Papi made it across without incident, followed by Darla and Lani. Finally, it was Mr. Higgins’ turn. Nico and I helped him onto the wall and steadied him as he took his first step onto the ladder.
“Did I ever tell you what I used to do for a living?” Mr. Higgins asked.
“No, what?”
Without responding, he walked across the ladder with a level of agility I hadn’t expected from him. He made it look easier than Miguel had. When he got to the other side, though, he needed help getting back down. “I was a construction worker. I helpedbuild the Twin Towers. I could cross beams smaller than this with my eyes closed.”
I couldn’t help but laugh in response. “Mr. Higgins is full of surprises, isn’t he?” I asked Nico.
“I’d say. Justin, your turn.” Justin looked like he was going to argue, but changed his mind with a huff as he climbed onto the wall and walked across the ladder with ease. Luis followed him over, leaving only Liz, Nico, and me on this side of the ladder.
“Liz, honey, are you ready to cross?” I asked.
Liz shook her head as she trembled. “No. I’ll go last. I’ll be ready then.”
“Ok, honey.” I looked at Nico and jerked my head toward the ladder, indicating he should go next.
Nico scoffed. “There isn’t a chance in hell that I’m leaving you on this roof, Princess. You may as well just go because this isn’t a fight you’re going to win.”
I didn’t bother arguing with him. It wasn’t worth it. If I were going to die on a hill, it wouldn’t be this one. I accepted his hand and climbed onto the edge of the roof. I peeked over the edge to see just how high up I was. Below, I could see the zombies were still milling around the alley. Even if, by some miracle, I survived the fall, it wouldn’t matter. The zombies would quickly finish the job.
“Eyes on me, Emery,” Miguel called softly as Nico released my hand and grabbed the ladder to steady it from our side.
I walked halfway onto the ladder and then turned back to Nico. “Hand me a bag.”
“Let me and Miguel worry about the bags,” Nico replied.
“Not a chance. It will be easier with someone in the middle, so start passing me bags.” This hill looked nice.
Apparently, it wasn’t a hill Nico wanted to die on because, with a scowl, he climbed onto the end of the ladder and had Liz hand him the first bag. Miguel followed suit, and together the three ofus moved all the bags to the next roof. When I got to the other side, Nico tried to get Liz to go ahead of him, but she refused.
“Ok, Liz,” I said once Nico had crossed. “It’s your turn, honey. Remember what I said, just keep your eyes on me and put one foot in front of the other. You can do this!” Still shaking, Liz took a deep breath and climbed onto the wall. “That’s it! We’ve got the ladder; it isn’t going anywhere. So take your time, there is no need to rush.”
“There’s a little bit of a need,” Justin said under his breath. “At this rate, we’ll never get to the evacuation shelter.”
“Justin, any time you want to split off from the group and get there on your own, you’re more than welcome to,” Luis said. “Otherwise, shut the fuck up.”
Each step Liz took started with a deep breath, but by the time she reached the halfway point, I could see she was beginning to fall apart again.
“Liz, you’re ok. You’re doing just fine. Halfway there, just keep taking one step at a time.”
Liz took another shaky step, teetering slightly. She recovered, but it was enough to make her break eye contact with me, and for the first time, she looked down. Liz let out a panicked squeak and crouched down, clinging to the ladder. Unfortunately, that shifted her center of gravity, and before I could coach her into regaining control, she tipped sideways. Her scream echoed through the alley as she plummeted to the ground.
Chapter nine
Nico
We stared down in shock at Liz’s broken body on the pavement below. It didn’t take long for the zombies to recognize a free meal, and I had to look away as they descended upon her body with a feralness you would only see in the wild. Liz was the second person I’d lost in a matter of hours, and now I was fucking pissed. I promised these people that I would get them to safety, and less than a day in, and we were already down two people.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Emery said to me, quiet enough that the others couldn’t overhear her. She placed her hand on my arm and looked up at me with her big brown doe eyes full of sympathy and a flicker of guilt. All I wanted to do was pull her into my arms, but I wasn’t used to receiving her kindness, so I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to spook her.
“It wasn’t your fault, either,” I finally replied. “We did the best that we could.”
“Jesus Christ!” Justin yelled. “This is insane. I’m not doing that again. Did you see how hard she hit the ground? No, thank you.”
I rolled my eyes. This fucker was dancing on my last nerve. Had been since he arrived, screaming into our lives. I didn’t like the way he looked at Emery as if she were something he needed to possess. As if she were something he already possessed. I’d watched with my own eyes as he dismissed her rejection. The man was unstable, and if he kept up his bullshit, I might just toss him off the roof. That idea stuck with me and I imagined myself walking up to him, grabbing him by the shirt, and tossing him over.
“We need to keep moving,” Miguel advised, breaking me from my daydreams. I nodded, grabbed the ladder, and carried it to the other side of the roof.
