Chapter 10
Chapter 10
There is a door on the top floor marked employees only. Inside is a stairwell leading up and down, all white brick and black metal railing, that echoes dangerously loud. Still, I need to get a look around. Maybe I can transfigure a ladder down the building or a walkway to another.
Moans echo into the stairwell from the bottom so I have no choice but to go up. I tug my backpack up higher, snapping the chest strap to steady it and looping a belt through my satchel to keep it from bouncing around. Chains are twisted around the bar of the door marked roof access. A vanishing spell gets rid of the chain as I shove my way out.
"Hello!" a man's voice calls. "Come on, man, hurry up already!"
The roof is all oppressive sunlight, blindingly bright metal pipes, and searing floor. I hurry down the steps and around the pipes to see a man trapped. He's rough and dirty, eyeing me in exhaustion and more than a little fear although I dont think he's afraid of me.
"Who are you?" He snaps almost accusingly but doesn't give me time to answer before asking, "Where are the others?"
"I don't know," I move closer, finally seeing the metal around his wrist that keeps him trapped partially beneath a cluster of pipes.
The man is cursing, looking around wildly. He ducks down to look beneath the pipes, pointing and snapping, "There! I need the tools, kid, get em and hurry up!"
I run back up the few steps, noting the tools spilling out of a bag. I grab them, shoving them back in and running around to the man. He snatches them the moment I'm within reach. The metal on his wrist, it looks like...
"That's an officers cuff, yes?"
"What?" He snaps back but again doesn't give me time to answer, "Ranger Rick cuffed me cause I got high and picked a fight."
There's no shame or embarrassment in his tone. I've never met anyone who has done drugs, although I know that people do them and call it getting high. I just always thought that drugs were a shameful thing, something people would never want to admit to. He didn't even hesitate to say it though so either I'm wrong, which is possible with the language differences, or he doesn't care that I know.
He throws three tools down with a huff, going back to the saw a couple times. It's when he mutters about a key that I think to ask and sure enough, there is a key. He says the man dropped the key and ran. He says the key fell down the grate.
Groans sound from the stairwell so I hastily cast a protego to keep the door closed. I don't know if it will work or not but it's worth a try. A summoning spell, thank you Hermione!, gets the key up from the grate.
Only, I hesitate.
The man hasn't been quiet. His language is foul and slurred but loud and clear enough to be understood. He's been cursing at people, saying how he's gonna 'get em' once he's free, and I'm not so sure that he should be free.
What if I let him loose only for him to hurt others, kill others? Is he like the ones that hurt Mrs. Vanessa and her daughter? Is he going to kill those people for leaving him here?
I slip my wand back in my back pocket, careful to make sure my shirt covers it. I hold the key, such a small key, in one hand while moving back down the steps. Should I let him free? I can't just let the dead eat him. No one deserves THAT!
The man looks up as I move into sight, crowing in delight and grabbing for the key.
I take a step back, just out of reach.
"Kid," his voice growls dangerously.
"Are you going to hurt them?"
The man freezes, his voice low and calm as he tries to order me to give him the key. I shake my head, "If you get free, are you going to hurt them?"
"You really gonna walk away an let the dead eat me Alive?" He snacks out mockingly.
My right hand slips back, gripping my wand as I answer softly, "I won't let them eat you alive."
The man looks me over again, calmer now. He opens his mouth but closes it without saying a word. I repeat my question even if I know he remembers it.
He lets out a breath, keeping eye contact as he answers, "I'm gonna get outta here, if I hafta cut off my own damn hand. Then I'm gonna find my brother who's back at the traitors camp. And WHEN I get there, I'm gonna knock the SHIT outta the cop what chained me and Blackie for dropping the key and runnin."
"You're going to hit them?" I ask, needing to be sure.
He nods his head, "An they deserve it too, kid."
Well... It's not like I've never been in a fight before. Even Hermione punched Malfoy last year. People fight, that doesn't mean they deserve to die.
I toss him the key and he catches it easily. It doesn't take but a moment for him to get the cuff off. He pushes to his feet at the same time the door bursts open. Three dead stumble out, one falling down the stairs and another tripping over the fallen one. The man grabs up a screwdriver and rushes at them.
The mall is too dangerous to go back inside. I run to the edge, following it around to a portion that almost has an angle where two parts of the building meet. A quick transfiguration gets a sturdy metal ladder rippling down the side.
"Kid! We gotta go!" The man shouts, running over but stopping out of arms reach.
"There's too many inside but the streets are fairly clear."
I throw one leg over, gripping the wall until I get both feet steady. The man had lunged forward, almost panicked, but laughed when he looked down the wall. I climb down quickly and he hurries to follow, grumbling the whole way about 'useless dumbasses'.
A few of the dead stumble towards us, gathering at our feet. The man is cursing above me but I ignore him. I would rather not use magic but I do have the knives and bows from the hunting store.
A whispered transfiguration gives me a small ledge just above the dead's reach, no more than a few bricks turned outward. I resize it a little larger because my backpack will make it difficult to turn. I step to the side, resizing a bow from my bag and summoning some arrows. With one hand still holding the ladder I struggle to load it. I really wish I had loaded it before because I'm not really sure how.
The man curses, yanking the crossbows away and lecturing as he loads it. He warns about it kicking, how to aim and where to hold it with the weight. I admit, I half expect him to keep it but he passes it back and nods to me.
I try to keep in mind what he said. Even with his warnings, the strength of the kickback surprised me. If he hadn't grabbed my arm I might've fallen but thankfully he steadied me. I widened stance, adjusted my hold, and fired again.
The man let's go after the third shot and jumps down after the fifth. He rushes two and I use my last arrow for another that's a bit too close. He shouts for me to get down, pulling the arrows from the dead. The moment my feet hit the ground, he passes me the arrows and orders me to follow.