The Hotel at the End of Time

Chapter 26 - Roman hates heights, like, so much.

Roman couldn't imagine what Emma had planned. Blow up the restaurant? Blow up the road? For sure, blow something up. God, he'd been spending too much time with Vain.

Emma looked out the window to the street below. "Mark, the van is in the parking garage across the street, right?"

"Yeah." Mark nodded and shrugged. "I'm not sure how we can get to it though, not if Trick has people waiting in the restaurant. I don't think fighting our way out is a great option."

"We're not leaving by the restaurant. We're going out through the window. I'll create a ramp across the gap between the buildings."

"Can you do that?" asked Vain. "That's got to be five-hundred feet."

"I think I can. I've only done small ones, but I'm sure this will work."

"Vain has already corrupted you," Hush said. "That's insane. Why are all of you so crazy? Now, if you'll listen to me and somehow get me a leaf blower and bleach, we'll be golden."

"Zip it, Hush," Charm said, but smiled to take the heat out of her words. She clapped her hands, once. "Let's get going, people. We're climbing out the window."

Roman groaned to himself. Emma could give Vain a run for her money in the crazy department. She had the same steel in her that propelled Vain, only hidden away, buried closer to the bottom. With Vain, all the veneer had been rubbed away.

There wasn't much time, and regardless, the second story of a building surrounded by armed thugs wasn't a great place for detailed planning. Seconds galloped by. The group worked with a sense of urgency, on the edge of panic, but keeping it together. A few hours remained until the restaurant closed, and they knew Trick wouldn't rush them with a building full of customers. They scrambled in and out of the room, gathering their belongings and stuffing clothes into backpacks and duffel bags. Hush fretted about his employees and how to keep them safe. He decided to call in a bomb threat before they left, reasoning that would get the cops here and clear everyone out. After about an hour, they were ready.

"Let's do this," said Emma. "It's getting dark outside, so they won't be able to spot us."

"Not easily, but they will see us," said Mark. "We need to cross and get to the car as fast as possible. A group of people floating between buildings on an invisible ramp will draw attention."

Emma gathered energy, and it tugged at Roman. When Vain pulled from him, it was like ripping a piece of duct tape off your arm, quick and sharp. Emma's pull had warmth, like an invitation. It was all air and light.

Hush stood in front of the window, staring at the parking garage. "How far does that look?"

"A football field, at least," said Charm. "Maybe two. This will need to be a thick platform."

"It's not about the thickness, it's about how hard I can make it," Emma said.

"That set-up is nuts." Vain looked around the room, but no one paid any attention to her. "Come on. Is nobody going to take that?"

Roman hid a smile beneath his hand. Vain would never change.

The room had floor-to-ceiling windows, providing a panoramic view of the area outside the building. They had thrown back the curtains, giving them a better line of sight to their target.

"Hush, how does this window open?" asked Emma.

"I'm not sure it does," said Hush. "They're built for style, not access."

"We can take the panes out." Mark produced a knife from somewhere under his jacket and pried away at the frame and grating.

Roman looked to the street below, making out people's shapes from the dim light provided by the streetlamps. It was about a sixty-foot drop. Not a guaranteed death, but at least a broken leg, or worse. For about the tenth time, he tried to come up with a better idea. Why had so much of the past week involved heights?