The Cure for Sleeping

Chapter Twenty

Three blocks and three survivors. That's all that's left.

Without Thea's internal compass our path is left to chance. I take the lead and we pound across rooftops, footsteps like thunder claps.

The Insomniacs are close behind us, leaping between buildings with a predatory concentration. Some don't make the jump, and plummet to the street below with inhumane shrieks. They cut off abruptly.

We reach a flat stretch on rooftop, and we can't go any further. Central Park is right there, across the street flooded with pale bodies. It's a green oasis against the rubble and blood, but it's still so far away. I don't know how to cross. Hazel is still beside me, blond hair like snow in the starlight, and she's looking to me for answers. Noah is, too. The Insomniacs are hurling themselves across the next building, tearing each other out of the way with snarls that make by blood run cold. One throws itself across the gap, catching the edge of our building with fingertips and a cackle of glee. Noah shoots it down. I hear the body smack the pavement below.

The rooftop is an island, and I'm frantically searching for a way out. There are no buildings to jump to, no fire escapes to vault down, no way to keep the Insomniacs off the roof. But...

There's a trap door in the corner of the roof. We could go inside.

"Over here." I pull at the handle. It sticks. "Help me!"

Hazel is at my side, and we throw our weight against the hinges. Shots are firing steadily behind us, Noah picking off the Insomniacs. The metal groans with strain, but it doesn't move.

"Come on!" It's a scream, desperate and panicked. We have nowhere else to go. It's either this or the horde who are leaping at the building en masse now, Noah's gun firing again and again. I'm wondering how many bullets he has left when the round is replaced by a click. My stomach drops out from under me.

Noah swears, hands flying to his pockets as he fumbles for a cli. And Insomniac makes the jump before he can reload, and he smashes it over the head with his revolver. It falls over the edge.

"Just help us get this open!" Hazel's voice has lost its calm. She's as high-pitched as I am, feverishly yanking at the trapdoor with all her strength. Noah sprints, gun still empty in his fist. His hands join ours, his body pressed to my side, and we pull. The hinges creak, a final resistance, before the trapdoor flies open, torn off its base.

A pair of hollow eyes appear over Noah's shoulder, and I lunge with a shriek, pressing him to the ground. The eyes become a mess of blood and meat as my knife goes in. Noah's breath is against my cheek, a whispered thanks before I roll off.

Hazel drops down into the building. I scream her name as Noah scrambles to his feet, wrestling an Insomniac away. I meant to go first, to make sure that its safe like I should have with Thea. The blond head disappears into the dark. I hear scraping, hurried movements.

Noah shoves the Insomniac away and steals my abandoned knife from the ruined face, punching the steel through its face and into the brain. The Insomniac drops with a thud.

"I'm fine, Avery. I think it's safe." Hazel calls up from the dark. "Be careful, I can't see anything."

I shove Noah towards the trapdoor, pushing harder when he protests. "Just go!"

He vanishes, swallowed by the shadows. More and more Insomniacs are making it onto the building; breaking legs are they land but still throwing themselves towards me. I hear Noah hit the floor beneath me. I lunge for the heavy trapdoor, dragging it back over to the opening. The Insomniacs are only meters away. A scream building in my chest, my feet hit the ladder and I pull the cover back over the hole. Cold fingers scrape against mine just as I let go.