The Immune

25. Fighting Giants

Isaac and I jog back up the stairs, ignoring the doors we pass. This time around, we don't even stop to breathe. The stairs seem to be clear, but when we round the last flight, two of Hartley's guards stare down at us, shocked.

"Any plan?" Isaac whispers, coming to stand beside me.

I pat my pockets. Do I have anything on me? I left my bag with our bikes outside The Wall. Except for...

With a grin, I pull my pocket knife out of my pocket. It isn't much, but at least we're not empty handed. Weilding a knife doesn't scare me nearly as much as a gun. I open it quickly, turning it in my hand.

"You're up," Isaac hisses as the guards start down the stairs towards us. He steps aside, and I lunge for the first man's legs.

The knife comes in contact with the guard's foot instantly. It sinks through his shoe and into his foot. He tumbles over me, roaring in pain. I duck, and he flips over me, down the stairs. The other guard sets his sights on us, gun cocked and ready.

Isaac jumps to the left, and I press myself against the right side. The bullet flies past us and blows a hole in the wall behind us. Keeping my body low, I crawl up the stairs, tackling him around the knees. He slams into the door. The impact alone knocks the gun out of his hand. I fight against his hands as he tries to grab my waist and push me away. Finally, he kicks me, and I skid away from him on my knees.

His gun lands on the floor beside me, and both of us turn to it at the same time. In one swift motion, I kick it down the stairs. The guard dives at me instead. He lands a blow to my stomach, another to my chin. I stumble backwards for a second, and the steps slide out from under me.

Like I'm stuck in the spin cycle, I rocket down the stairs, coming to a stop only when I run into the wall.

That's when I hear Isaac roaring past me. He throws himself at the guard shoulder first and carries him back up the stairs. Pinning the man by the neck, Isaac delivers a single blow to the man's nose. The guard falls limp at Isaac's feet.

"You alright?" he asks as he jogs back down the steps and offers me his hand. I wince but take it, trying to catch my breath.

"All good." I hold my ribs as I talk. It hurts to breathe. My face is red and hot, swelling as I speak. "Does it look bad?"

Isaac touches my face, wincing dramatically. "Absolutely hideous." He grins. "Disgusting." My heart flutters for a second as he rubs a hand across my swollen cheek.

I glance past him. The rest of the stairwell is empty.

"Am I going to make it?"

"I don't know," Isaac says with a laugh. "We'd better hurry."

Together, we climb to the fourth floor and peep into the window. Several guards line the hallway inside.

"How are we going to get through all those?" I ask, more to myself.

"Fire at will?" Isaac holds up a gun behind me. When I look at him quizzically, he points at the guards below us.

"There has to be another way." I notice the radios hanging from the guards' belts. "What if we lure them out?"

Isaac jogs down a few steps and picks up one of the radios. "That might work."

I limp down to join him, and together we drag the two bodies down to the third floor. With home huffing and puffing, we shove them into the third floor. I grab a set of building keys and a keycard before shutting the door on them. Isaac fiddles with the radio in the hallway.

"Here's the plan," he says, pulling me back up the stairs. "I'm going to radio in and say there's been a security breach in the basement. I'll say to send as much help as possible, because the prisoners are fighting back. With any luck, most of the guards will leave. That'll give us enough time to barricade the door."