Survive The Fall | Book 4 | Total Collapse

a step forward.
Russell grabbed his collar and wrestled the determined canine around, then pushed him inside the darkness.
“I can’t see for crap in here,” Cathy said in a raised voice.
Clyde lowered his rifle, then drifted back to the entrance of the building. He slipped past Russell, then ducked inside. “I’ve got a light in my pocket, I think.”
The gang bangers neared the entrance to the alley, shouting threats.
Russell backed into the building, grabbed the edge of the door, and pushed it closed. The latch wouldn’t catch inside the jamb. It had been damaged from being forced open.
Light shone through the narrow opening between the door and jamb. Russell worked to shut and secure the latch, but it wouldn’t take.
A beam of light flickered into existence at his back. He turned around, facing Clyde who held a small, black flashlight in his hand.
“I can’t secure the door. The latch is toast. We need to move,” Russell said, leaning against the exit.
Clyde secured the rifle over his shoulder, then pulled the .38 Special from the waistband of his pants. “All right. Let’s see where this leads to.”
Cathy stood down the dark hallway, leaning against the wall with Max facing the side entrance to the building. The light cast half her face in shadows, making the exhaustion that showed on the half he could see seem even worse.
Russell drew the Ruger and moved away from the entrance, following Clyde as he slipped past Max and Cathy. She dipped her chin and glanced at her leg, then pushed off the wall.
“Not exactly how I thought this was going to go.” Cathy grabbed Russell’s shoulder to take the strain off her leg.
“Yeah, well, given everything else we’ve been through, it’s par for the course,” Russell answered, aiding her down the hallway.
Max trotted behind Clyde, sniffing the linoleum tile floor.
The squeaking of their shoes played off the surface. The light washed over the walls of the short hallway that ended up ahead and cut in the direction of the street.
Russell listened for the gang bangers, training an attentive ear at the exit.
Clyde toed the blind corner of the building, peeked around the bend, then continued on with the .38 Special trained ahead of him.
The muffled voices of the men chasing after them lingered near the busted door.
Russell didn’t look to the entrance. He skirted the corner with Cathy on his arm, putting as much distance between them and the young men as possible.
“Well?” Russell asked in a low tone. “Do you see another way out of here?”
“Not yet.” Clyde shined the light over the closed doors that lined both sides of the walls. “I think we might be in some sort of office or something.”
The door leading in from the alley slammed the wall. The noise echoed through the silent halls. Cathy flinched. Russell stopped and looked to the light shining from the outside down the hallway.
Max growled. He inched toward Russell and Cathy, then stopped.
Clyde kept his flashlight trained ahead of them and stayed on the move.
“Move, Max. Go,” Russell said in a whisper.
“I think they went in here,” a voice called out from the entrance.
Clyde vanished around another corner with Max following behind him. The gleam from his flashlight hung in the murk like a beacon for Russell to follow.
The chatter among the gang bangers grew louder in the halls, carrying through the building with ease. The rattling of doors inside their jams created a boisterous noise that dialed up the tension.
Russell’s heart raced, pounding a bit harder as they rounded the corner and moved down the next hallway toward Clyde. He stood still with Max at his side. The beam from his flashlight was trained at the floor, away from the direction they came.
“They’re inside,” Russell said in a low tone, approaching Clyde. He skimmed over the opening a few paces ahead of them, noticing a bit of natural light slicing through the blackness. “What’s that way?”
“A lobby, but the front entrance is boarded up. Can’t get out without making a ton of racket,” Clyde answered.
Cathy shifted her weight between her legs. “So, what now?
“I don’t know,” Russell said, his mind working a mile a minute for a solution that didn’t involve confronting the young men.
Clyde turned, then pointed at the door behind him. “This is a stairwell that leads to the upper floors. We can go up a few and hide, wait for them to leave, and come back down when it’s clear.”
Russell glanced at the door, then at Cathy.
“Let’s go. No use standing here waiting.” Cathy limped toward the door.
Clyde yanked the silver handle down and pushed it open, allowing Russell and Cathy to rush into the dark, hollow space.
“I need your light,” Russell said, holding his hand out.
“Here.” Clyde handed the small, black flashlight off to Russell while covering the hallway.
Max slipped through the opening between Clyde and the jamb, then stood on the landing.
Russell trained the beam at the stairs. “All right. Come on.”
They took one step at a time, moving as quickly as they could. Cathy braced her hand on the wall. Russell kept a tight hold around her waist with his arm, helping her along.
Clyde moved into the stairwell and closed the door with a gentle touch. The latch clicked, snapping into place. Each step against the stairs echoed through the enclosed space.
“Almost there,” Russell said, shouldering as much of Cathy’s weight as he could.
The gleam from the flashlight clutched in his hand bounced off the wall ahead of them. He looked at the steps then ahead to the landing.
Max squeezed his bulky frame between Russell’s legs and the railing. He galloped up to the landing, turned, and paced about.
“Okay. One more flight and stop on that floor.” They hit