Chapter 18: No Escape

As if responding to her need, the glass bottle almost seemed to fly up from her belt as she reached down for it and splashed an arc of water at the being still standing on the wall like a fly. She lunged forward in almost the same instant (there was a particularly impressive roar when the droplets hit) and shoved with all her might. She turned and ran with everything she had as the still steaming Subordinate fell to the floor with a thunderous bang.

Between the pounding of her feet on the metal catwalk and the rush of the water, Alyssa didn't have a prayer of hearing when he got up. She kept on running and turned down the first hallway as she pictured him leaping up and rushing after her. Not daring to look back, she pulled the key out of her pocket and jabbed it into the lock, the glass bottle still tightly clutched in her other hand.

Knowing she didn't have time to think about it, she twisted the key in a random direction and gave the door a hard shove—and to her relief it clicked open.

She gave a glance over her shoulder as she stepped through—and let out a scream as her nose almost bumped the nose of her pursuer. She ducked away from the leering grin and slammed the door in his red-streaked face. It was kicked violently open behind her—she was already racing down the new hallway—and heavy footsteps pounded after her.

"You can't run," the deep, low voice called out to her, coarse in its way but smooth in comparison to Haigh's distorted speech and Morris' growls. "And don't even think about hiding."

Alyssa had been wondering that very thing. Even if she could get away from him long enough to find somewhere to hide, she doubted he was dumb enough to fall for that.

Running was still out of the question, though her legs were moving faster than they ever had in her life; she could tell from the pounding of his feet that the gap between them was rapidly closing, and when she heard the grunt of his breath near her ear she instinctively threw herself to the ground.

A sharp pain in her chest from the impact made her gasp, but she ignored it as the swishing just over her head indicated that she had barely dodged the ax again. Not wasting a moment, she haphazardly swiped her arm behind her, splashing water all over her legs and the floor as she jerked to her feet again.

She almost fell flat on her face. Looking over her shoulder she saw that she had thrown herself down a small set of steps and that her shoe had gotten hooked on one of them. She hastily pulled it loose and used the nearby railing to hoist herself up. The yell of pain sounding behind her was brief and mild (she had probably only nicked him that time) and before she had a chance to let go of the rail she felt something take hold of her jacket. "Not so fast, little girl."

Using the railing for leverage, Alyssa wrenched as hard as she could and took off running again, leaving her jacket behind. There was a frustrated growl followed by a metallic slapping, but it didn't sound like the thick metal her own feet were clunking across.

She had no idea where she was going. The dusty walls and floor muted what little light there was; Alyssa all but blindly followed the railing as the catwalk wound toward her left. To her horror, the curve led to a dead end.

Having no other choice, she turned around again. As she did, she saw out of the corner of her eye that there was a door with a crack in the center of it built into the wall—like an elevator door. She also saw a triangular button near the door and distantly swiped at it—the rest of her attention was on the Subordinate, who was casually running toward her along the railing with all the calmness and ease of a professional tightrope walker.

The door opened with a rusty wheeze and Alyssa darted into the small, square space. The inside of the grimy elevator was lit by a flashing red light that was spinning around and around on the ceiling. Alyssa's darting eyes quickly spotted a keypad; not caring where it sent her, she punched the top button.

Spinning around again, she saw the Subordinate had jumped down from the railing. He had stopped chasing her for the moment and was simply watching her, knowing he couldn't get her now—the doors were already closing rapidly—but the smug look on his face told her that her efforts wouldn't keep him away for long.

As if to punctuate this point, he suddenly raised his arm and threw one of the axes. Though she knew the space was too narrow for the ax to fit through, Alyssa still let out a little squeak of fright as it bounced off the doors, sending sparks through the crack. The doors closed completely an instant later and the elevator shuddered to life. With a ragged breath, Alyssa leaned on the rail next to the keypad and felt along her sore midsection.

A spot on her left side stung sharply, and as she touched it carefully with her fingers the pain made her gasp and clench her teeth. She couldn't be sure, but it felt like her little dive down the steps had fractured a rib.

As the elevator shuddered along its journey, Alyssa returned the bottle to her belt for a moment and rubbed her arms, now bare and exposed. The effects of the salve she had applied to the burn on her shoulder had worn off and the tender skin throbbed a little as the cold air nipped at it. The bandages on her hands were soiled and starting to fray; Alyssa absently wound them again as she tried to remember if there was anything in her jacket aside from the letters she had saved that was important, but she was pretty sure there wasn't anything—she had left the key in the door. She hoped there weren't any more locks.

The elevator stopped shuddering and the doors slid open. Her eyes had adjusted to the near darkness now, and with the glass bottle back in hand, Alyssa stepped cautiously out of the elevator.

