by Matt Ryan
A grim smile spread across Simon’s face. Through the dirty windows above, a black aircraft hovered in the sky.
“Fine, but we want—” Joey stopped when he heard a loud crackling sound and the humming of electricity winded down to silence.
“What the hell?” Simon patted his body as if searching for something in his pockets.
“I took down his shield!” Julie screamed.
Harris was the first to shoot, but Simon was incredibly fast. He ran across the room, Harris trailing him with bullets. Simon grabbed Julie and with his sword on her neck, used her as a shield. They all had their weapons out, pointed at Simon. With his other hand, he pointed his gun at Harris.
“You’re my new shield.” Simon shook Julie around.
“Kill him! Don’t worry about me!” she pleaded.
“Let her go,” Joey said. He kept looking for a shot, but Simon moved behind Julie, making sure they didn’t have an opening.
Sweat formed on Simon’s forehead as he stepped backward toward the door. He kept glancing above to the aircraft. Shaking Julie again, he stuffed the knife against her neck. “If any of you move, I’ll take her head off.”
Julie, wide eyed, shook her head.
Joey tried to slow things down, but nothing happened. He concentrated on the sword Simon held but still—nothing. Simon was almost to the door. Joey continued to put all of his concentration on his anger and his fear.
Poly stood to his left, her knife gripped loosely in her hands. She looked calm and determined. Hank, his face contorted with anger, walked next to Joey and shook. Joey nodded to them as they pointed their weapons at Julie. They would only have one shot at this.
“What are you doing? I’ll kill her!” Simon yelled.
Joey whispered a countdown as he aimed at the tiny spot on Simon’s shoulder, a muscle that would force his hand to drop the sword. A little low and he’d hit Julie, high and he’d miss entirely, giving Simon a reason to hurt her.
He couldn’t miss. “Three, two, one.”
Squeezing the trigger, he felt the recoil as the bullet left the chamber. Simon’s hand opened, dropping the sword. His expression changed from shock to confusion as he stared at the gaping wound in his shoulder.
Julie pushed Simon’s arm off her and dropped to the ground as a knife flew by her hair and into Simon’s other arm. Lucas’s arrow whizzed by Julie and grazed Simon’s neck. He reached for his neck, his fingers turning red. Stumbling back, he grabbed for his gun but his arm didn’t work properly and the gun fumbled out of his hand.
Hank ran at Simon and hammer-fisted him in the head, grabbed his neck, and spun it with a cracking sound. Simon collapsed to the ground.
JOEY PICTURED THIS MOMENT ALL through his training, but as Simon lay dead on the ground, bleeding from his mouth in a dusty old warehouse, the magic evaporated. He saw him for what he was, a pawn. He was doing a job for a man, collecting a prize for someone else.
Outside, a loud alarm sounded.
“It’s the craft. They’re coming,” Harris said. “Quick, there’s a tunnel in the back room.”
“What about Almadon and Compry?” Julie whimpered.
“Hank, can you carry Almadon?” Harris asked.
Hank nodded and picked up Almadon’s lifeless body.
Compry sat on the table. Her head swayed as she balanced herself.
“You think you can walk?” Harris asked her gently.
“If I can hold on to you,” she said softly. “Did you guys kill Simon?”
“Yes,” Harris said.
“Good, the kids will be safer now,” she mumbled as he helped her off the table.
“Come on.” Harris rushed them to the entrance.
Joey couldn’t stop staring at Simon’s body. They’d actually killed him; each took a part in it. Lucas and Julie were in the same trance, staring as he bled onto the dusty floor. Through the windows, Joey saw black ropes dangling into the alley.
“We’ve got to go, guys,” Joey called out, being the first to move.
Lucas was next, and the rest followed as they made their way to the back room. Harris dusted off part of the floor, revealing a steel door much like the one in Ferrell’s convenience store.
“Lock it.” Harris pointed at the door they had walked through.
