Clatter continued to talk, but Josh tuned him out. He didn’t care what Clatter had to say, but remained focused on what lay ahead. Without knowing the layout of where they would be playing, the team of Torchers couldn’t form a real plan. But Scrawl had seen some basic maps of Feverfew, and assuming that that’s where they were going, had used a piece of broken stone to sketch out a rough idea of what it might look like inside on the floor of the cell.
Seamus made several turns, moving into various tunnels until Josh’s sense of direction was completely lost. Sometimes they flowed with the water, and sometimes Seamus had to struggle against it. They passed half a dozen platforms similar to the one from which they’d launched the rowboat, and Josh wondered what part of the city each one led to.
Finally they traversed a very long tunnel where the water flowed more quickly. It’s going out to the ocean, Josh thought. This is where it empties out. We must be somewhere near the cliffs; Scrawl was right.
Seamus muscled the boat to yet another landing, and Finnegan jumped out, tying the rope to a ring set into the stone. Seamus was next, and he and Finnegan helped Clatter out of the boat. No one helped Josh and his friends, who got off as best they could.
They were marched up a series of stone stairs. These were much steeper and longer than the ones they’d come down, and Josh was breathing heavily when they reached the top. His skin was soaked with sweat, and his shirt clung to him in the clammy, cold air.
They walked through a doorway and found themselves in a dimly lit basement. Tall filing cabinets lined the rust-stained walls. The drawers on many of them were open, and sheets of paper spilled out like entrails. Josh noticed that several of the papers had small black-and-white photographs stapled to them. Those are patient records, he noted grimly.
They came to a set of doors. Clatter pulled a handle that protruded from the wall, and machinery in the walls ground to life. The doors opened, revealing an elevator large enough to accommodate them all. As it lurched upward, the elevator shook with the strain.
Josh watched the buttons on the elevator’s control panel light up as they passed each floor. At 4 it shuddered to a stop, and the doors opened.
“Watch your step,” Clatter said as he got out with a strange jumping motion. Then Josh noticed that the elevator had stopped a good six inches below the level of the floor outside. The floor itself seemed to sag, as if the ancient building had given up.
“This is where the game will begin,” Clatter said. He nodded at Finnegan, who produced a key and proceeded to unlock the handcuffs. Josh massaged his wrists, which had been rubbed raw by the metal. He noticed the others doing the same.
“The rules are very simple,” Clatter continued. “There are twelve zombies. Find and kill them all within two hours and you go free.”
“We didn’t agree on a time limit,” Josh objected.
“My customers don’t have all night,” said Clatter. “And neither do you.”
“But this place is huge,” Charlie said. “There’s no way we can cover it in two hours. You know that.”
Clatter nodded. “You may well be right,” he admitted. “But as you yourself said,” he added, looking at Josh, “you are the best Torchers I have.”
Josh pushed down the urge to rush Clatter.
“Of course, if you do not complete the task…” Clatter left the sentence unfinished. They all knew what would happen.
“We’ll become zombies,” Firecracker said. “Yeah, we get it.”
Clatter looked at Firecracker with an expression of amusement. “For someone who has never played the game outside of his bedroom, you’re remarkably confident,” he said.
Firecracker returned the stare. “We’re all good at something,” he said slowly. “I’m sure one day you’ll figure out what your something is.”
Josh enjoyed watching the look on Clatter’s face change. Firecracker had landed a direct hit. You might not be the brightest guy, he thought, but I’m glad you’re on my team.
“Your torches are through that door over there,” Clatter said, his tone decidedly less friendly. “I’m afraid we forgot to pick up communicators for you. You’ll have to stay in contact the old-fashioned way. You must remain here while we return to the control center. Do not enter the room until you hear the command to begin.” He removed a watch from one of his pockets. “Who’s going to be the team captain?”
Scrawl nodded at Josh. “I guess I am,” Josh told Clatter.
Clatter handed him the watch. “When the game begins, this will start to count down the time remaining,” he said. “As usual, there are cameras throughout the building. Your progress will be followed with much anticipation.”
Clatter, Finnegan, and Seamus returned to the elevator. As the doors began to close, Clatter looked at Josh and smiled. “Good luck,” he said. The sound of his laughter followed the elevator as it descended.
“No communicators,” Scrawl said. “Great. He wants us to yell so the z’s hear us.”
“How are we going to find a dozen zombies in this place?” Charlie added. “We could spend an hour on each floor.”
“We’ll have to break up,” said Firecracker. “Each of us take a floor or something.”
“No,” Josh told him as he put the watch on his wrist. “That’s what Clatter wants us to do.” He spoke quietly, knowing that if Clatter had put cameras in, then he had undoubtedly installed microphones as well. “Remember what we agreed on—we stick together. All of us get out of here or none of us do.”
Scrawl nodded. “Josh is right,” he said. “We have to do this as a team.”
“All right,” said Firecracker. “Then what’s our plan?”
“This place is basically a big square,” said Scrawl. “Four corridors around a central open area that used to be a garden. It’s where the patients went to go outside without being able to escape. I say we do a basic sweep pattern. Start at one corner, go around until we come back to it, then go to the next level. The place was designed so that the stairs alternate position. On floors two and four they’re in the southeast corner. On three they’re in the northwest. They did that so that nobody could have a straight shot out of here if they ran. We can use the stairs as a starting position.”
“Are we all okay with that?” Josh asked.
Charlie and Firecracker nodded.
“I know I said we would all stick together,” Josh continued. “But if we all stay on the same floor, maybe it’s okay if we sweep in teams of two. That way we can cover the floor twice as quickly. Whichever team gets to the stairs first waits for the other. We’ve got half an hour for each floor. If the second team doesn’t show up by the time thirty minutes is up, the first team—”
“Goes to the next floor,” Firecracker interrupted him.
“No,” said Josh. “They go find the other team. Remember, we’re all getting out of here. Now, does anyone else have a watch?”
“I do,” Firecracker said.
“Then you go with Scrawl,” Josh told him. “Charlie will come with me. We’ll alternate partners on each floor.”
“Why?” Firecracker asked.
“So we don’t get too comfortable,” Charlie explained. “It keeps us fresh.”
“All right,” said Josh. “Now we wait for the signal.”
It came five minutes later, just as Josh thought he wouldn’t be able to stand the suspense any longer. A screeching sound filled the hallway, followed by Clatter’s voice. It was tinny and faint, and Josh had to strain to hear it.