store some extra cables in. Giz collected the cables and slung them around his neck. The pounding on the door grew more intense as we worked to position the tables, and then Mic climbed up first and pushed the ceiling tile back. He then reached for Jacob’s hand.
“You first, little man. You’re the lightest, and we’ll need you to get that vent grate off from the inside.”
“I’m on it,” said Jacob. His little face filled with determination. It seemed like forever for him to get up there and pull that grate back. Barbara went next, handing the sack up to Jacob and then Mic lifted her up so that she could pull herself in. Giz followed, after Barbara pulled up the equipment bags he held up for her to grab. “Your turn,” said Mic.
I handed up my backpack to Giz and then worked to pull myself up. The space inside the vent was cramped and dark, and I directed the others to move back to make room for Mic. Just as he climbed in, I heard the door give way.
“Go, go, go!” He ordered. He didn’t have to tell us twice, we all knew they were inside and that they would be coming right up after us. They were strong enough to go much faster than we could, and knowing this created an unspoken urgency. We were all crawling as fast as we could. The reverberation of our knees slamming the slick metal resounded like thunder. The shaft made a sharp turn and Jacob announced that he could see a light up ahead. “I think it leads to an outdoor patio. Remember Barbara? It’s that one we go to sometimes to look out at the street.”
“Yes Jacob, I remember sweetie. Can you see a grate?” Her voice sounded tiny and it echoed through the small space. We were all stopped in the metal cavity and I was gritting my teeth to fight back the waves of claustrophobia.
“Wait a second,” he said. We could all hear his little knees pounding along as he crawled quickly. “Yes! Whohoo!” He exclaimed. The sounds of rapid knees approaching someplace back behind us made my heart start pounding.
“Come on you guys, it’s open. You can jump down here!” The little boy’s voice was distant, but I knew that it meant he was safely out of the vent shaft and on the ground. We took our turns climbing down to the narrow patio and then surveyed the options. There was a locked sliding glass door, which led to the maternity ward, according to Barbara. We were still three floors up and the ground below wasn’t exactly close. The simps were in the shaft and coming our way, so there was precious little time to consider the options. There had to be at least twenty of them that I had seen in the parking lot, so that meant that the likelihood of them spreading through the hospital in search of humans was pretty high.
“I think we can jump to that trash bin,” said Giz. He was leaning over the railing and looking below.
“There’s no telling what’s inside those plastic bags,” said Barbara.
“I don’t think we have much of a choice. It’s either we jump, or we throw one of those chairs against the glass until it breaks, and we take our chances going through the hospital again,” said Mic.
“I’m for jumping.” I didn’t give anyone a chance to respond, because I’d already climbed the railing and pushed off right after announcing my plan. I hit the black plastic bags softly, and despite the situation and the smell of the garbage, I felt a massive sense of relief. The rest of them began to jump, leaving Giz last. He was going to throw the equipment bags down and then follow. I could hardly believe that this guy was so obsessed, even in the moments of imminent peril, that he would put himself at a greater risk just to save his computers. Giz jumped just as a simp leg pushed through the opening where the grate had been behind him.
We were safe, but only for the moment, and we’d need to get to some place safer as quickly as we could. I spotted a
“You first, little man. You’re the lightest, and we’ll need you to get that vent grate off from the inside.”
“I’m on it,” said Jacob. His little face filled with determination. It seemed like forever for him to get up there and pull that grate back. Barbara went next, handing the sack up to Jacob and then Mic lifted her up so that she could pull herself in. Giz followed, after Barbara pulled up the equipment bags he held up for her to grab. “Your turn,” said Mic.
I handed up my backpack to Giz and then worked to pull myself up. The space inside the vent was cramped and dark, and I directed the others to move back to make room for Mic. Just as he climbed in, I heard the door give way.
“Go, go, go!” He ordered. He didn’t have to tell us twice, we all knew they were inside and that they would be coming right up after us. They were strong enough to go much faster than we could, and knowing this created an unspoken urgency. We were all crawling as fast as we could. The reverberation of our knees slamming the slick metal resounded like thunder. The shaft made a sharp turn and Jacob announced that he could see a light up ahead. “I think it leads to an outdoor patio. Remember Barbara? It’s that one we go to sometimes to look out at the street.”
“Yes Jacob, I remember sweetie. Can you see a grate?” Her voice sounded tiny and it echoed through the small space. We were all stopped in the metal cavity and I was gritting my teeth to fight back the waves of claustrophobia.
“Wait a second,” he said. We could all hear his little knees pounding along as he crawled quickly. “Yes! Whohoo!” He exclaimed. The sounds of rapid knees approaching someplace back behind us made my heart start pounding.
“Come on you guys, it’s open. You can jump down here!” The little boy’s voice was distant, but I knew that it meant he was safely out of the vent shaft and on the ground. We took our turns climbing down to the narrow patio and then surveyed the options. There was a locked sliding glass door, which led to the maternity ward, according to Barbara. We were still three floors up and the ground below wasn’t exactly close. The simps were in the shaft and coming our way, so there was precious little time to consider the options. There had to be at least twenty of them that I had seen in the parking lot, so that meant that the likelihood of them spreading through the hospital in search of humans was pretty high.
“I think we can jump to that trash bin,” said Giz. He was leaning over the railing and looking below.
“There’s no telling what’s inside those plastic bags,” said Barbara.
“I don’t think we have much of a choice. It’s either we jump, or we throw one of those chairs against the glass until it breaks, and we take our chances going through the hospital again,” said Mic.
“I’m for jumping.” I didn’t give anyone a chance to respond, because I’d already climbed the railing and pushed off right after announcing my plan. I hit the black plastic bags softly, and despite the situation and the smell of the garbage, I felt a massive sense of relief. The rest of them began to jump, leaving Giz last. He was going to throw the equipment bags down and then follow. I could hardly believe that this guy was so obsessed, even in the moments of imminent peril, that he would put himself at a greater risk just to save his computers. Giz jumped just as a simp leg pushed through the opening where the grate had been behind him.
We were safe, but only for the moment, and we’d need to get to some place safer as quickly as we could. I spotted a
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