The doors closed behind her; she saw B-1 marked on them in faded white paint. Like the floor she had just left, she was standing on a narrow walkway of rusted metal barred with railings. In front of her was another set of stairs, which she made sure to descend carefully this time. The floor below was made of dusty concrete blocks and, also like the previous floor, curved to the left, like a circle. Alyssa proceeded cautiously, knowing that Subordinates could pop up anywhere and at any time.

As if reading her mind, there was a grunt behind her, followed by the slap of bare feet hitting the concrete. Alyssa didn't look behind her as her legs started pumping again, but she could easily picture the ax-wielding Subordinate leaping over the railing—like Dennis used to jump over their neighbor's fence. Only the intentions of the one behind her were much more sinister.

Knowing she couldn't get very far just by running, Alyssa kept a sharp eye out for something she could use against him—anything that would slow him down for a little while. On her right she saw a small set of doors, like a cabinet built directly into the concrete wall; she skidded to a stop and yanked them open.

Alyssa felt like she had been slapped with ice water; except for a few bundles of wire, a couple of grubby cardboard boxes, and a pair of rubber gloves, the cabinet was empty.

In a motion she knew was as pathetic as it was desperate, she whipped the gloves off the shelf and hurled them at her pursuer, who was so close she could feel his breath on her hair. The Subordinate laughed wildly as they bounced harmlessly off his nose. Alyssa started running again—and to her surprise he didn't immediately follow.

A glance over her shoulder showed he was still standing next to the open cabinet, spinning one of his axes so quickly it looked like a silver blur. "Are you looking for a duel, little girl?" he queried, laughter still in his throaty voice. "Very well, then; arm yourself."

Alyssa let out a shriek and dove for the floor as one of the axes came flying her way. She landed with a jolt that sent hot tears to her eyes; if her rib hadn't been broken before, it certainly was now. Above her, the ax ricocheted against the wall, chipping off chunks that pelted the side of her face. Ignoring the pain searing through her chest, Alyssa pushed herself up to her feet again and kept on running, even though her legs were starting to burn and ache from the exertion.

She heard another throaty chuckle, followed by a scratch against the concrete as the Subordinate retrieved his ax and continued his pursuit. Alyssa's heart was pounding so hard and fast it felt ready to burst, but she kept going; there had to be something she could use around the next turn.

A second after this thought passed through her mind she felt another icy jolt, one that left her numb all over; she had come to another dead end.

There was nothing around the turn but a wall, and to the left on the upper level were the elevator doors, safely on the other side of the railing and completely out of reach. In the dimness Alyssa could make out the shape of a lever; with the memory of electrocuting Haigh in her mind she lunged for it and yanked it up and down, but nothing happened. Next to the lever was the red half-circle cover of an LED light; it was dark, indicating that the power was off.

Before Alyssa could so much as let go of the lever, something cold and hard touched the front of her throat—and the next thing she knew the Subordinate was pulling her backwards, the blunt sides of his axes crossed beneath her chin.

Alyssa automatically reached for her belt, but she was yanked back so hard her feet left the floor, making her choke and gasp for air. The glass bottle slipped through her fingers and clattered across the floor. Color spots blurred her vision as her hands grappled for something to grab on to, but it was no use; the railing was at least three feet above her.

"I'm disappointed," said the Subordinate, his chin resting on the top of her head. "After handling the other two the way you did, I was expecting a little more of a struggle."

Choking and gagging, Alyssa clawed and pushed at the blades that were squeezing her throat like ruthless steel fingers, but all she managed to do was make the pressure worse. In desperation she grabbed onto her assailant's wrists—they felt like iron bars as she hung from them—and tried kicking his legs out from under him, but the Subordinate only laughed at her feeble attempts.

Abruptly he gave the crossed axes such a violent twist Alyssa vaguely worried that her head might pop off as spots of red and black spread over her eyes. For a moment they were all she could see, and they brought with them an odd tingling sensation that was almost calming. An instant later a new sensation sent an unpleasant shockwave through her—a sensation like a tear had opened up in her palm. Warm blood started dripping off her fingers; she would have cried out if her windpipe wasn't being crushed. She forced her eyes open wide and was shocked to see that they had somehow moved to the base of the stairs. She must have blacked out for a second—and if the throbbing in her head meant anything, she was in danger of doing it again.

If the idea of passing out in the arms of a Subordinate wasn't awful enough, another thought struck her; if he was able to subdue her enough, would he be able to whisk her away in a swirl of purple light? Was she seconds away from being taken to whatever horror awaited her at midnight, with no hope of escaping?

Alyssa clenched her left fist, digging her nails into the deep gash—she must have cut herself on one of the axes when she passed out briefly—causing spikes of pain to shoot clear up her arm. The pain helped clear her foggy head and sharpen her senses as a single word formed in her mind: No.

The Subordinate was still dragging her along, her feet barely touching the ground, and Alyssa was pretty sure he meant to pull her up the steps. She held still for several heartbeats, limp as a dead fish, wanting him to believe she was too weak to struggle anymore. Then she seized his wrists again, threw both her legs out and hooked her toes on the nearby railing.

