“See that tall tower over there?” Gracie pointed, and it took William a few seconds to pick out the large metal structure against the dark sky. Triangular in shape, it started with a wide base and narrowed to a point. Not as tall as the tower they stood on, but taller than many of the buildings surrounding it. She said, “That’s where we’re heading.”
William traced a line with his eyes from the bottom of the tower to their destination. The enormous arena stood in their way. “Uh,” he said, “will we go through that thing?”
“The stadium?” Gracie said. She nodded. “Yeah, it’s the best route. Like with the buildings and the roofs, there aren’t any mines in the stadium because the diseased don’t go through there.”
“You know”—Olga said it so loud William jumped—“I would have beaten that scavenger on the roof back there.” She pointed at the first tower. A dark glare levelled on Hawk. Her eyes narrowed. “If he hadn’t tried to be a hero and tripped me over while he was at it.”
Aimed at Gracie, the red-headed girl opened her mouth to reply, but Olga cut her off.
“What I’m saying is I didn’t need your help.”
“I never said you did. And you’re right, Hawk made it a lot harder. Maybe next time”—she turned to the stocky hunter—“let Olga fight her own battles.”
“The same could be said to you,” Olga said.
A long intake of breath raised Gracie’s chest before she deflated with her exhalation. “So that’s the plan. We need to get to that tower. Does anyone have questions?”
They all turned to Olga. Thankfully, she didn’t.
“Everyone okay to move on?” Gracie said. “I don’t know about you lot, but I’m ready to get out of this city. And we definitely need to be out of here before day breaks. This place gets lively then.”
William bounced on his toes and shook his hands to work the aches from his arms. When no one else protested, Gracie set off for the metal door leading into the building.
Chapter 9
Like with every old steel door William had encountered, the hinges on the one leading to the tower’s stairwell groaned and cackled when Gracie pulled it wide. The echo of the mocking call ran down into the darkness. Thankfully, nothing replied.
His body still weak with spent adrenaline, William held back and let the others in ahead of him before he followed Matilda into the building. Jezebel in one hand, he caught the closing door with his other, easing it shut to keep the noise down, and reducing the already poor visibility.
The stairwell had one window every few floors. They let in enough splashes of light to reveal their path in stages. They became illuminated checkpoints, each one taking them ever closer to their way out of the abandoned tower.
Gracie led the line. Too far away for William to hear the details of her conversation, but he got the gist when she turned on Olga with a finger to her lips and hissed, “Shh!”
Olga stepped back a pace, showing Gracie her palms in defence.
William picked his steps carefully, the light from the last window and the glow from the next not enough to guide him. He placed each foot before moving on. If he fell, his weak body would turn him into a rag doll, and he wouldn’t stop until he hit the bottom step.
Despite Gracie’s warning, Olga’s mutterings started up again. He still couldn’t hear the details, but from the tension in Gracie’s back, and from the unrelenting jabbering, he could make a good guess. Another slew of dissent. Another line of questioning that challenged the ginger girl’s right to lead them.
“Will you shut the fuck up?” Gracie said. Louder this time.
“No, I won’t.” Olga placed her balled hands on her hips. “I won’t let—”
Gracie grabbed Olga by the front of her shirt with one hand and the back of the head with the other. She turned the girl ninety degrees, forcing her to look into the long corridor beside them. The number on the wall told them they were on the twenty-first floor.
The moonlight shone through the paneless hole that had once been a window on this floor. Whatever Gracie had just shown Olga, it stole both her words and her will to fight.
Artan next, he poked his head through the doorway, glancing back up at Matilda with tightened lips and raised eyebrows. Hawk, Dianna, and Max all did the same, although none of them shared their concern with Matilda. Instead, they redoubled their efforts towards their silent escape, moving down the stairs on tiptoes at a quickened pace.
After Matilda had looked through the doorway, William leaned in. A long corridor like they’d seen on every other floor. Doors on either side. But this time, bodies spilled from the rooms. Tens of bodies. Had they been slaughtered? One of them twitched and snorted as she inhaled before she rolled onto her side. A headless and limbless torso lay in the corridor about fifteen feet away. Half-eaten and covered in its own blood, it glistened in the moonlight. The soldier they’d seen the scavengers take earlier? Hard to tell.
Another one of them grunted. A directionless kick snapped through her leg. William pulled back. No wonder Olga had shut up. Where the torso came from didn’t matter. They couldn’t help the person now. They simply needed to get out of the building without being heard.
Maybe they moved with the same amount of stealth as before, but every gentle step on the concrete stairs now went off like an exploding mine. Which one would disturb the sleeping mob above? How much of a head start would they need to get away safely?
They passed the eighth floor before Olga started again. “Yet another thing you chose not to mention.”
“Olga,” Max said. One of the few things he’d said since they’d buried Cyrus.
A softening of her features, Olga turned Max’s way.
“Will
