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Julia grabbed the third rung of the ladder and scrambled to get her foot on the bottom one. The cloud beneath her had grown too dense to see through. It looked like a war was raging in the alley. Lights flashed. Explosions burst and echoed through the narrow passageway. There was shouting and coughing. It was terrifying.
And Joe was in the midst of it.
Julia climbed, aware of the ladder shaking and creaking beneath her. She felt the sharp edges of the corroded metal bite into her palms. The scarf her grandmother had given her was pulled up over her mouth and nose, and still she felt her throat clog from the stinging powder Joe had released. It nipped at her eyes, making them water.
The ladder shook and shifted as someone climbed onto it beneath her. Joe? Please be Joe. Please be Joe…
“Hurry!” Her grandmother’s voice came from above, and Julia looked up to find her leaning over the flat roof, her hand extended ready to help Julia climb over.
Julia grasped the offered hand and scrambled over the cool brick onto the concrete roof. There was an eerie second or two of silence before a different kind of banging rent the air.
Gunfire.
“Joe!” Julia leaned over the edge. She couldn’t see anything. The alley was filled with dense yellow smoke.
“Get back!” Ed ordered as he scrambled onto the roof beside her.
He instantly leaned over the edge, a gun in his hand. “Joe. I’ve got your six. Move out now.”
The ladder shook and Julia held on to the top of it, comforted by the vibrations, knowing it meant Joe was on his way.
Ed aimed into the middle of the alley and fired.
There was shouting. Julia didn’t understand the words, but she understood the meaning. They were out to kill them. To kill Joe.
In the distance, sirens shrieked. The police were coming. Too late. Far too late.
There was a thud beneath them. The ladder groaned and then it stilled.
Joe wasn’t on the ladder.
He was back in that alley. In the cloud. With their attackers.
No! No, no, no, no, no…
“Joe?” Julia leaned over, craning her neck to see something, anything. He had to be there. He had to be safe. He had to.
A strong hand yanked her back. “Keep down,” Ed ordered.
“Joe!” She turned to Ed. “He isn’t on the ladder. You have to do something. He needs help. Help him.”
“He can take care of himself.” Ed aimed into the alley and fired off two more rounds.
The sirens became louder. Julia strained her ears, desperate to hear something, anything that would tell her Joe was still alive.
Thudding. Gunfire. Shouting.
“Joe?” Ed’s voice snapped through the chaos.
“Go!” Joe shouted.
Relief almost brought Julia to her knees, and then the word penetrated. Her eyes shot to Ed, who was grim. “What does he mean? Go?” Her hands started to shake, and she could feel the blood drain from her face.
“Joe? You sure?” Ed called again.
“Get them to safety.” There was a pause. A thud. A grunt of pain. “Go!” Joe roared.
Julia stared at the edge of the roof in horror.
