With that, they headed out to the tasks at hand. More than any of them, Bunny felt the pressure of the situation, had faced it closer than any of them, and despite her strong tone, was more fearful than they could imagine. The night was still long ahead of them and there were hungry dead at their door.
The stairwell that led to the roof was through the cold room, behind a locked and barred door. Bunny had gotten the keys from Randy, but felt a bit uncertain that she wanted to proceed. Whatever she found up there, she already knew it wasn't going to be good.
Regardless, she unlocked it and stepped into the stairwell, looking up quickly for any signs of movement. Behind her, Rebecca eased the door shut, trying to keep quiet just in case.
With a quickly exchanged look, the two headed up to the heavy steel door. It was locked and chained regardless of its rare use. The only people who ever had a need to come up here were heat and air repairmen and roofers, and Randy had long forbidden access, in case someone wanted to attempt a one-and-half-story suicide jump.
Bunny released the chain and unlocked the door, taking a deep breath before pushing it open. She was immediately hit with the strong smell of smoke carried on the cold night breeze. Shaken by it, she stepped out.
Beyond lay a terror she’d never imagined. As the gravel on the roof crunched softly under her feet, she tried to take it in, Rebecca gasping beside her. Dale hadn't lied, for it did indeed look as if Hell had risen and engulfed the city.
Before them, laid out in terrible glory, the city of Chicago burned. The skyscrapers of downtown were the worst, fire clearly burning out of control on several floors. Everywhere they looked, the night was illuminated by red-orange glows and smoke billowing into the heavens.
"Dear God," Rebecca managed.
In the distance, they could hear sirens wailing. Emergency services trying vainly to cap the gates of Hell. Somewhere by the rail yards, an explosion went off, sending a fireball into the sky, followed by horrifying screams.
Far and faint, for the most part, carried on the wind, human shrieks echoed to their ears, speaking of unimaginable torment. Some were closer by, far too close for Bunny's taste.
A heavy thunder in the sky behind them drew their attention up as a dozen Apache helicopters flew by, escorting half as many Blackhawks, heading in the direction of Washington Park. Bunny watched them go, wondering what they’d seen tonight.
Forcing herself to accept this as part of her reality, Bunny eased towards the edge of the roof to look over into the parking lot. What she saw made her jump back quickly, cursing under her breath. Rebecca, seeing this, eased forward for a peek as well.
Below them, milling around the parking lot, were dozens of the monstrosities. Several were close by the front door, pushing on it, or beating the walls with their fists. The rest were just shuffling about aimlessly.
Bunny stepped forward again, scanning the lot and picking out her Camaro, several rows back from the door. Other cars were there too, belonging to the rest downstairs, but she was more interested in her own set of wheels. She knew it was fast, and sturdy, but it wouldn't hold enough of them.
Walking the edge of the building, she kept looking for options until she spotted the old van Randy had bought a few years ago. He'd intended to do a Deliver-A-Stripper program to raise interest in the club but couldn't get through all the red tape and had eventually dropped it. The van, though, he still used from time-to-time.
Crouching down, Bunny leaned over the edge a bit to see what was below her and spotted the loading bay doors a few feet away. Chewing her lip, she gauged the distance to the van, and sighed. It wouldn't be easy to reach, but it could be done.
Turning, she settled back against the small wall that marked the edge of the roof and tried to work out an escape plan that would get as many people out as possible. Not far away was an exterior ladder, guarded by a locking panel and a cage at the ground to keep people from using it.
Rebecca sat down next to her, wiping her eyes. "This is bad, Bunny."
"I know," Bunny replied. "But we can't let it get to us."
"Yeah," she said. "Chin up and shit."
Bunny looked at her then dropped an arm around her oldest friend's shoulders. "We'll get through this, Becca. I promise. When have I ever let you down?"
"Never," came the reply as the other woman choked back tears.
"Never," Bunny echoed. "And I'm not gonna start now."
Rebecca nodded slowly. With that, they climbed to their feet and quietly slipped from the roof, relocking and chaining the door. It was doubtful any of them could get up to it, but better safe than sorry.
With a heavy heart, Bunny headed back down the stairs. Rebecca was right, and she knew it. This was far worse than either of them had expected. For all her brave words, Bunny wasn't sure if any of them would see morning.
As Bunny returned to the main room, she saw Bruno, Caroline and the other two waiting for her. Rebecca left her side to go sit on the main stage, pulling her knees under her chin. Bunny kind of wanted to join her, but the looks on everyone's faces told her she needed to see what they had to say.
"We're locked down," Bruno said as she joined him at the bar. "Nothing’s getting in here."
"Ditto," Caroline said. "And we may have a way of
