She jammed her boot against the wall and flung herself backwards, still maintaining her hold on the ladder. Her free hand twisted into the fabric of a Creeper's filthy tunic and she hurled him out into the shaft. He screamed, his arms cartwheeling madly in mid air, as he plunged downwards past us.
Alicia was already moving and Coal caught up to me as we pushed onwards. I tried to ignore the echoing thump that the Creeper's body made as it hit the bottom and his screams were abruptly cut off.
I reached up again only to grasp at air as my hand failed to catch the next rung. I peered up to find it was missing. We had reached the point where the rung had broken earlier and there was a double width gap left in its place.
I climbed higher, reached again for the next metal handhold and heaved myself past the opening. The broken metal snagged my trousers as I climbed by, scratching into the skin on my thigh. I bit back a curse and kept moving.
My arms were aching as we passed the door leading back to the corridor where we had first entered the shaft. We had climbed five floors and the view below us was dizzying. I glanced into the corridor and spotted a large group of the Creepers prowling in the dark passage.
Below, the Creepers on the ladder were gaining on us as we pushed upwards and passed the next floor of the bunker. There were just two more floors to go and I could see the outline of a round hatch, with a big wheel to open it, looming above our heads.
The ladder gave a shuddering groan and we froze momentarily before increasing our speed again. Alicia reached the hatch and was trying to force the wheel to turn while Laurie held her in place so that she didn't fall. I clung to the metal rungs and waited. Adrenalin pounded through my veins.
I glanced down to see the Creepers rapidly closing the gap between us.
The ladder shuddered and groaned again, lurching backwards as some of the bolts holding it to the wall gave way. The wheel on the hatch started to turn under Alicia's efforts.
The ladder snapped apart above my hands, my section dropped again and I was flung backwards. I screamed and hooked my arms around the ladder even though I knew it wouldn't save me. I scrunched my eyes shut and clung on with all my strength.
Coal released the ladder below my feet and I opened my eyes, terrified that I would see him falling to his death. For a moment I couldn't see him at all and then I felt his hand close on my ankle as the ladder shuddered again, swinging me further out and away from the wall. Coal stood on the top floor of the bunker, his eyes locked onto mine.
There was a clang as Alicia finally got the iron wheel on the hatch to finish turning and it fell open. A weak beam of dim sunlight lit the shaft. I looked up towards the possibility of escape but the ladder was peeling free of the wall and there was no way I would make it.
The section above me started to shift too, the masonry crumbling around the bolts as Laurie screamed.
"Trust me, let go," Coal said, his hand stretched out to me.
I reached towards him, my hand shaking as I let go of the freezing cold metal. Our hands connected and he yanked me down into the top floor of the bunker just as the ladder gave way completely. I fell on top of him and scrambled back to my feet, desperate to see what had happened to Alicia and Laurie.
A terrible cacophony of screams was cut short as the Creepers on the ladder plunged to their deaths.
Chapter Thirty Three
Laurie clung to Alicia's hand with all her strength. Alicia's hair hung down around her face as she leant forward, her stomach dug into one side of the hatch and her free hand clung to the other. Laurie started to slip, the fear making her palms sweaty. Her legs swung wildly above the drop and she didn't dare to look down.
Alicia's face twisted and she released her grip on the hatch, bringing her other hand down to clasp Laurie's wrist. With a powerful wrench and a growl of determination, Alicia yanked and Laurie was pulled higher. She grabbed at the metal door with her free hand and clawed at it while Alicia heaved her upwards.
As she broke through the opening she kicked and dug her elbows into the hard concrete ground. She felt the skin tear as she dragged herself forward and rolled away from the gaping hole.
The two of them lay, panting on their backs for several seconds as the adrenalin subsided before crawling back to peer through the hatch.
Pale daylight filtered down from the opening and lit the top of the elevator shaft. It wasn't powerful enough to show many details of the twisted, broken shapes on top of the elevator far below and Laurie quickly turned her gaze from them.
She couldn't see Maya and Coal anywhere.
"Are you okay?" Laurie called.
"Yeah," Maya replied shakily from somewhere on the top floor.
Alicia moved away from the hatch and glanced around quickly before leaning back down.
"There's nothing up here. We're going to have to go and find some vines," she called.
A screech pierced the silence in the darkness. It sounded like the Creeper wasn't far away.
"We can lock ourselves in a room," Coal announced. "Just find something and come get us, quick."
"Okay, hang tight," Alicia replied and she moved aside.