Joey pushed a large steel bar over the door, just as the sound of glass breaking sounded in the next room. He flinched and some of his memories creeped into his mind. Zombies crashing the glass at the store, Unitas’s face close to his. He shook his head in an attempt to shake the memories loose. The old man, the hero, who saved them all in his beat-up car full of explosives. That’s whom he wanted to think of.
“Come help me lift this, Lucas,” Harris said.
The steel door creaked and groaned as Lucas and Harris pulled on the door. A layer of dust slid off the door as they lifted it to a ninety-degree angle. Under the door, a wheel stuck out of the bottom side. The rusty underside looked ancient and dripped with moisture. Harris motioned for them to go in.
An explosion in the next room rattled the windows above.
“They breached the first door. Hurry up,” Harris ordered.
The sound of feet shifting in dirt filled the room next to them. The pounding echoed on the steel door, but the latch held.
“They’re going to blow up the second door,” Julie warned.
Joey stared down the dark staircase under the hatch—the last place he wanted to go. He took out his gun and made the first step down the concrete stairs leading into darkness. The damp smell intensified as he made his way to the bottom step.
Stepping off the last step, his foot landed in a small puddle, splashing the water. He turned around to tell them to come down, but Lucas was directly behind him on the stairs. They all were. Hank carried Almadon on his shoulder. Compry touched her limp hand, crying as Hank moved down the stairs.
“Keep moving. I’ll close the door,” Harris said.
Another death. Seeing Compry mourn her friend weighed on Joey. He couldn’t help but feel responsible. She would never have been there if not for them. How many more people would die for them before someone said enough? He pulled his attention away from Compry and stared at the blackness of the tunnel ahead. It seemed brighter than what was behind him.
Water splashed around Joey as he strode down the tunnel. He felt wetness intruding his shoe and hoped it was water. A glow from Julie’s Panavice filled the tunnel and allowed him to spot a ladder with a faint, white number seventeen behind it.
The sound of an explosion echoed through the tunnel.
“They blew through the second door. We had better hope the hatch gives them more trouble. What is this, a storm drain?” Julie asked.
“Yeah, it’s the old drainage system,” Harris answered. Compry held on to his shoulder and gazed at the floor. Joey saw tears flowing down her face. Harris placed a hand on her shoulder and they stared into each other’s eyes. “We need to keep moving.” Compry sniffed and nodded her head.
Joey turned and jogged at a slow pace down the pipe. The ladders passed at steady intervals. He wanted to get out of this tunnel and off this whole planet. He hadn’t wanted to be home this bad in a long time.
Hank’s heavy breathing filled the tunnel. After a few minutes, he no longer heard Hank’s breathing and turned to see he had lost the group. He slowed down with Julie and Poly right behind him and waited until a light from Harris appeared. Hank adjusted Almadon on his shoulder. Blood covered his shirt and a grim look spread across his sweaty face.
Muffled sounds of banging steel followed with the sharp sound of bullets striking metal. Joey peered past Harris into the dark tunnel.
“It’ll hold for a while,” Harris said. “Not much farther. Ladder thirty-two is the one we want.”
Joey watched the ladders as he ran by them in regular intervals. He slowed down at the next one, 31 displayed behind it. One more to go.
Joey stopped at the next ladder with a faded 32. The rest stopped
next to Joey, with Hank coming in last. Compry took her grip off Harris and leaned against the wall, breathing heavy and holding her bleeding stomach.
The ladder led up to a small, round tube jutting above the tunnel.
“Lucas, go up first and open the door. Don’t leave the room up there,” Harris said.
Lucas nodded, adjusted the bow on his back, grabbed the first rung of the steel ladder and climbed into the dark tunnel above. There was the sound of steel sliding on concrete and a faint light illuminated the hole above.
“All clear,” Lucas called down.
Julie climbed out of the tunnel.
Harris met eyes with Hank and then looked up the ladder and the small shaft. “I don’t want to do this, but we can’t take Almadon with us. It would cause a scene and we would be given up instantly.” He looked at the damp floor and rubbed his eyes.
“We can’t leave her in this sewer,” Hank said, adjusting her on his shoulder.
