“Any chance they didn’t actually see us come in here?” Finn asked.
“It’s hard for them to track in the daylight,” Cass said. “Maybe they lost us.”
Mouse patted her on the arm and shifted position to take over putting pressure on Wick’s wound. Cass lifted her hands slowly while he slid his in underneath and piled more gauze on top of the wound. Cass’s hands were tacky where the blood had soaked through the first layers of the dressing.
“They know we’re here,” Wren said from the hall. Gamble looked at him, and then at Cass.
“If he says they know, they know,” Cass said.
Gamble nodded.
“Sky,” she said, “we need some elevation… Understood… Can you check for roof access…? I understand that. I’m not asking to clear the whole thing… Alright, check.” She shook her head. “Can we get Wick up nine flights?”
“He’s lost a lot of blood,” Mouse said. “I don’t want him going into shock.”
“I’m not dead yet,” Wick said. “You don’t have to talk about me like I am.”
“Sorry, you lost a lot of blood,” Mouse replied.
“I didn’t really lose it, it’s all right outside.”
“Knock it off, Wick, this isn’t a joke,” Finn said.
“I can make it up some stairs,” Wick said. “If someone can carry my pack.”
“I’ll take it,” Cass said, before anyone else could respond.
Swoop finished rigging the charge on the door and dropped back. Outside the cries of the Weir had dropped off. Mouse had Wick hold the gauze in place and started winding a wide bandage over the wound and around under his armpit.
“What happened in there, Finn?” Swoop asked.
“I don’t really know,” he said. “We were clearing rooms, everything was fine. Come around a corner, and we’re staring at a crowd of Weir packed into a little dark room in the middle. Just standing there, all packed in together. Tried to back out, one of ’em pounced. Wick went down and it was on top of him, and the rest started coming after us. Like walking into the middle of a hornet’s nest.”
“My fault,” Wick said. “Took it too fast…”
“No way anyone could’ve anticipated that,” Finn said. “It was like they were switched off, and we woke ’em up. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I don’t think anyone has,” Swoop said. “Never gave much thought to where they went during the day.”
“Alright,” Gamble said. “I want to get up to the roof, get a good look at what we’re dealing with. Swoop, Finn, rig the first two flights of stairs. If they breach that door, I want it to cost them.”
“You want to drop the stairs, or just kill a lot of ’em?” Swoop asked.
“Both.”
He grunted. “That’ll take most of what we got.”
“I’d rather use it all than die with it in your pack.”
Swoop gave a little nod. “Check.”
“Everybody else, we’re moving topside,” Gamble said.
“To the t-t-top floor?” Painter asked.
“No. To the roof,” Gamble said. “We don’t have time to clear the whole building, but we can control the roof. Get your stuff, and we’ll move up.”
Cass grabbed Wick’s pack. It was a lot heavier than she’d anticipated, and she once again marveled at Gamble and her “boys”. As far as she knew, none of them were modified or enhanced with chems, or gene splicing, or servorganics. Just raw humanity and determination. It made their skill and stamina that much more impressive. Cass looped the straps over her shoulders, backwards, so she could carry his pack in front of her. Then she took Wren’s hand, and together they followed Gamble down the corridor towards the stairs.
Behind them, Mouse helped Wick to his feet, and looped Wick’s right arm over his shoulders.
“Lean on me, let me do most of the work,” Mouse said. “And try to keep that left arm as stable as possible.”
“Alright,” Wick said.
“You let me know if you start feeling weak, dizzy, or like you can’t catch your breath.”
“I feel like all that right now.”
“Then let me know if it gets worse.”
“Alright.”
They all started up the stairs together, Gamble leading the way, cautiously leading with her weapon. Cass came right behind, with Wren by her side. Painter followed them. Mouse and Wick brought up the rear.
The stairwell was plain: bare concrete floor and stairs, a simple iron railing. Vertical slot windows were spaced every so often, lending enough light to see by, but they were too narrow to give any meaningful view of what was going on outside.
Down below them, Finn started laying out charges and some other devices Cass hadn’t seen before, while Swoop went to work rigging them up on the first set of stairs. Cass had never been around so many explosives before, and she found it wholly unnerving, even as much as she trusted Swoop as an expert.
“Hey,” Gamble said, calling back down to Swoop and Finn. “Make it good enough, not perfect. I don’t want you fiddling around down here.”
“Ain’t the kind of thing you rush, G,” Swoop answered.
“We’re more spread out than I like already. I don’t want you guys getting cut off.”
“Go on,” Finn said. “We’ll be right behind you.”
Gamble looked like she was about to say something else, but instead she just nodded and resumed leading them up the stairs. Once they got to the top of the second floor, she said in a lowered voice, “Sky, we’re coming up.”
She kept her weapon up and swept the angles as they presented themselves, constantly vigilant for any sudden threat. Each floor was virtually indistinguishable from the others. At each landing, the stairwell connected to a long, dark corridor with doors on either side.
As they passed each one, Cass tried not to think about Gamble mentioning how they didn’t have time to clear the whole building. There was no telling who — or what — might be lurking down any one of those halls, or behind any one of those doors. The fact that they hadn’t heard or seen any signs of danger gave some small comfort, but the memory of the cascade of Weir pouring out of that building was still too fresh.
They took their time climbing the stairs, not wanting to rush Wick, not daring to get separated. Though it wasn’t really that far to climb, by the time they reached the top floor, Cass’s legs were starting to burn from all the weight she was carrying, combined with the slower pace.
Beyond the ninth floor, the stairwell extended up in a fully enclosed corridor, like a toppled chimney. There were no windows, and Cass knew for the others it must have seemed an overwhelming darkness. At the top there was a single door, which she assumed led out onto the roof.
Gamble halted at the bottom of the steps, and flicked on the red light affixed to the underside of her gun. “Sky, we’re coming out.”
She led them up the final flight of stairs, and swung the door open. The flood of sunlight overwhelmed Cass completely, and everyone shielded their eyes. When they made it out onto the roof, Able was waiting for them there by the door. Cass drew her veil down. When her eyes finally adjusted, she saw Sky set up at the edge of the roof, facing the enclave.
The roof itself was flat, with a few industrial-grade vents — and large dormant machinery of unknown purpose — clustered near the center. Here and there were scattered broken remnants of once-useful things. Cass guessed anything of value had long ago been scavenged by the residents of Ninestory. Or rather, by the former residents.
The team piled their gear by the rusted machinery. Mouse eased Wick to a sitting position, leaning back against their packs and facing the door. Wick was pale, his face slick with a thin sheen of sweat. His breathing seemed shallower and more labored than it had before, and Cass hoped it was just from the exertion of the climb. Mouse knelt next to him and checked his vitals. He didn’t look happy with the results.