He turned and concentrated his attention on Molly and Derek. Where were they hiding? Could they be in the cabin? He checked it out, but no, that wasn’t their hiding place. Deciding to search the rear of the boat once more, he walked back.
As he did so, he heard the rumble of the Striker fade. Listening, the noise soon became faint, and then impossible to hear. It looked as though it had left. After switching on his flashlight, he began calling out to the others. “Molly! Derek!”
As soon as Derek’s name left his lips, a yell came from down near the water. “We’re here!”
Kenneth shined the flashlight down onto the water and smiled as he caught sight of the teens huddled next to each other on a dinghy.
He waited for them to climb up the rope ladder that was attached to the rear of the boat before he hugged them. “It’s so good to see you. I was worried.”
Derek thinly smiled back. “Me too. At first, I wasn’t sure if the first lot of footsteps were yours, but then, as they got closer, they sounded a bit different from human footsteps, so—”
“We knew then that it was a Seod. So we just stayed as still as we could, hoping he wouldn’t discover the dinghy,” Molly said.
“Which he didn’t.” Derek frowned. “I wonder why not.”
Kenneth put his arms around the teens. “I also wondered why he didn’t give the boat a bigger search, but maybe we just weren’t important enough. Or maybe they had a deadline they had to meet.”
“Did you hear the aircraft leave?” Derek asked. “I thought I did, but I’m not sure.”
“Yes, a few minutes ago.” Kenneth glanced toward the darkened island. “I’m going to check if the briefcase is still there.”
Molly took hold of Kenneth’s arm. “We’ll go with you.”
The three of them walked to the front of the boat and climbed down onto the rocks. They walked back up to the tea house, and upon reaching it, Kenneth swung the light around.
All their stuff that they hadn’t managed to grab was still in sight, just not where they’d left it. It was clear that the Seods had moved everything in their search.
“It probably won’t still be here, but …” Kenneth made his way to the bush and bent down. He expected the worst. There was nothing. He sighed and walked back to the others, who were picking up their stuff. “It’s not there.”
“Are you sure?” Molly asked.
“Do you want us to check?” Derek questioned.
“Well, I guess you could, just to be certain,” Kenneth replied.
The three of them walked over to the bushes and began a thorough search. After five minutes, it was clear that the briefcase was gone.
Kenneth kicked the ground in frustration. “I did think that it would be gone but …” He sat down beside the fire, which was all but out.
“At least we’re alive,” Derek said.
“And we’re safe,” Molly said.
Kenneth nodded. “For that I’m grateful. I just wish there was something else I could’ve done. At least if I’d seen what was in the briefcase. Shoot, I don’t even know why it was so important.”
Molly yawned. “So, what do we do now?”
“We could do with some more sleep,” Kenneth said, “but I don’t think we should stay here. We were lucky the first time, but if for some reason the Seods return, we might not be so lucky.”
“But how do we get off the island?” Molly asked. “I don’t suppose you found the keys to the boat.”
“No, I haven’t, but we don’t need those.” Kenneth stood up. “Gather everything you can and head back to the boat.”
“What for?” Derek asked. “We can’t start the boat without the ke
ys, so—”
“We’ll use the dinghy,” Kenneth said, gathering up a rug.
“The one we hid in?” Molly said.
Kenneth nodded. “If I can find a map and a compass, I’ll be able to row to the other side of the lake. We can stay there until morning.”
“Are we still going to Sparks?” Derek said as he followed Kenneth back to the boat.
Kenneth nodded. “Yes. I know we haven’t got the briefcase, but I still want to find that general and speak to him about it. Besides, if you want to find your parents, that’s in the same direction.”
The three climbed back onto the boat. While Kenneth searched for a map and compass, the teens gathered together what they thought they could fit into the two backpacks they had found on the boat.
