Free Rocky Mountain Die by Jake Bible Page B

your kids. Not even a question, really.”
    “I’d want her to,” I say. “Stella would want her to. That’s basic parenting.”
    “But Elsbeth isn’t a parent,” Cassie says.
    There’s a rapid succession of gunshots then silence except for a few whacks and the never-ending Z groans.
    “You are sitting on borrowed time, Jace,” Cassie says. “Elsbeth knows it and she is already moving on.”
    “You keep saying the same thing, but with different words,” I reply. “Still not convinced.”
    Stella and Stuart are yelling at the top of their lungs just as the floor starts to shake. My wheelchair stutters across the dusty wood laminate flooring. I move probably two feet, almost falling over, before my ears are filled with the massive shrieking of metal tearing loose from anchors in concrete, steel and wood.
    “See! They did it!” I yell, but Cassie can’t hear me. God can’t hear me over the noise. “Fuck you, bitch!”
    The entire building shakes as the escalators collapse under dead weight. See what I did there? Dead weight? Gold, baby, gold.
    Then the second floor turns into nothing but a dust cloud. A rather nasty-tasting dust cloud. I try to clamp my mouth shut, but the dust gets up my nose and down my throat. A distinct flavor of concrete, some definite mold and mildew, followed by a hint of Z dandruff and decay. Yum.
    I can hear people coughing and coming my way, which is good because being blind in a dust cloud with a stone cold killer by you isn’t the best feeling. Sure, she’s tied up, but still.
    “Jace? You alright?” Stella calls out. I can just make out her form as she staggers through the dust. “Ow! Fucking shelf.”
    “Watch out for those, baby,” I say. “They’ll get ya.”
    “We did it,” Charlie grins as soon as he is close enough for me to see him.
    His eyes are watering from the dust and his nose is running. Most of him is covered in Z gore, but he has a huge smile on his face so I know he didn’t get bitten or anything.
    Stella is right behind him, followed by Stuart and Elsbeth. They all wave their arms to try to clear some of the dust cloud out of the way.
    “Jace?” Stella says as they get a couple feet from me. “Where’s Cassie?”
    Two words I don’t want to hear. I try to turn my head and look for her, but pain rockets down my spine like a hammer hitting a carny game at the fair.
    “Shit,” Stuart snaps. “One job, Long Pork. One fucking job.”
    I also notice something else missing.
    “Where’s the bat?” I ask.
    Elsbeth starts to whirl around, but it’s too late. The missing bat smacks her square in the face and she goes down hard.
    Cassie steps between Stuart and Stella and whirls the bat in her hand.
    “Now,” she grins. “Who’s up first?”
    Stuart ducks quickly and throws a punch at Cassie’s midsection, but she blocks it by bringing a leg up then smacks his forearm with the bat. There’s a distinctive ring of aluminum on bone and Stuart cries out, cradling his arm as he falls backwards onto his ass.
    Stella comes at Cassie, her empty pistol whipping through the air. But that’s all it does. It whips through empty air and Stella almost loses her balance as she whiffs over a ducking Cassie. Cassie pulls a Stuart and punches my wife in the belly. Stella doubles over and catches a second punch to the jaw which sends her down onto Elsbeth.
    “This didn’t have to happen,” Cassie says as she grabs Stella by the hair and yanks her head up. “I gave you a chance, Jace. If you’d let me go I would have protected you.”
    “You obviously didn’t need my help,” I say. “So how about you let my wife go and we call it even?”
    “What, and give you something for free? I don’t think so,” Cassie laughs. She chokes a little on the dust. “Damn. That is gross.”
    A shadow moves in the dust cloud and I realize Charlie is no longer by me. Cassie lets go of Stella just before the blade whips by. She rolls backwards, slamming an elbow into