Eve of Destruction by Patrick Carman Page B

ever. The timing of her arrival was maddening, but her demeanor ticked me off even more: totally calm, as if nothing terribly important was going on.
    â€œLooks like you’re not doing too well. Maybe I picked the wrong guy for the job.”
    I ignored her.
    â€œYou guys back? You okay?” I asked. They were both breathing heavy as Kate looked up at Marisa.
    â€œYour fingernails are digging into my skin. Mind backing off on the grip of steel?”
    â€œSorry—it was—sorry,” Marisa said.
    â€œShe’ll have to jump to the other side. It’s the only way,” said Mrs. Goring, again with a voice like she was doing her nails on the other end, bored out of her skull.
    I hated to admit it after looking at the situation, but she was right. The floor on Marisa’s side of the tunnel had collapsed entirely, and there was no place else to go.
    â€œThe walls are curved out, she’s got room. Just tell her to jump.”
    â€œWe can hear you, Mrs. Goring,” said Kate. “Can you hear us?”
    â€œI can.”
    â€œWhen I get out of here I’m going to beat the hell out of you.”
    â€œBetter bring a baseball bat. I’ll have my ax.”
    â€œShut up, you two! Just shut up!” Marisa screamed. She was crying as she screamed, not hysterical, but close.
    â€œIt’s only three feet across. Jump. It’s easy.” Mrs. Goring was nauseatingly calm about the possibility of my girlfriend getting electrocuted to death. But it sort of helped settle Marisa down. I could see her and Kate whispering quietly, probably about how they were going to kill me and Mrs. Goring when they could get their hands on us and how Kate wouldn’t bring a baseball bat to do it—she’d bring a chain saw.
    All at once Marisa was airborne, jumping over the hole and landing hard with her face against the curved metal side next to Kate.
    â€œWill, listen to me,” said Mrs. Goring. “Shut off their monitor.”
    â€œNo way I’m doing that!”
    â€œShut it off or I’ll never let them out. Do it right now.”
    â€œMarisa, you’re close! A few more steps is all. I’ll be right back.”
    â€œWhat do you mea—?”
    Her eyes were pleading, looking at me like she couldn’t believe I was about to leave her out there on her own. It was one of the hardest things I ever did, cutting that feed.
    â€œI hope you know what you’re doing,” I said. “If she dies down here—”
    â€œWhat, Will? What will you do? You’ll stay down there, too. It doesn’t do me much good if someone gets killed down there either, you know. You all get out alive or I’ve got a murder on my hands. More mess to clean up. It’s a lot of work. Do you understand what I’m saying, Will?”
    I did, and I couldn’t believe the thought had only just occurred to me.
    â€œIf one of us dies, we all die.”
    â€œBingo. Can’t have the rest of you up here giving me grief about a dead body in the basement.”
    â€œYou’re sick, you know that?”
    â€œI’m not the one in need of a cure.”
    I was trading insults with a seventy-year-old woman and it was getting me nowhere.
    â€œWe’re all going to live, I can promise you that,” I said. “Tell me what to do next.”
    Mrs. Goring appeared to be looking at a different monitor, her attention split as she mumbled to herself, then turned her gaze back on me.
    â€œGo to the map, I’ll tell you a few things.”
    â€œNot until I see if they made it.”
    â€œFine, make it fast and then turn the damn thing off again. I need your undivided attention.”
    I switched on the monitor just long enough to see that both Marisa and Kate had made it across, then shut it off again before they could start yelling at me. After that I took a quick look at the S4 communication station in the red zone and saw nothing but a long, round