Cruel World(141)

The ground slid away.

They were falling, sliding down amidst tumbling dirt and sucking mud. Alice let out a shriek, and Quinn tried to stabilize himself and Ty by falling to his back. For a horrifying second, gravity threatened to flip them forward into the abyss of open air but then they were stopping, his feet gaining purchase. Alice tumbled beside him on all fours, barely holding onto the shelf they rested on. Collincz and Denver were nearby still on their feet.

They had fallen down to the next step in the inverted pyramid, the following drop beside them almost double the first descent and twice as steep.

“Everyone okay?” Quinn asked in a low voice. They nodded their assent, except Ty who only clung tighter to him. “Let’s go,” he said, leading the way along the new level. The mine wall began to curve more as they hurried along its lip. Quinn peered ahead trying to make out the rear face of the pit, but the rain was falling harder, obscuring everything to a silver vapor. He kept his eyes on the ground ahead of them, looking for the signs of another weak spot that would send them all tumbling to their deaths below. After minutes that seemed like hours, Collincz called out and they stopped. She made her way to Quinn and glanced around, her blond hair plastered to her skull.

“The door’s somewhere near here,” she said, squinting against the rain. “Let’s try climbing up at the next possible route.” He nodded and was about to take a step when Alice grabbed his arm.

“Look,” she said, pointing down into the depths of the mine.

Tall shapes were moving across its floor, barely discernable through the storm.

There were hundreds of them.

“Oh God. They smell the bodies,” Collincz said, raising her weapon. Alice grasped the soldier’s arm, and they moved forward as one. After another minute, they came to a chasm of larger rock running perpendicular to the ledges. It looked like some kind of drainage channel. Quinn placed his feet on a heavy boulder and tested it. It didn’t shift.

“Get on my back, buddy,” he said, kneeling down. Ty swung around, re-gripping his arms around Quinn’s neck and digging his knees into his sides. Quinn stepped out on the column of rock and began to climb. “Put your hands and feet where I do,” he said over his shoulder to the women. He moved slow and sure, testing each hold before placing his weight on it. Luckily the section of rock wasn’t completely vertical but ran upwards in a steep slant. As he climbed, he was transported back to a cliff ledge overlooking the ocean, searching for the right place to secure himself. He gave in to the vision, ignoring the ache in his muscles, the choking pressure of Ty’s arms around his neck, the rain slicking the holds, the throbbing roars in the mine below.

Then he was at the top, pulling himself onto a wider expanse of dirt beside the barrier. A short distance away was a broad steel door set between two of the pillars, a heavy iron bar bolted across its middle.

Quinn gently released Ty to the ground and turned to help Alice up the last feet of the slope. Collincz came next and then Denver, who climbed up the rock in a surefooted lunge of muscle. When he turned around, Collincz was already at the door, digging for something in her uniform pocket. The rain pounded down, and he hugged Alice and Ty tight to him, relishing the feel of them safe for a moment. Below, the grunts and croaks of the stilts filtered up to them.

“Hopefully they haven’t surrounded the entire compound,” Collincz said, pulling out a small ring of keys. She selected one and shoved it into the lock securing the bar across the door. She turned it, and the lock popped free.

A stilt lunged out of the rain and swiped Collincz away from the door.

She flew into the open air over the mine and fell out of sight without a sound, her blond hair waving as she plummeted.

“No!” Quinn yelled, bringing up the pistol. The stilt bellowed, opening its mouth wide as it charged. He fired twice, both bullets blasting teeth apart as they ripped through the stilt’s mouth and out of the back of its skull. It fell forward, bouncing off the edge of the pit before rolling down and out of sight.

There was more movement along the path ahead, long forms striding forward.

Quinn grabbed the bar on the door and yanked it up and away. He grasped the handle and pulled. The door opened into a rain-drenched field. Alice raced past him carrying Ty, and Denver followed, bounding out through the open door. Quinn aimed at the next stilt that appeared through the rain, the shot punching it in the chest as the pistol locked open and empty. He shoved the gun in the back of his pants and slammed the door shut behind them.