“She gave her life to save you guys. She wouldn’t want it wasted on traditions,” Harris said.
“We’re not animals, Harris.” Compry’s tears flowed. “We can cremate her here,” she said as she leaned against the wall, holding her stomach.
He nodded. “The rest of you go up. Hank, lay Almadon here.”
Hank carefully laid Almadon on the concrete floor. Joey stared at her dead face. He didn’t get to know her well, but after the time he spent with her, he knew she was someone special. Joey fought back tears, more from seeing how much Almadon’s death was affecting Compry, Nathen, and Harris. They loved her and now she was gone. He clenched his teeth and felt a tear fall on his cheek.
Harris pulled a small bag from his pocket and sprinkled its contents around Almadon’s body.
“Get up the ladder, guys,” Harris whispered.
Joey followed Hank up the ladder. He heard Compry and Harris whispering below, but couldn’t make out the words. He climbed through the hole at the top and into the room above.
A dim bulb flickered, bouncing light over the carpeted walls and floor of the small room. The light stopped flickering and stabilized, giving him a view of Julie and Poly. They scowled at Lucas, while he faced a large window, looking into another room.
Nathen and Compry climbed through the hatch and slumped against the door. Nathen grabbed hold of Compry and held her as she sobbed.
He looked down the hole and watched Harris climb out of the hatch. Harris slid the steel lid to an inch of closing, held out a Zippo-style lighter, lit it, and dropped it into the tunnel. He closed the lid and placed his hands on the steel, staring at it for a moment. Bright light beamed out of the holes in the lid. Compry let out a cry.
“I’m sorry,” Joey whispered, placing a hand on Harris’s shoulder as he stood. Harris nodded and dusted off his jacket.
“Where’s Almadon?” Julie asked.
Harris walked to Julie, put an arm around her, and whispered to her. He couldn’t hear said the words, but he got the gist.
Harris let go of Julie as she covered her mouth as her eyes welled.
“Almadon would want us to move on. She would want us to make it,” Harris stated to the group. “Save your mourning for when we have the time. Pretend she’s alive for one more hour.” He looked at the round, steel lid on the floor.
“He’s right,” Compry said, wiping tears from her face and pushing away from Nathen. “She’d kick our asses right now, knowing we’re wasting time over her.”
Lucas turned to face them and a smile disappeared from his face. “What’s going on?” he said.
Joey looked to see what Lucas was smiling about and he stumbled backward against the wall. A woman in skimpy lingerie looked at them, smiling, turning her body from side to side and looking up and down. What the heck is she doing?
“Dude, it’s a two-way mirror,” Lucas said and rubbed his hands together.
The woman posed in the mirror and then turned to the dressing room door as another woman dressed in red panties and bra opened a door.
Joey stared at the exhibition at first, but averted his eyes as the two women held hands, laughing at their mirror. It didn’t feel right. Some pervert probably set up a webcam down there and took advantage of unsuspecting women. Lucas didn’t seem to have a problem with the voyeurism as he smiled and waved at them.
“You’re sick, Lucas,” Poly said.
“What? They can’t see me.” He shrugged.
Joey glanced at Poly. It felt awkward being in the room with her while women in revealing lingerie put on a fashion show.
“I don’t know what’s grosser, the fact that Lucas is getting off on this, or the fact these women are trying on lingerie at a store,” Julie said, wiping her eyes.
“It’s not really a store,” Harris said. He looked miserable and maybe it was a reflection off the light, but Joey thought he saw tears in his eyes.
“What do you mean this isn’t a store?” Lucas asked.
The two women giggled at each other and one slapped the other’s butt.
“They’re putting on a show for whoever is in this room. Once you entered here, their light went on and they come out,” Harris said.
“Wait, so this is some Peeping Tom show?” Lucas appeared enthusiastic about the idea.
“Whatever Peeping Tom is, but sure, it’s just a show. One of many here. This is the red part of Capital. No one wants to be noticed here, we should be good to go. Besides, I know the Madame.”
