The Dead Scout's Handbook of Afterlife Survival

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Impossible Contingency

Sarah couldn't believe it. Two stories under her, though it may as well have been two hundred, she witnessed Cayden's lifeless body topple down the southern bridge. She rubbed her eyes then wiped her palms on her pants. Without their pyromancer the world felt even colder.

Famine disappeared from the top of the bridge. Turning to run, Sarah involuntarily shuddered as Rebecca gripped her ankle and pointed to the ranch house where Cayden hid before. Inside, she spotted Famine tearing apart the building. Then, with a face contorted into a mix of fury and satisfaction, Rebecca clenched her fist, collapsing the entire structure in a heap of wood and metal pipes.

Sarah grinned at Rebecca who squeaked in pain when she tried to return the motion. "That's our makeshift engineer for you. You left some weak points in there huh?"

Rebecca nodded.

"Well, let's get to the panic room. I don't know if Famine or War are dead but we're going to need Charlie if they aren't."

"Wait!" a faint voice cried from the south. Martha bobbed up the road and grabbed an object from the snow in front of the now ruined ranch home. Even a brief glance revealed the thin, long, gold rod she carried. It was Famine's staff.

"Rebecca! That's our ticket out of here!"

Sarah dashed down to the demolished lobby with Rebecca hovering behind. Frantic pawing and kicking allowed Sarah to fling debris away from the opening in the wall, permitting Martha, covered in soot and snowflakes, to clamber in. A withered shivering hand presented the staff which Sarah ripped away from Martha. Meanwhile, Rebecca extended her arms as the sleeves tore off her own shirt. With some crafty manipulation of her fingers, Rebecca shot the sleeves ahead and bound Martha's wrists together.

Falling face first, Martha tried to scream, only to be interrupted by the air escaping her as she landed flat on her chest. "What are you doing? I'm trying to help!"

"We saw the kind of help you gave Cayden. We can do without it."

Rebecca spun to the heavy doors leading to the panic room.

"You can't go into the basement. Stay up here," Martha said.

"Now that we've got the staff, we can get out of wherever we are and go wherever we want. That includes going from the safest place in this town to the safest place in the country or world or whatever this damn place is. And you don't have to join us; you can stay here instead."

Martha flailed and mumbled a few unintelligible words before Rebecca sent the other sleeve streaking across the lobby and bound it over her mouth.

Sarah approached the shadows looming under the trapdoor, and as she stepped on the concrete, the staff radiated light. Before her, Charlie slumped unconscious on a landing partway down the stairwell as it curved into the unknown.

Rebecca grabbed Martha by the collar.

"Let's go!" Sarah shouted.

Rebecca looked back, shook her head and tried to pull Martha into the basement. Sarah rolled her eyes and together, they pulled Martha into the trap door and shoved her down into the darkness.

With the sound of shifting rubble from the hotel lobby, they yanked the massive steel doors shut to leave them with only silence. The electronic lock beeped from the outside and then, much to their surprise, a second keypad beeped and locked from the inside.

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The world's sounds condensed into droplets splattering somewhere below. Lit scepter in hand, Sarah examined the keypad and sighed. "Why do you think they would install one on the inside?" Rebecca shrugged then tapped her jaw.