Using the handrail, he pulled up and kicked in. The elevator swayed. Thick cables and wiring held the elevator in place. Shouts came from below. Other elevators rose and fell nearby. Their elevator shook as the cords swayed. He pointed to a metal ladder. “Move.”

She was on it, climbing, with him hot on her six. The elevator shaft smelled like grease and rubber. Everything was dark, dirty, and dingy.

Above them, doors opened. Florescent light illuminated the shaft at what must’ve been ten floors up. Jared grabbed Sugar’s legs to still her. They flattened against the ladder. Crack. A handful of neon glow sticks fell past them, then rolled on the roof of the elevator.

Male voices carried down the shaft. “Do you see them? Did they get out? Find her.”

Jared squeezed Sugar’s legs twice, hoping she knew to stay in place. Their ladder was narrow, and he needed to move above her to get them out of the shaft. He reached around Sugar, stepping carefully to the side, and shimmied up the side of the ladder until they were face-to-face.

“They can’t see us. Fuckin’ morons. Are you okay?”

“Little dizzy,” she whispered.

“Focus on the ladder. I want you on me. When I take a step, you take a step. When I stop, I’m going to open the door, get us out. I need you to hang on. Can you do it?”

She nodded.

“Gotta say it for me, baby cakes. I need to know.”

Her voice whimpered, “I shouldn’t have drunk tonight.”

“Least of our concerns. If you can hold your balance, I’ll get you safe. Got me?”

She took a sobering breath. “I’m good. Go.”

He wrapped a hand around her head, sliding his fingers into her hair. “Nothing’s gonna hurt you. Ever. Not me. Not these fucks. Let’s move.”

He pulled ahead of her, hating to leave her without a safety net. But he saw no other choice. They moved to the next floor’s opening. He looked down, and she concentrated on the ladder rung. Good girl. Below, boots stomped into their elevator, and faces peered into the dark shaft. He could see them, but they couldn’t see him—until he opened the doors. Then it was game on.

Jared reached over to their exit, which was an elevator door. His toe reached the lip of a small overhang. The rushing sound of another elevator approaching worried him. He hissed, “Hang on, Sugar.”

He flattened against the door, clawing his fingers into holds, waiting out the wind from the flying elevator. Sugar’s hair flew around. Her gaze never strayed from the ladder.

The elevator passed them, paused, then dropped with the same gale-force winds. As it passed, he shout-whispered to her, “Come on up, until you parallel me. I’ll pull you over.”

She didn’t say a word, but climbed the five rungs. The nearby elevators were on the move. Cables bounced, and the closest elevator came to a stop. Assuming people got on and off, then selected their floors, Jared figured he had a solid thirty seconds of inactivity.