The Cure for Sleeping

Chapter Six

It would be a matter of moments for me to climb through the broken window, to race across roof tops until the growls are just whispers on the wind. Instead, I help Thea crawl out first, and we heft Noah up together. I'm glad that it's him here and not Josh. We would never be able to lift the bulky footballer.

It takes about three minutes to get Noah outside and onto the roof. By this time, the Insomniacs have figured out what we're doing and have circled the building. When I shimmy out of the window and reach for the railing, a hand grabs my boot and tries to yank me back down. A scream catches in my throat, as I drop, but Thea leans over the edge and grabs my arms.

"Jesus, you weight a ton." And yet, she can still pull me back up. I kick at the Insomniac, catch him in the face with my heel, and with another tug from Thea, I'm free.

The three of us left on the roof. Thea looks around frantically, turning on the spot as she tries to get her bearings, to figure out a plan. Laughter rings out from the street below. Noah is clutching his ribs, breathing through gritted teeth and I stand beside him. My gaze swings out into the dark. We can't get back up into attic from here, and I have no other ideas. I'm lost in the dark, and as good as useless in finding a way out of here. If only I had a GPS.

Thea stares out into the city, squinting into the distance. After several tense heartbeats, she makes her decision.

"We're going to head east. We'll stay on the rooftops for as long as we can, but we'll have to run. Can you do that, Noah?" Thea speaks with single-minded determination, eyes scanning possible paths. At his silence, she turns to face us, scanning him up and down. There's blood on his jaw.

Noah uncurls from his hunch, arm dropping from his chest. He nods once, mouth drawn in pain. I don't remove my arm from his waist and he doesn't stop leaning on me.

Thea's lips tighten, black eyes flicker with worry. Then she shakes it off.

"Follow me. Don't drop behind, and don't you dare let go of him!" The last sentence is flung back at me, but it lacks vehemence. She would never admit it, but her words sound like a plea.

"I won't." It's a promise.

With a final assessing glance Thea takes point, jogging off to the east. His arm goes taut over my shoulders, but Noah and I stagger after her.

The Insomniacs watch us run across the roof and trail us, the mob crawling over the streets like a behemoth. Ahead of us, Thea hauls up a service ladder hanging from the side of the building. After a moment's struggle she lays the thing across the gap, using the metal tip to smash the window to an apartment next door. She braces it as well as she can against the concrete, then scampers across her bridge with the grace of a cat.

I send Noah across first, holding the ladder steady and then dash over myself, ignoring the hands raised to grab me through the slats. We sprint through the apartment. It's near-black inside and cluttered with antique furniture, but Thea seems to know where she's going. We turn into a hallway and ignore the elevator, heading up a flight of stairs. The only sounds are our gasps, our pounding feet and the chatter of Insomniacs outside.

We're on the fifth floor by the time Thea veers off course, down another hallway and to a door marked fire exit. She tries the handle, finds it locked, and busts the door open with one powerful kick.

Noah and I are only three metres behind her when she opens the door and steps out onto ledge. When an Insomniac lunges into view. It laughs as it tackles her to the ground, as head hits the steel framework with a crack.

Thea screams. I drop Noah against the wall, hurling myself through the doorway. The Insomniac –a heavy-set man with gore caked on his hands– is on top of Thea, and she's barely fending him off. I grab him under the arms and swing the Insomniac off of her. Lurching back, he snaps at me, a sharp click of teeth. His enlarged pupils look like those of an insect, surrounded by bloodshot whites. I pivot on one foot and land a kick to his chest, forcing him over the railing. He falls to the street, five stories below. By the growls, it sounds like he lands on a few of his friends.

I tug Thea to her feet, and she's white as death underneath the blood.

"Did he bite you?" Noah demands from the doorway. Thea shakes her head desperately.

"No. This isn't mine. He was bleeding." She raises a sleeve and wipes a drop off of her cheek. It leaves a streak of red.

"Did it get in your mouth? Your eyes?" Noah takes my hand a tugs me behind him, away from Thea. His fingers are trembling. His gaze darts over Thea's form, looking for wounds.

"No. I would have made Avery slit my throat by now if it did. He didn't infect me. I'm fine, I promise." Thea sounds like she's about to cry. Her arms are hugging her chest. She doesn't look like the spitfire girl who punched me. She looks small.

I glance between them, Noah's hands raised like he wants to come closer, Thea curving into herself. I grab Noah, tucking myself under his shoulder as a crutch.

"We need to leave. The Insomniacs are starting to climb the fire escape, and I don't know where to go from here." Thea doesn't move.

"Thea!" I shout at her. I'm not going to die here because she decides to have a breakdown. And I won't let them die either. Thea clenches her eyes shut, and then steels herself. Her spine straightens and she lets out a quick breath.

"Right. I'm alright. This way." She starts climbing stairs, pulling herself up via the handrails. I don't mention the way her hands shake. Noah squeezes my arm, a silent thanks, and we follow her.

We stumble after Thea in what feels like an obstacle course: through the window the next building over, across a series of scattered office cubicle, and across a building half collapsed by a bomb. After this, the chase dissolves into a mindless run. I focus on keeping Thea directly in front of me, holding Noah upright and listening for any approaching Insomniacs.

Thea leads us on such a snaking path, weaving through buildings only to take a hairpin turn back in the other direction, that at first I think she's just running in panic. After the third turn back, I realise her plan. She's deliberately leading us on a false trail, making sure that the remaining gang members don't follow. Smart girl.

I lock my jaw, teeth gritted with the effort of supporting Noah, and keep up. Thea never hesitates to make a turn.

We run for at least an hour. We only ever touch the street once, in a terrifying sprint that left my heart thundering for streets afterwards. Somewhere in the chaos, in the adrenaline, we lose the Insomniacs. The sounds of their pursuit fade off into the night like a radio turned down. They've decided to chase easier prey, ones that won't fight back.

I've never been so grateful for short attention spans.

Thea stops abruptly as we clamber over the roofs of little boutiques and down a side street. She gestures for us to stay still and drops silently down to the street. She slinks across the road, just another shadow in the dark, and disappears into a doorway.

Noah and I stand together, watch her vanish. We're both sweaty, exhausted. His arm around my shoulders, mine around his waist.

As my breathing calms, I start to shiver. It's past midnight by now and the night air is freezing against my damp skin.

Noah shifts a little, putting his weight on his other leg. My cheeks are heating up. I'm pressed against a boy, my clothes sticking to my skin with sweat. I blow cinnamon-stick curl off my forehead with a huff and just decide to embrace it. He's no less gross than I am right now. I lean in a little to steal more of his warmth.

"Thank you." Noah says softly. I startle, twisting under his arm to focus on at him. He's staring off into the street, not looking at me. For a moment, his expression is unguarded, and he looks so very tired.

"It's fine, Noah." I say quietly. "You would have done the same." At this, Noah looks at me. In the low light, his eyes are deep green.

"No, I'm not sure we would have." he says, "If roles were reversed, Thea would have argued to just leave. Josh would say that we had to help you, but I would have just done what she wanted. We would have left you." He's silent for a moment. "So it's not fine. It's not a little thing. We owe you, Avery, and I won't let Thea make us forget it."