5

It only took a few minutes for Mom and Randall to create a makeshift gurney for Dad. There were too many things to take, so Jordan had kept the list minimal. Megan bore the weight of the canned beans, a few water bottles they scrounged up, and the clothes. He’d snuck in a few bars of soap, but there was no room for anything else.

Mom and Randall pushed Dad on the gurney—made of an ironing table, some duct tape, and a bunch of sheets tied together—down the hall. Dad groaned whenever they had to lift or push the gurney over splintered remains of doors, walls, and...

Best not think about it, he thought to himself. His stomach threatened to empty its contents, but he turned his attention away from the grisly sight. He and Randall were the only two that could truly put up a fight, but Randall was busy pushing Dad, so really it was just Jordan defending them all. Again.

He considered asking Randall for one of the weapons, but he didn’t want to distract from the effort required to keep the makeshift gurney from collapsing on itself. Megan walked behind Jordan while Mom pulled the gurney. They established the lineup just in case something approached them from behind.

Jordan really hoped they wouldn’t have to drop Dad so Randall could defend, but it was better to struggle with a broken gurney than let the Goblin swarms overwhelm them. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, he thought as he looked behind him at the others.

When they got to the elevator at the center of the hall, he realized that things were going to get complicated very fast. The elevator was completely broken, the doors were open, and the cord inside snapped. Stepping to the edge, he looked down the elevator shaft to see the wreckage below. That wasn’t like that before…

“Jordy,” Megan muttered.

Shaking his head, he turned back toward the hall and looked around. The elevator was his biggest hope, but the stairwell down… It would be far harder to keep the gurney together, but there was no choice. His biggest fear, however, was the potential of running into the Goblin group. Rasputin’s powerful strikes against the wall sent chills down his spine. He didn’t want to be on the receiving end of that, but he didn’t know any other way.

So he continued walking, muttering over his shoulder, “We have to go down the stairs.”

Every sound caused him to tense up, and the shadows dancing across the walls made him grind his teeth loud enough for Megan to smack his arm.

“Jordy!” she hissed.

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He had to stop himself from grinding his teeth harder at the rebuke. As they walked, he noticed that most of the doors were left open. Only the unfortunate people were left. Where did they go?

To assume they escaped completely felt naive to him. More than likely, they tried to escape and ran into more Goblins. Even if they got away from the complex, the world outside was no better. I got lucky. If he didn’t surprise the Goblin Swordsmen, they could’ve all died.

He was sure of that.

Jordan found it odd that they were able to cross the entire hall without seeing a single Goblin, but he supposed it made sense. If they’d already got what they wanted from the building, why would they stay?

One can only hope. If they could get out of the complex and into Randall's car, they could get out of there and find somewhere safe, if such a place existed anymore. Dad’s health and recovery was important, nobody would argue that point, but—and Jordan hated the truth behind the thought—they were in dangerous times.

It’s up to me and Randall to keep everyone safe, but where do we go?

If they could get to the car, they could go somewhere with resources—a convenience store, maybe one with some kind of pharmacy. Nodding to himself, he set that as the next goal.

But that meant getting to the car.

Jordan stepped out of the first floor hall. He scouted ahead of the others as all three of them struggled to guide Dad down the stairs. The first flight hadn’t been an issue, but when Mom became fatigued, Megan had to step in to help.

And that came with a whole host of issues.

Scouting ahead, he noticed the presence of a dozen or more Goblins meandering around the front entrance. Closing the door, he turned to see them all step foot onto the first floor.

“Randall, where’d you park?” Jordan asked.

“Out front,” he said, pointing. Sure enough, a black car waited, humming quietly with its headlights turned off. “I came as fast as I could.”

Little green bodies surrounded the car. Many leaned against the warmth of the exhaust while others attempted to climb on top. Jordan held back a groan and turned around, looking at his family then Randall.

Pointing at Mom and Megan, he said, “You both need to stay here.” Turning to Randall, he met the other’s resolved face. “You know what we have to do, right?”

“Of course. Are you sure you want to do this? We can find another wa—”

“There’s no other way,” Jordan interrupted. He’d seen the streets already. They would have to get in the car as fast as possible. “You need to support me from range. I’m gonna—” He gulped, crouching. There are so many. Rasputin has to be nearby. Shaking his head and setting the swords at his feet, Jordan closed his eyes and rubbed them, doing his best to relieve the budding pressure caused by stress. A minute passed, then two. Opening his eyes, he saw the worried looks of Mom and Megan. “It’s fine, I can do this.”

Grabbing the swords and standing, he calmed his racing heart, the continuous adrenaline and strange energy catching up to him and giving him a nasty headache.