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It turned out the only thing down the righthand hallway was an elevator with the doors firmly closed.
“So, how do we use an elevator in a building with hardly any power?" I asked.
“Hunter didn't mention this," Alicia grumbled
.
I stepped forward and pushed the button without any real conviction. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened.
“Let's have a look inside." Coal pulled Alicia's machete out of the holster at her hip and jammed the blade into the gap between the two sliding doors. He placed a boot against the edge of the doorway and pulled on the makeshift lever.
“That's my favourite blade." Alicia frowned as the metal groaned but she didn't make any move to stop him.
He grunted with the effort and I was sure the machete would break but a gap slowly started to appear and the darkness beyond was revealed. The metal squealed in protest as the doors were forced apart.
They gave way suddenly at the last moment and Coal fell forwards. I jumped towards him and grabbed the back of his jacket, digging my heels in as he swung out over the ledge and Alicia and Laurie grabbed hold of me too. The machete fell from Coal's hand and dropped silently for several seconds before clattering to a halt somewhere far below.
I cursed as I heaved him back and we all fell into the corridor in a heap.
“I'm definitely not regretting saving you, now,” Coal laughed as he pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me. I returned his hug and felt my arms tremble with delayed shock as I realised I'd just saved his life.
Alicia beamed at me as she and Laurie stood too. My heart fluttered as Coal released me and I took a steadying breath.
We stepped forward cautiously and looked down into the black abyss that extended far below us. Alicia leaned forward, her outstretched arm holding her flashlight, and shone its beam upwards. It illuminated the shaft going up at least three floors above us with no sign of the elevator itself. She pointed it down and we could see that it was stopped two floors below.
“I vote we start at the bottom and work our way up." Coal pointed to a maintenance ladder to the left of the doorway we were standing in.
He tucked his flashlight into his belt and swung over the edge without waiting to see if we agreed. I followed, taking my flashlight and putting it through a loop in my own belt so that the beam pointed down at my feet. Then, trying my best not to let my hands tremble, I took hold of the first rung.
The ladder felt rough beneath my palms. The metal was flaked and splintering and tried to work its way into my skin. My hands were slick with sweat and I slipped on a crumbling rung. My heart thudded in panic as I scrabbled to hold onto the cold metal.
I pressed myself against the ladder, clinging with arms and legs desperately whilst I remembered to breathe again. The flashlight was knocked from my belt and I looked down to watch as it spiralled, the beam twisting around the shaft, down, down, down and thunk. It went out instantly.
The sound echoed hollowly around the elevator shaft.
“Are you sure it's safe?" I called out, my voice echoing back around us.
Coal hopped down onto the roof of the elevator and stamped his boot against the metal. It banged dully as he repeated the process several times.
“Doesn't look like it's going anywhere." He reached up and helped me down behind him and Laurie and Alicia followed.
A low groan welcomed our weight onto the roof of the elevator and I glanced nervously at the cables holding it in place. We moved to the centre of the roof and I set to work trying to prise open the maintenance hatch.
The handle had rusted shut and I couldn't get it to budge. I kicked it and instantly regretted my choice as pain shot up my leg and my toe throbbed.
“Stupid, shitty, broken old piece of-"
“Junk?" Alicia offered grinning. Why was she always so happy?
"Let me do it, I'm stronger than you." Coal grabbed hold of the handle and heaved. Nothing happened for a fraction of a second and then there was a loud metallic snap. Coal flew backwards and landed heavily on his ass, the handle still gripped in his fist as he cursed it.
The metal beneath my feet flexed slightly as he hit the ground and I shifted nervously.
“Oh, thank heavens we had a big strong man here to help us," Alicia gushed as she stepped forward, plucking her machete off of the elevator roof where it had landed. She jammed the huge blade into the edge of the hatch and tugged. The elevator gave a loud groan but the hatch still didn't move.
"Any chance this isn't actually sat on the bottom floor?" Laurie asked, glancing at our feet with a worried expression.
“I thought this place was all on one level. There could be twenty floors for all I know," Alicia replied unhelpfully.