Harris opened the door out of the room and leaned into the doorway, looking both ways. He motioned for them. A long, dark hallway with doors on each side and windows near each door, stretched out in front. Joey stepped onto the soft-carpeted hallway, resisting the urge to grip his gun as a few people mingled nearby. They kept their eyes forward, looking into windows. He relaxed and stepped forward, allowing Poly and the others to come out.
Harris walked down the hallway and waved his hand for them to follow.
The first window showed the two dressing women in lingerie hugging each other and laughing, and then they started bouncing up and down, holding hands.
The next window had a woman in a soapy bathtub shaving her legs. The next window was the last one Joey would look at. A large woman wearing a diaper and bonnet, riding a tricycle in circles while sucking on a Popsicle. She winked at him as he walked by.
Lucas looked at the woman on her bike, shaking his head in awe. “That must be the best-built tricycle in the whole world.”
Joey moved next to Poly and Julie and followed their lead of looking at the floor.
“I think I’d rather be strapped back in that chair than be here,” Poly said.
He laughed, but thinking of that chair and not being able to move while Unitas tortured him, made his stomach queasy. Keeping a smile on his face, he kept the thoughts from overtaking him.
Poly kept her eyes on him and he matched her, watching her face as they walked down the hall. He saw the words mounting on her lips, but she pursed them and looked ahead. They would have to wait for another time to have a talk. He had so much he wanted to tell her, and seeing death made the matter even more urgent. He wondered what she was thinking.
“This place is foul,” she leaned over and whispered.
“They do anything to you back at the hospital?” Joey whispered thinking of the threats laid out by Unitas.
“No, they kept me under for most of the time. I’m not even sure what day it is.”
Joey got a glimpse of a set of twins, in what appeared to be a pie fight.
Poly shot a glance at him and looked to the floor. “I heard you screaming. They told us you were dead.” Even in the dimly lit hall, he saw the tears welling in her eyes and her voice cracking.
“I’m here and we’re going to make it, Poly.”
“I know and the sooner we can get out of this place,” she glanced at a muscular, oiled up man doing laundry and took a deep breath of disgust, “the better.”
Harris stopped in front of a pair of doors and tu
rned to face them. “Before we go up, we’ve got to cover up Hank and Compry.” Harris took off his jacket, holsters and his guns and placed them on Compry. She pulled the jacket around her body to conceal the bloodstains on her shirt. Joey copied him and handed his jacket and guns to Hank. The jacket was small on Hank, but it was enough to cover the gore.
“We look rough, but this is a rough place. Keep your head down, don’t look at anybody, and follow me,” Harris instructed quietly.
“Where are we going?” Julie asked.
“To see the Madame.”
“Who’s that?”
“She’s the one who’s getting us out of here.”
SHE’D NEVER BEEN IN A more disgusting place . . . and she just came out of a sewer tunnel. Poly didn’t even want her feet touching the soft carpet, and made a mental note to replace her shoes. Better yet, just burn them.
She kept close to Joey, watching his eyes to see if they would wander to the peep shows. He slipped a couple times, but mostly he kept them pointed at the floor. Oh, how he tried to be the good guy.
Thankfully, the soft carpet ended at the steel staircase. Steel felt more sanitary; she could only imagine what lurked in the confines of that carpeting. The clanking sound of their steps on the stairs filled the crowded space. A few flights of stairs and they came to a door marked 3b.
Considering what had happened over the last few days, she wasn’t a fan of opening doors when she didn’t know what was behind them. She felt the seven-inch, weighted, throwing knife at her leg—one of the few blades left after the parking garage, a gift from Compry. Feeling the steel on her fingertips comforted her.
Compry fell to one knee. Poly gasped and moved to help her, but Harris clutched her arm and got her back on her feet. Seeing her in a weakened state shocked Poly. Compry was the blademaster, a person she could only hope to become. There was no way that gunshot was going to stop her.
“You doing okay?” Harris asked.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Compry gave Harris a weak smile.
Maybe this Madame has knives. Poly tried to think positive. A sturdy kitchen knife would work in a pinch.