Ten minutes later, they climbed down the rope ladder and into the dinghy. They put the backpacks in the middle. The teens sat side by side at the front, and Kenneth sat at the rear. He untied the craft from the boat and handed the compass, map, and flashlight to Derek. “Make sure we’re heading in the right direction, okay?” After grabbing the oars, he began to row.
Once they were clear of the island, Derek switched off the flashlight, leaving only the moon to guide them.
“How long do you think it’ll take to get to Incline Village?” Molly asked.
“I don’t know,” Kenneth said. “It’s around twenty miles away, according to the map, but as I’ve never rowed a dinghy that far, I don’t know how soon I’ll get worn out.”
“I can help out when you want a rest,” Derek said.
“Thanks. I’ll need one,” Kenneth said, “just not right now.”
~*~*~
Logan breathed a sigh of relief as he saw no one. He turned to Muscles. “Want me to scout ahead, or is it best to stay as a group?
“We’d better stay together in case we run into trouble.” Muscles glanced back at Baldy and Jet, who were still standing on the roof of the elevator. “It’s all clear. Let’s go.”
The four of them were soon standing in the hallway of the fifty-seventh floor.
Logan shined his flashlight around. “We’ll have to head for the fire escape stairs. With the power out, it’s the only option.”
“Do you know which way to go?” Jet asked.
“No, we’ll have to try our luck.” Logan glanced at Muscles, who was shining his flashlight around. “Shouldn’t we conserve our batteries? It could be a long night ahead.”
Muscles nodded and swiftly switched off his flashlight. “Good thinking. Now, as you are familiar with this building, why don’t you lead the way?”
“Well, I haven’t been in this part before,” Logan admitted, “but there should be stairs on either side of the tower, so I say we continue down this hallway and head left when we can.”
“Sounds good to me,” Baldy said.
Logan set off. It took some time getting used to traveling in the darkened hallways, but at least they had the light of the flashlight to guide them.
Before long, after walking past a number of deserted offices, Logan came across the main elevator shaft. After pausing for a moment to confirm that no one was nearby, he continued walking.
A few minutes later, Logan pushed open the fire escape door and shined the flashlight around. “Here we are.”
Muscles checked his watch. “We shouldn’t have any trouble making it to the eighty-third floor before eight forty.”
“Are we still going ahead with that plan?” Baldy questioned.
“Why wouldn’t we?” Muscles replied.
“Well, the power is out and—” Baldy paused as the lights suddenly came on.
“Hey! The power’s back on.” Jet went to the door that they had just come through and opened it. Glancing through, he saw that the lights were also on in the hallway. “Yep, it’s on back here as well.”
“We should return to the elevator and use that to get to the eightieth floor,” Baldy said. “I’m not too keen on climbing thirty floors.”
Muscles shook his head. “No. We’ll use the stairs. At least now we won’t have to use our flashlights.” He switched his off and Logan did the same. “I’m still not sure what caused the power to go off for that amount of time, but it would have disrupted the party upstairs. Sanchez will surely send someone to check on the generator, as well as tell his men to watch out for any suspicious movements. So we can’t take any chances. For all we know, someone could already be going to check on why the service elevator is on the fifty-sixth floor.”
Muscles took out his pistol and gave it a once over. “From this moment on, anyone we encounter, by sound or sight, automatically assume that it’s the enemy and act appropriately. But no shooting unless it’s necessary.” He looked at Baldy. “I’ll take the lead and you take the rear, okay?”
Baldy nodded. “Will do.”
After all the weapons had been double-checked, the group climbed up the stairs. As each member was relatively fit, the group moved steadily up each floor.
Before long, they reached the seventieth floor. Even Muscles was puffing by this time, so they opted for a rest. While everyone was sitting, Logan heard a noise.
Frowning, he stood up and gazed around as he tried to work out where the noise was coming from.
Muscles glanced up at him. “Is someone coming?”
Logan hesitated. “I’m not sure.”
“I can’t hear anyone,” Jet said.
