They Don't Own Me

Chapter 40

"You okay?" Wolf asked.

"Yeah. It didn't get me."

The large man nodded, his shoulders relaxing a little with relief. Ivy looked up, smiling a little when she saw Graham and Eliza approaching them. Suddenly, an explosion went off, causing the group to stagger. The ceiling crumbled and large chunks of debris began to fall. Wolf grabbed Ivy and the two ducked for cover. The debris hit the ground with a loud thud, shattering when it landed. Several other large pieces fell from the ceiling as well, effectively blocking their way out and obstructing their view of Graham and Eliza.

"D*mnit," Wolf growled. "Forgot about the emergency charges. Graham! Eliza! You two all right?"

"Yeah! We're good!" Eliza replied. "How about you?"

"We're fine!" The two had to jump away as another piece of ceiling fell close to them. "But we won't be able to get to you this way. We'll have to take another exit."

"Cranks were spotted entering through the other exits!" Graham told them, slight panic in his voice.

"Does the theater have roof access?" Ivy questioned, looking up at Wolf.

"Yeah. It's four flights of stairs up, but yeah."

"Get the Berg in the air!" Ivy called to her brother and his girlfriend.

"We're not leaving without you!" Graham shouted back.

"You won't be! Meet us at the roof."

Without waiting for a response, Ivy grabbed Wolf's hand and led his to the main staircase. The two ran up two steps at a time, trying to get up the stairs as quickly as they could.

"So what caused the explosion?" she questioned, glancing at the man beside her.

"We had Eliza plant extra bombs around the theater in case we were ever found. We wanted to get rid of all evidence of us being here."

"Well, looks like they're doing their job!"

"No kidding. And it looks like we have more company."

Ivy looked over the banister and glared at the dozen Cranks she saw scrambling toward the staircase after them.

"I hate Cranks," she muttered, making Wolf chuckle.

The duo stopped halfway up the second staircase to turn and face the Cranks. Wolf handed Ivy a gun and the two started shooting down their pursuers. Several Cranks fell to the ground, dead. Others tripped over the dead bodies as they kept running toward Wolf and Ivy. One managed to get up the staircase and reached toward Ivy when she grabbed a fallen board and swung like a bat, hitting the Crank in the head. She smirked when it went tumbling over the banister and hit the ground, only to have a chunk of the ceiling fall on top of it. Another screech was heard behind them, prompting Ivy to spin around. She raised her gun and shot the Cranks coming up behind them.

When enough of the Cranks were dead, Ivy grabbed Wolf's arm and dragged him further up the stairs. They ducked into a hallway and took a backway to the nearest staircase. With every step they took, they could feel the theater shake. They pushed themselves to run faster, soon coming to another staircase. While Wolf barricaded the door, Ivy glanced up the stairs. She could hear the Berg outside and could almost see the door that led to the roof. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to remember the night she got stuck in the Maze, to remember the adrenaline and the need to get out.

Ivy opened her eyes again, determination sparkling in them. She sprinted at the stairs, taking them three at a time. As she reached the next level, she took a glance behind her to see that Wolf was close behind her. Ivy forced herself to move faster; her feet seemed to barely touch the ground anymore.

The moment she touched the last step, she heard a door burst open. She chanced a look down and saw that the Cranks had broken through the door and were now climbing the stairs. Even though they were tripping over each other, they were still moving fast. She turned to the door and tried to open it, only to find that it wouldn't open.

"It's locked!" she growled.

"Move!" Wolf said. Ivy did so, giving Wolf room to shoot the hinges and kick the door down.

"That's one way to do it," Ivy said with a small shrug.

She followed Wolf outside, covering her eyes when she felt a large gust of wind. She had to force her hair back in order to properly see the Berg. The back door was open and James and Graham were standing inside, waiting for them.

"Come on!" James said as the Berg lowered to the theater roof enough for the ramp to be only a foot above it.

A shriek sounded from behind them, causing the four to look at the roof's door. Five Cranks came pouring out, practically screaming when their eyes landed on the group.

"Well sh*t," Wolf said.