Surprised, the Subordinate let out an angry grunt and tried to keep her in place, but Alyssa shoved his arms upward and her head slipped free. She dropped to the floor, turned and half-crawled, half-threw herself between the Subordinate's legs. Lying just a foot or so away was the bottle; she dove for it and, before the astonished Subordinate barely had the chance to turn around, tackled him so hard around the waist they both went flying.

Hitting the floor sent another jolt through her side, but Alyssa gritted her teeth and held on. Pushing herself up with her good hand, she raised the glass bottle with the other and drained a healthy dose of holy water all over the Subordinate's unholy face.

She quickly bolted up and tried to back away as he started screaming and thrashing as he clawed at his garish white eyes, but one of his feet shot out as she scrambled for the stairs. Alyssa couldn't bite back a scream as his heel kicked her left side; yes, that rib was definitely broken.

Her breath ragged, she dragged herself up the steps, her eyes on the elevator. But then she saw something she hadn't noticed before; the upper level curved off to the right and extended to another hallway.

Knowing she didn't have time to hesitate, Alyssa made up her mind and shot toward this new area, disregarding the ache in her legs and the stabbing pain in her side. In her mind she was picturing a door at the end of the hall, a door that would lead someplace wider—someplace where she had the advantage and could turn the environment against her pursuer.

Her hopes died in a hurry when she reached this new door; it was locked. Before she could unleash a mental tirade of obscenities at herself for losing the key, her eye fell on the square mechanism on the side of the door where a handle or knob would normally be, taking particular note of the unilluminated band of green in the center. The door was locked electronically and it, like the lever, was without power.

Alyssa rested against the door for a moment as she took a deep, long breath that sent a burning through her left side. Her tired mind scrambled for a way out of the narrow passage unscathed, but this time she was drawing a blank. The sound of footsteps were already drawing near behind her, mixed with a swish-slap sound as the Subordinate casually tossed one of his axes in the air and caught it again. Alyssa briefly considered spinning around and tossing a little water at him, but discarded the idea; he had proven he was more than a little nimble and would probably just dodge, despite the lack of space. Plus her weapon hardly seemed seemed to phase him. Where the previous two Subordinates needed a few seconds to recover, this one all but shrugged it off and was back on his feet in an instant, in spite of his impressive hollering.

Her mind was still trying to come up with ways to escape—she was beginning to think there was no way out of this one—when the Subordinate suddenly laughed and shouted at her.

"Catch!"

Alyssa shrieked and slammed her back against the wall, narrowly dodging the ax that flew over her head and bounced off the door. She had barely recovered from the shock when she received another one; the Subordinate was in the air, looming over her like a bird of prey.

The next few seconds felt like they went by in slow motion. The Subordinate arched above her, ax raised above his head, ready to drop. He was so close Alyssa could the dim light of the dusty florescent bulbs glinting off the sharp edge of the ax. Again disregarding her already battered side, she dove for the floor, rolled underneath him and bolted to her feet in almost the same motion. The next instant time resumed normally; the Subordinate landed with a bang, the impact of his ax against the metal floor echoing like a gunshot.

It wasn't how she had planned to do it—not that she had been able to come up with a plan—but she had passed him and was free to run back to the elevator. Though her lungs burned and the pain in her side was making spots of white burst along the edge of her vision, she raced back around the curve and slammed her good palm against the call button.

She wedged herself inside the elevator before the doors finished opening and scrambled for the keypad; she could her pursuer's footsteps as he flew down the metal path after her. She punched the center button and ducked down, remembering his habit of tossing an ax at her.

But things had suddenly gone quiet. The doors groaned shut behind her and the elevator shuddered into motion. Alyssa slowly turned around and rested her head against the rail.

She wanted a few minutes to gather her thoughts and strength, but the ride was only going to last for a few seconds. And she had barely caught her breath when a thought made her heart skip a beat; could he teleport right into the elevator with her?

She hoped not, but she was helpless if he did. But it seemed like her only haven, brief as it was, since he had stopped chasing her both times she entered it. Maybe he couldn't teleport into something that was already moving. Not that he needed to bother; she knew he would be waiting for her the second the doors opened again.

As the old elevator shuddered along, Alyssa got shakily back to her feet and checked her hand. She was pretty sure a gash that deep would need stitches, but there was nothing she could do about it now but tighten her soiled bandages. Her right hand was in far better shape now, so she moved those bandages to her left hand as well. As she pulled them tight, a new thought occurred to her; it seemed like she was completely alone here.

The elevator had come to a stop and the doors had creaked open, but Alyssa paused to remember the passage she read in the book of Entities; the one about how weaker Subordinates needed to 'refuel' from time to time. She thought it was safe to assume she had finally met one who had advanced past this stage and was doing just fine without further torment of his original victim.

With her weapon tightly clenched in her good hand, Alyssa stepped out of the elevator, where the furious chase would resume.