“You able to move on your own?” the medic asked.
“Out of here? Yeah. I had it much better than your buddy.”
“How so?”
“They wouldn’t even wait for him to come down before they’d shoot him up again. They had to resuscitate him twice. When they dropped him into his cell, he didn’t even make a sound.”
Demon gathered his belongings, and Steel followed him to the other oubliette. Flashing his light down into the space, they could see Waters at the bottom—face down and folded into a twisted and awkward position. It was impossible to tell whether he was conscious or even breathing. The smell coming from below was stronger than from Ka-Bar’s cell, suggesting he had been alive at some point, as his body voided anything from within it as part of the withdrawals. But there was no telling if he was still alive until they went down and got him.
A light hit Steel in the eyes from a distance. “You guys need a hand?”
TB. Excellent. Steel could carry Waters out, difficult though it would be, but with TB here, he’d be able to carry him much more easily and be faster.
“Where the hell have you guys been?”
“Midas lost you as soon as you passed into the night of the living dead here. As soon as we lost contact, I broke off from the fun upstairs and started making my way to you. It’s a fucking mess up there.”
“Great. We found Ka-Bar and Waters. K’s injured, but he can move on his own. Waters isn’t responding. We’re going to have to carry him out.”
The giant lumbered into the space, dropping down to one knee at the oubliette’s entrance. “Sometimes I think that’s my primary job description,” TB muttered.
Daleyza had pulled the ladder up out of Ka-Bar’s cell, and the men grabbed it to lower it down into Waters’ space, but they couldn’t put it all the way to the bottom because his body was in the way.
“One of you is going to have to go in there to get him,” TB remarked.
Steel volunteered. “I’m smaller. You guys hold the ladder at an angle. I’ll hang off the side and drop down to him. I’ll throw him over my shoulder, then you’ll be able to maneuver the ladder into a position where I can climb out with him.”
As the two men maneuvered the ladder into position, Steel unshouldered his pack and rifle, handing them both to Daleyza. “You able to handle the extra weight?”
“Does the pope wear a funny hat?”
He grinned at her use of Midas’ words. She truly wasGloriosa. Didn’t matter what they’d thrown at her over the last few days, she’d never wavered. He loved his friends’ women—fighters, every single last one—but Daleyza left them all in her dust.
With the ladder braced by the two men, Steel hopped onto the top of it and began a quick descent down the angle. When he reached the point where he couldn’t go any further, he only had to drop about four feet, but the landing would be awkward as he tried to avoid landing on his friend.
“Waters, can you hear me?”
There was no reply.
Steel slid over the side of the ladder, hung there for a second to get his bearings, then maneuvered to where the man’s feet were. He leaned over and put two fingers to the man’s throat. The pulse was barely there. From his pants pocket, he pulled a dental mirror and slid it under Waters’ head, near his nose and mouth.
The glass steamed up.
“He’s breathing,” he called up the shaft. “Pulse is very faint.” He ran his hands over what portions of the body he could to check for wounds or broken bones. “Nothing appears to be broken, but he’s got an open wound on his lower back. Can’t see it well, but it’s festering.”
Demon called down, “Get him up here and to the truck. I can assess him while we drive.”
Gently, he wrapped his arms around his team leader’s shoulders and pulled him upright as best he could. He grabbed the man’s arms,put his wrists together to form a loop, then slid underneath and hoisted Waters’ body onto his back.
“I’m going to slide onto the rail of the ladder, like it’s hanging from a helicopter. I need to hold onto him. You guys think you can pull us up to the top?”
An affirmative from the top, and he was in position.
“Pull us up.”
When they reached the top, Ka-Bar, even with his broken arm, had stumbled over to the opening to help them pull the dead weight. Daleyza also added her weight when TB had to let go and grab Waters’ still form from Steel.
Hoisting himself out of the hole in the ground, he immediately grabbed his rifle and pack from Daleyza. “I can take this since TB’s here.”
