Because everyone said the sun triggered the plague. Made it worse. True and false.
To the aliens it proved deadly, and it activated the virus that plagued humanity. However, afterwards, the mutated suffered in its rays. Like vampires, only not the sexy kind.
Smoke leached from the edges of the door. The fire had caught. How far would it burn? It might fizzle out. Either way, we couldn’t stay up here forever.
“Once we hit the street, we will have to move fast,” Xavion explained.
“You do realize we’re twelve stories up?” I reminded in case he’d forgotten.
“I know. But we can’t stay here.”
“I don’t suppose we could wait until the dawn?” The night wasn’t meant for humans to roam.
“Depends. How do you like living?”
“Ugh.” My fantasy life was coming to an end.
But at least I still had Xavion.
“Come on, Lia, it’s not that bad. They haven’t won yet.” He held out his hand, one leg bent, foot resting on the ledge.
“Is this where you admit you’re actually a mutant who can fly?” Spoken as I walked toward him. Better the hunk I knew than the spider mutant who wanted to eat my face.
His fingers were firm and reassuring around mine. “I’ll keep you safe. Ready?”
For anything.
Chapter 13
Knowing we were going down and how it would happen? Two different things. The dark rooftop didn’t reveal many options. Did Xavion have a ladder stashed? Maybe a fire escape that I’d never seen since we usually approached from the front, not the back where he peered down.
Somehow, I had previously missed the fact there was a contraption holding a window-washing scaffold to the ledge. It wobbled as Xavion helped me on to it.
“How long has this thing been here?” I muttered.
“Long enough to save us.”
Good point. I tried to be more grateful and dug my nails into my palms when he cranked something and the suspended scaffold jolted into motion.
“Is it a bad time to admit I’m scared of heights?” I stared straight ahead, not down.
“Are you more scared of heights or mutants?”
“I’d really prefer a third option,” I muttered, clutching the bar tight as the contraption jerked and squealed as it cranked down slowly.
“Did you put this thing in place for an emergency escape?” I asked, anything to forget the many stories below us.
“No. The boom was already here when I found the place. It saved me the trouble of rigging a zip line.” He obviously prepared a lot more than I did. Making me wonder how much of my survival I owed to dumb luck.
“What if we get to the ground and they’re already there?” Because, hey, why not start panicking now?
“I’d worry more about the ones the fire didn’t stop that are now on the roof.”
I glanced overhead in time to see a mutant leaping over the edge!
Chapter 14
“Incoming!” I screamed as the mutant with a few extra limp legs and a green-and-gray-hued carapace, plummeted in our direction, eyes bright with insanity.
“I see it.” What did Xavion do with the warning? Rocked the fucking scaffold.
I screamed as I held on. “You crazy fucking bastard!”
“Stay out of the way,” yelled as Xavion pulled his sword and swung.
Just in time. He knocked the mutant away. I didn’t look but assumed gravity applied and pulled it to the ground where it couldn’t hurt us.
One down.
I glanced up and didn’t need him to say, “Stay sharp, Lia. We’ve got more incoming company.”
No shit. I saw them overhead. Heads peeking over the edge, looking human until they leaned too far and showed their mandibled, misshaped mouths.
Metal screamed as Xavion screwed with the mechanism. The scaffold jerked as we began to plummet a little bit faster.
We were doing great until we jolted to a stop. Lopsided, I might add. The whole contraption tilted, and I held on even tighter.
Xavion braced and leaned against the incline, glaring upward. “We need to get off.”
“We’re only halfway to the ground.”
“I know. But they’re not giving us a choice. They’ve figured out to screw with the ropes.”
They as in the mutants. Why were they being so persistent?
A glance upward showed one grabbing hold of the cables to shimmy down.
Oh fuck.
I didn’t even think. I pulled my gun and aimed. Hit my target, which yelped and fell off, glancing off the railing and sending us rocking.
I almost fell out.
Xavion exclaimed, “Mind not shooting at the only thing holding us up?”
“I couldn’t exactly let it climb in with us,” I remarked. Miffed he’d not congratulated me. Embarrassed that dumb luck had saved the cable. I’d not even thought of it when I fired.
“We’re sitting humans here,” he muttered. A chilling change on an old expression.
Quack.
An ululation of excitement drew my gaze upward in time to see a mutant throw itself over the edge. It leaped too far and missed us.
“They’re not going to stop,” I muttered, glancing at the next one preparing to leap. So many of them. What the hell?
“We need to get off this thing.” Xavion used the hilt of his sword to rap the window. Harder. It did nothing.
“We don’t have time for this,” I grumbled. Gun already out, I fired. The window splintered, and a sweep of his sword cleared the many jagged shards.
He leapt in first and offered his hand. I didn’t need it but appreciated it as I clambered in after him. Just in time.
A body plummeted from above and hit our scaffold hard enough it snapped. It swung like a broken pendulum.
Gulp. Just a few more seconds…
A flash of light caught my attention.
Xavion had lit the dusty couch on fire. “Quick. We need to get downstairs before them.” He held my hand and pulled me out of the apartment. We raced down the hall and into the stairwell. My heart pounded. I heard skittering and hooting as the monsters above us noticed and changed direction.
“They’re coming,” I huffed.
Xavion had more tricks. The landing held a bottle I’d never noticed before tucked under the first step. He pulled it and squirted, leaving a big puddle at the end that he dropped his lit Zippo into.
Whoosh.
I had an irrational craving for marshmallows before giving myself a shake. He’d bought a minute at most, possibly only seconds.
Our footsteps boomed as we raced, the debris in the landings now making more sense. Xavion had planted them there, and given the sudden flare of light and heat as one of them ignited, I had a feeling he might have planted some flammable items too.
“We need to get out of here,” he confirmed, which led to a final burst of speed. We took the final two landings in leaps and bounds. We burst onto the street but only ran a few paces before stopping and whirling.
The apartment building was on fire. The apartment he’d lit had its windows glowing, and inside the front doors, the lobby was getting rosy cozy.
I pretended to not hear the screams as monsters burned alive.
“We did it.”