“Just listen. It’s faint, but it’s there.” Logan pointed upward. “It’s coming from up there, I think.”
Muscles walked up a few steps and paused. “I still can’t hear anything, but for some reason, it feels a tad cooler here. Almost as though there’s a breeze blowing.”
Logan frowned. “Now that I think of it …” He quickly turned to Muscles. “I just thought of something.”
“Me too.” Muscles turned and hurried up the staircase, the others quickly following him.
Jet wondered why rubble was strewn everywhere. He was just about to ask his father when he came to a stop.
“We’ve got trouble,” Muscles said.
Logan stared. The above floor, including the staircase, no longer existed! Glancing around, he realized a massive part of the wall had also gone. That was why it was a tad cooler and why he had heard the noise: it was the wind as it blew down the staircase.
“What the hell happened here?” Jet asked. “It looks like a war zone.”
“Must have been one of the missiles,” Baldy said. “You know, from the Seods when they hit the city three weeks ago.”
Muscles nodded. “That’s the only answer.”
Logan stepped forward. The staircase abruptly stopped just before it reached the next floor. “We could still make it to the door, I think.”
“It looks pretty risky to me,” Jet said. “We’d have to grab onto that piece, pull ourselves up, leap onto that other one, and then jump once more until we reached the door.”
“Yes, but then we’d be fine,” Logan said. “I’d rather do that than walk to the other side of the building and climb up the other set of stairs.”
Muscles shook his head. “We can only see as far as that part of the staircase.” He pointed to the stairs that led to the next floor, just past the door. “For all we know the rest of the staircase might be damaged farther on.”
“It looks fine to me,” Logan said.
“That part, the one that’s still there, doesn’t seem too stable to me,” Baldy said. “More than half of it is broken away from the wall. Who knows when it will completely break. If that happens while one of us is on it …” Baldy fell silent.
Muscles glanced at his watch. “I wanted to attack at eight forty, but as long as we do it before nine, we’ll be fine. That being the case, I say we head for the other staircase. I’m not one for taking unnecessary risks.”
Chapter 24
Xavier knew that he had to hide. He had been thinking of a much more elaborate plan, one which involved taking out the men, but with the ligh
ts now on, the men had the advantage.
Xavier rushed over to the nearest vehicle and pulled out his knife. He attempted to pry open the trunk. Fortunately, the blue sedan looked pretty old, and it didn’t take long before it opened.
After tossing his rifle inside, he glanced around. No one was yet in sight, but he could see by the red light that the nearby elevator was descending. Knowing that it could stop in the garage, he clambered into the trunk.
It was a tight fit, but he just managed to close the trunk. It was completely dark inside, but that didn’t matter. There was only one thing he needed to do right now and that was to think. And he didn’t need to be able to see to do that.
As he began to think of what to do next, he realized it’d be beneficial if he could hear if anyone came near, so he pried open the trunk just a little. A small stream of light flooded in. He listened, but apart from a faint noise that seemed far away, he couldn’t hear anything.
Glancing at his watch, he saw it was eight twenty. It was clear to him that unless the others had used the elevator to go all the way to the top, they wouldn’t be able to get there in time. But as long as they attacked before nine, which was when the main attack in the lobby was scheduled to happen, that would be fine. Peter troubled him the most. Would the men interrogate him? If so, would he tell them about the plan?
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps. Peeking out through the crack in the trunk, he couldn’t see anyone.
The footsteps stopped. Xavier listened closely as he waited for anything that would indicate what the person was up to. But he heard nothing. No talking, no footsteps, nothing. Just silence.
~*~*~
Muscles had just caught sight of the fire escape door, the one that led to the other set of stairs, when it flew open from the other side.
Muscles and the others stopped in shock as three men, dressed in khakis and carrying shotguns, came through. The man in charge, a tall, muscular fellow, yelled out, “Hey! Who are you?”
“We could ask you the same question,” Muscles chuckled, prowling slowly toward the men.
