Deathtrap (Crossbreed #3)(75)

“Don’t be a smartass. How high is it?”

“Oh, about to my waist.”

“We’ll crawl.”

Shepherd got down on his hands and knees, putting the blade between his teeth as he flattened himself out and propped himself up on his elbows.

I knelt to do the same thing but suddenly grabbed his belt. “Stop!”

He froze.

When I got a little lower, I saw it. “There’s another one close to the ground. We can’t crawl.”

On his elbows still, he scooted himself backward and stood up. “I’m guessing this isn’t the way he comes in every day. Does it go all the way across the room?”

I leaned back and squinted. “Looks like it.”

“Anything we can stand on to jump over?”

“Nope.”

“Lead me to the wall on the right.”

We walked a short distance and stopped.

“Is the floor clear of debris?” he asked.

“Yes.”

He felt the wall all the way down to the floor. “Anything on the other side… like a pillar?”

“No.”

He continued, his questions rapid-fire. “Any holes in the floor?”

“Exactly what’s your plan?”

“Lead me a foot from the wires.”

I did as he asked, convinced we would be forced to retreat and search for another way inside.

Shepherd locked his fingers together and bent over. “Put your foot in there. I’m going to hoist you over.”

Without questioning his plan, I put my foot in his makeshift stirrup and flattened my hands on his shoulders.

His body tensed. “Are you ready? One… two… Geronimo!”

Shepherd lifted his arms, and I sailed over the wires and slammed against the concrete with a thud.

I wiped the dirt off my face and sat up. “Geronimo? Whatever happened to three?” After giving the room a quick scan, I stood up and rubbed my sore shoulder. “And how the hell are you getting over here?”

Shepherd placed both hands on the wall and then took large strides backward at an angle. “On a wing and a prayer.” He slid his knife across the floor, and it skidded past me.

My eyes widened when he charged toward the wall. Once his hand made contact, his legs rotated as if he were doing a cartwheel. Shepherd spun right over the wire, defying gravity as he hit the ground and rolled to safety.

I stared down at him in disbelief. “You are one crazy-ass Sensor with a death wish.”

Without a word, he found his knife and stood up. We continued at a slower pace so I could focus on possible traps. When we reached the far end, I slowed down.

“Door,” I whispered, wondering what this place had originally been used for.

“How many?”

I examined the long wall in front of us. “Just one.”

He cursed under his breath and moved around me. “How much can you see?”

“Very little. It’s too grainy, and I can only make out shapes.”

Shepherd inspected the door, pushing his fingers beneath the crack at the bottom and feeling all around. “Well, here goes nothing.” With a hard jerk, he shoved the door open and flew back.

We both stood with our backs against the wall, waiting for something to blow up or fire at us.

Nothing.

“What if it’s a room full of spiders?” I said quietly.

“You’re not helping.”

I peered inside and then took his arm. “It’s clear.” The moment I stepped inside, I felt myself falling.

Shepherd caught my arm at the elbow, and I almost slipped through his fingers. With my legs suspended in midair, I stared down and into the abyss. It was a hole in the floor, and God only knows how far it went.

“Pull me up!” I shrieked. “Back away!”

He stumbled backward and dragged me to safety. “What the hell?”

I panted hard, my arms now wrapped around his thigh. “There’s no floor. It’s a big hole.”

“Why don’t you unglue yourself from my crotch and I’ll check it out.”

I crawled to safety and then stood up. Meanwhile, Shepherd lifted a rock and tossed it into the hole. When it never hit the bottom, I shuddered.

He kept tossing pebbles all around until they tapped on the concrete. Finally, he tucked his knife back in its sheath. “Five feet.”

“Don’t bother locking your fingers together. I’m not jumping over that hole. We should head back and follow behind Viktor.”

“Son of a bitch. If the door opened the other way, I’d take it off the hinges and throw it over the hole.”

That was an interesting idea, assuming he had a screwdriver on him.

He tossed more pebbles to the left and right. “Looks like it’s only in front of the doorway.” Shepherd gripped the top of the door with his left hand, held the knob, and then kicked off so it swung inward with him hanging on.

I poked my head through the opening and watched him drop safely to the floor on the far left.

“You’re next,” he said.

“Wait a second. You spend all day doing pull-ups. And besides, I can’t reach the top of the door.”

He stood up and dusted off his pants. “Improvise.”

My jaw set as the door swung toward me. “Improvise, he says. Fall into a bottomless hole that goes straight to hell. It’s probably filled with spiders. Sounds like a plan.”