Michael Robertson - Highrise Hell

For the first time, Liz’s frown lifted, and the soft voice of the woman he’d fallen for came through. “What if she’s already dead though, George? I’ve seen you with Dean over the past few days. You don’t think he has her either.”

“I lost Zach years ago. I can’t give up hope while there’s a chance. I can’t afford to lose another person I love.”

“But what about me?” She shivered as she stared at him. “I don’t know how long I can hold on for.”

The stabbing pains of grief swelled in his chest as he put his hands through the bars. When she grabbed them, he flinched. “You’re freezing.”

Sniffing against her runny nose, she pushed her lips tight. “We’re not doing too good out here.” The fire had left her. “We need to get out.”

“I promise you, I’ll have you out within two days. Whether I have my sister or not. Please just give me that time.”

The tears that escaped her eyes were the first he’d seen her cry. Silence hung between them before she said, “I used to work in an office before all of this.”

George raised an eyebrow. “I bet that was dull.”

“It was. I worked there for ten years. Do you know why I stayed?”

Shrugging, George waited for her to continue.

“The carrot.”

“The carrot?”

“The promise of a better tomorrow. The promotion that may come if I worked harder, stayed later, compromised myself to the point where I felt ill. Mentally and physically.” Shaking her head, she scratched her temple. “I quit three months before the world went to shit. I booked a one-way ticket to India. I never managed to take that flight.” Sighing, she looked at the floor. “Do you know what I learned?”

George didn’t reply.

“The promise of a better future means nothing today. Until it happens, it’s only a promise. You can’t build a life on promises. You can’t compromise a life on them either.”

“Liz, you’ll get out of this alive, I prom…” Looking at her raised eyebrows, George stopped talking.

“I don’t have a choice how long I give you, George. We’re prisoners. We’re at the mercy of you and your gang.”

“Dean’s gang!”

Another scream shot out of Dean’s apartment, and she looked up at it. “I just hope that you get us out before he gets to me.” Looking around the cage, her eyes stopped on a woman who was curled in a ball. The cracker was resting on her side, untouched. She sighed again. “Or before I die.”

Squeezing her cold hands, George said, “I will.”

“Actions, George. They’re what matter.” Pointing at the older of the two girls, she said, “Look at the bite marks on her cheek.”

George shook his head. He already knew how much of an arsehole he was.

“It’s infected. Can you get something for it? TCP or something? I’m worried what it will do to her if we leave it too long.”

When he looked at the girl, she stared straight ahead like a submissive animal, refusing eye contact. The scabs from the teeth marks glowed with yellow mucus like the infection would eat a hole through her face. George lowered his eyes. “I’ll see what I can do.”

When more screams shot out of Dean’s open window, George shook his head. The boy wouldn’t last the night. Looking back to Liz, he froze. She was staring over his shoulder, her jaw hanging loose. When he turned around, his stomach sank to see the smug face of Ravi staring right back at him.

Staring at the boy, George pointed. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.”

Grabbing his arm, George gritted his teeth. “Why are you being so smug, you little prick?”

Shrugging, Ravi raised his eyebrows. “I’m not being smug, George. I just feel happy that I can’t be held to ransom anymore.”

“You think me and Liz is worse than what you’ve done?”

Scratching his chin, Ravi looked over at the cage and waved. “Hi, Liz.”

Taking hold of the boy’s other arm, George shook him. “Shut your fucking mouth.”

“It’s just nice to have a bit of security.”

“You cocky little shit. Guess where I was earlier?”

Ravi shrugged.

“In the supermarket. I saw you with your hoodie mate again. I know what you’re planning. Whatever you think you have on me, Dean will react much worse to what you’re doing.”

The confidence had left the boy despite his words. “That may be true, but you know he’ll go to town on her when he gets the chance.”

Another scream came from Dean’s flat. “Like he’s going to town on your mate up there?”

When Ravi didn’t reply, George ground his teeth. “Just fuck off, Ravi. You’ve got much more to worry about than me chatting to women.”

“So we’re going to keep each other’s secrets, are we?”

Continuing to stare, George sneered. “Fuck off.”

“We’re fucked, aren’t we?”

Shaking his head, George put his hands through the bars in the cage and held Liz’s. They felt fragile like dry twigs. When he looked up at her sunken eyes and jagged cheek bones, his heart skipped. When did she get so frail? “No. I think we’ll be okay. Ravi will keep his mouth shut.”

“What if he doesn’t?” Her eyes widened. Her words quickened. “He’ll pick me next if he knows. Please, George, get me out of here.” Looking up at the penthouse flat, she shook her head. “I can’t go up there.”

“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. I really care about you. I know we haven’t known each other for that long—”

“One month. Long enough.” Looking at the floor, she started to cry. “Long enough when you’ve been standing in your own piss and shit. Long enough to form relationships and then watch those people die of malnutrition. Long enough to consider eating the cooked thigh of a former prisoner. Long enough to realize that the hope you’d been holding onto was totally insubstantial. Long enough, George. Long enough.”

A lump caught in George’s throat that tasted of both bile and grief. The air around them stank. “I just need to make sure Sally’s okay.”

Liz gave him a weary nod and then looked out into the night. “Why did you kill that man in the close?”

Although he knew she’d want an answer at some point, the directness of her question stole George’s breath. “He used my name.”

A blank stare looked out of the cage at him.

“In front of Dean. In front of all of them. He said my name like he knew me. What if they all thought that was true? How bad would that look? If I’d have let it slide, Dean would have cut my throat in my sleep. Brother-in-law or not, no one should be mixing with those type of people in his eyes. It’s his deep resentment for them that makes him behave the way he does.”

“That’s bullshit!”

“It’s the truth. You think I wanted to kill him?”

“No. That’s bullshit that Dean behaves the way he does because of that. He behaves the way he does because he’s fucking mental. It’s like football thugs that pretend it’s about the game, or those English Defence League losers that claim they’re fighting for the future of their broken country. Extremists that believe their violent rampages are in the name of God, or Allah, or some other fictional character. It’s because they’re violent men, and they’ve found a socially acceptable way to channel that violence.”

“Socially acceptable?”

“Amongst their peers, yes. They get hero worshipped for being arseholes. If they just cried and sought therapy for the fact that their mummies never loved them, then the world would be a much better place.” With glazed eyes, she stared into space like she was lost in the movie playing in her mind. “Why did you leave the little boy burning in the house? By the time we left, those flames were touching the clouds.”