Free Web NovelChapter 224: Chapter 224 - Get Back
She stepped forward, the weight still sitting at the back of her neck as the voices around her started to rise, uneven and restless as they fed into each other.
They weren’t just scared.
They were looking for someone to blame.
"They didn’t send us here to die," she said, her voice steady as she looked at them one by one.
The bald man scoffed.
"Then why are we here?" he shot back. "Because it looks like a cage to me."
A few behind him nodded.
"Say it," another muttered. "You don’t know either."
Iyisha shifted her weight slightly, keeping her stance grounded as she held their attention.
"They dropped us on a roof," she said. "Not the streets."
"So?" the bald man snapped.
"So they want us alive," she said. "At least for now."
"That’s worse," someone said from the side.
"Yeah," another added. "Alive for what?"
Iyisha’s jaw tightened for a second before she forced it to ease.
"For something," she said. "And that means time."
The bald man shook his head and stepped closer again, pushing into the space she held.
"You don’t fucking know why," he said slowly. "You’re just guessing. That’s all you’re doing."
A few voices backed him.
"She doesn’t know." A man on the corner said, afraid.
"We’re going to die here aren’t we?" Another asked standing up.
She stepped forward again, closing the space before it widened.
"You want to panic?" she said. "Go ahead."
That cut through.
They paused.
"You start shouting," she continued, her voice low but carrying. "You start moving without thinking."
She pointed toward the edge without looking.
"They hear it."
Silence held for a second.
"You saw them," Iyisha said. "They’re already here."
The bald man clenched his jaw.
"They’re coming anyway," he said. "We have no way out. We’re just going to die here."
"We won’t," Iyisha said. "Not if we work together."
He paused and looked at her like she had said something wrong, his head tilting slightly as if he was trying to make sense of it.
"You think words kill those things?" he said, pointing toward the street.
Iyisha took a slow breath.
"What?" he pressed, a mocking edge in his voice. "You got guns hidden somewhere?"
Malcolm moved.
Iyisha caught his hand.
"Stop," she said quietly, without looking at him.
She kept her eyes on the man.
"We’re not getting out if you keep this up," she said, her voice sharper now. "All of us want back in there. We only do that together."
He scoffed and looked away for a second.
Iyisha watched him.
She remembered.
The glass.
The woman behind it.
His hand on it. Hers on the other side.
"You want to save her, right?" she said.
He stilled.
His eyes snapped back to her.
Iyisha didn’t look away.
"I still have my sister in there," she said. "We’re getting out of here. And we’re going back for them."
The words settled.
A few around them nodded.
Low voices followed.
"Yeah..."
"We’re not leaving them..."
The man’s jaw tightened again, but he didn’t speak right away.
"Ralph."
The voice came out rough.
Arnulf stepped forward, but he didn’t stop right away. He slowed mid-step, his hand dragging briefly over his face as if trying to clear it, his shoulders still not fully set as he looked at the man.
"Take a breather," he said.
Ralph looked at him sharply, like he didn’t expect him to speak at all.
Arnulf held his gaze.
Ralph scoffed and turned away.
Arnulf stayed where he was for a second longer, his jaw tightening as he looked down, then he straightened just enough before turning back to the group.
"They’re not gone," he said. "They’re still in there. Waiting."
The group quieted as his voice settled over them, the noise dropping into something tighter, more focused.
He looked around, making sure they were listening.
"We failed the first time," he said. "But them putting us here, even if it’s to die, that’s their mistake."
He took a step forward.
"Because alive means we can do it again."
A few nodded.
More followed.
"And like she said," he added, glancing toward Iyisha before looking back at the group. "We only get out if we stay together."
"So what’s the plan?" one of them asked.
Arnulf looked at Iyisha.
She didn’t answer right away. She looked around instead, taking in the group as they sat or leaned where they could, some still struggling to stay upright while others shifted slowly, their balance off and their eyes unfocused as the drugs still lingered in their system.
They were not ready.
"We can’t move today," she said.
A few reacted, some muttering, others shifting in place as if that answer alone frustrated them.
"But we need a base," she added. "We take the building."
Heads turned toward the door at the back of the rooftop, the one leading inside.
"Those who can fight," she said, "we need you to come with us and clear it."
She paused briefly, measuring them.
"If we can’t clear everything, the top floor is enough."
They looked at each other, hesitation passing between them before a few finally pushed themselves up, their movements slow and uneven as they tested their footing, their bodies still not fully steady from whatever remained in their system.
Iyisha watched them for a moment, then turned to Malcolm.
He met her eyes and gave a small nod.
"Get weapons," he said.
The group spread out, scanning the rooftop as they moved, hands pulling at anything they could use as loose metal came free from vents and broken fixtures, while others worked at pipes and rods, testing their weight before keeping them.
Aljun dropped back down and waved a hand loosely.
"I’m still hazy," he said.
Iyisha looked at him.
"What?" he added, already defensive. "You want me to go? Fine. I’ll go."
She flicked her hand.
"You’re better off checking on Lance," she said. "Try to wake him up."
Aljun glanced toward where Lance lay.
"Do you think it has something to do with that drug he drank back in the lab," he muttered.
Iyisha turned to him.
"What?"
Her eyes moved immediately to Lance, still on the ground where they had left him.
"Where did he get that?" she asked.
Aljun frowned, trying to recall.
"We found it," he said. "In one of the empty rooms."
Iyisha tried to follow that, her thoughts catching for a second.
"Wait," she said. "Malcolm knew about that?"
Aljun tilted his head slightly, unsure.
"No... I don’t think so," he said. "But I saw him drink something before the guards came."
Iyisha looked back at Lance, her focus tightening as the noise around her faded just enough for the thought to settle in.
"Shit," Iyisha muttered as she moved toward Lance, her steps quick as the thought settled in.
"Iyisha."
Malcolm’s voice cut through.
She turned.
Five men stood with him, weapons in their hands, rough metal pulled from the rooftop and held tight. frёeωebɳovel.com
She looked back at Lance.
She had already checked him. His breathing was steady. There was nothing more she could do right now.
Her eyes shifted to Aljun.
"Go," she said. "Make sure he’s still breathing when we get back or—"
She paused.
"Malcolm will kill you."
Aljun sighed and rolled his eyes, pushing himself up as he moved toward Lance.
Iyisha turned and jogged to Malcolm.
"We’re going," he said.
She reached for a weapon as one of them tossed it her way, catching it and adjusting her grip as she switched it out for a better one lying nearby, a length of metal tubing heavy enough that she had to hold it with both hands.
"I’m coming," she said.
He shook his head.
"Stay."
She shook hers.
"If it’s just undead, I’m the safest one to go," she said.
Malcolm exhaled through his nose, his jaw tightening slightly before he let it go.
He turned to the others and stepped toward the door, his hand gripping a loose metal panel as he pulled it free.
A sound came from behind the door.
Low.
Dragging.
Moans pressed through the barrier.
"Stay behind," he said.
Iyisha nodded.
"You," Malcolm said, pointing at two of the men as he kept his voice low. "Aim for the head and finish it clean."
He shifted his grip on the metal panel and leaned closer to the door, his eyes fixed on it as the sound from behind pressed through.
"No pushing," he added. "No noise."
They nodded.
"Don’t talk," he said.
They tightened their hold on their weapons and stepped into position, their breathing slowing as they focused.
