There was no time to think about where to go. Zombies were behind them, lumbering forward with their horrible jagged step, drag, step, but this time much faster than Justice had ever seen. Merlin managed to run ahead of Justice somehow and was already bolting upstairs to the office level. Shadows inside the office windows started to move, so he ran for the rickety metal ladders to the upper catwalks. He paused, gesturing for Justice to catch up to him.

Justice wasn’t a track star, but he was faster on his feet than others in the squad. He was surprised by how quickly the other man could move. Willing his limbs faster, Justice clambered up to the catwalk and peered down at their pursuers.

The zombies seemed to find the technology of ladders a little too advanced and kept dropping off a few rungs up. That should buy them some time.

Merlin pointed up. “There’s nothing but an ill-conceived movie fire escape that goes to the roof. I think if we get up there, the metal is brittle enough we could kick it off the side and they won’t be able to get up top.” Grabbing Justice’s arm, Merlin dragged him along.

There didn’t seem to be any rush, but he knew they couldn’t count on all the zombies being so clumsy on the ladder forever. “But how are we going to get down?”

Merlin’s gaze fixed on the zombies and then back to the window that led to the fire escape. “Someone will have to come and save us. The chief knows where we are. He’ll come and get us, surely.”

Justice had his doubts about Chief Authority Figure releasing resources to rescue his least favorite person and a newbie, but he wasn’t going to give voice to them now. They needed to act quickly. They ran around the catwalk to the window. It took a few tries to pull it open, but once it had pulled free, Merlin went first. The fire escape itself was rusty, the paint was peeling, and there were several rungs that simply didn’t attach to the wall or each other.

Undaunted, Merlin shimmied up with his graceful athleticism that made it look as if he couldn’t have weighed more than five pounds. He pitched himself over the wall and then peeped back down. His blond hair, dark with dried blood, shadowed his face, which made his expression hard to read when he reached down for Justice. Justice only had to make it a few feet in order to catch Merlin’s hand, but it looked like an impossible distance.

Crawling out the window, Justice strapped his gun over his shoulder. Then he put his full weight on the metal frame. It creaked unhappily. He tried to move slowly, ignoring the dangerous creaking as he took a few steps up, leaving him so close to Merlin’s hand he could practically touch it. Before Justice could reach Merlin, the fire escape gave out a vibrating, screeching moan. Bricks cracked, metal snapped.

“Fast. Get on top of it. Move, Justice, move!” Merlin held out both arms over the side, scooting forward all the way up to his waist. If Justice actually had to take Merlin’s hand like that, he would drag them both down to the zombies moaning below.

After some particularly loud whines and a terrifying drop of just a couple of inches, the structure stilled. Justice tried to stand up, tried to get good handholds in the bricks. He looked for ledges to stand on. Nothing.

While he was fine where he was, Justice knew he couldn’t count on what was left of the fire escape holding forever. He called up to Merlin. “Scoot back, Merlin. Your skinny ass is going to come over with me if you try to pull me up.”

Merlin’s face was unreadable, but he didn’t look as happy as Justice figured he would at not having him as a partner. He scooted back a couple of inches and then offered his hands again. “Don’t worry about it. Me and my skinny ass have a plan.”

Below, the groaning and snarling was getting louder. All those angry truck zombies were ready to end the night’s entertainment and get on with the meal. Even though Merlin and Justice were a story up, some of the zombies tried to jump, as if they could get hold of the crumbling ladder or Justice’s foot.

Another loud crack and scrape and the ladder was done for.

Merlin slid forward, arms wide, fingers spread. “Jump!”

Justice did. The momentum of his push off drove the remains of the fire escape harder to the ground. He didn’t jump as high as he’d hoped. He hoped to be able to hook his hands over the side of the building and pull himself up. All he’d gotten was bloody fingers for his attempt, but Merlin had somehow gotten ahold of his wrists.

His weight pulled Merlin dangerously closer to the edge of the roof.

Scared as he was, Justice couldn’t see the point in both of them dying. “You need to let me go, Merlin. I weigh a lot more than you. You’re not going to be able to pull me up.”

The look on Merlin’s face was intensely determined. There was something tender there too, almost as if he cared, though why would he? They hadn’t known each other long. Even so, here he was, risking his life for Justice. “Fuck that. I told you I have a plan, and I do. You’re not going to die. At least, not right now.” Even as he said it, he looked uncertain. He was lying flat on the roof, and his legs wiggled around, as if he was looking for something to grab on to. “Yeah, got it.”

Justice looked over his shoulder. A fall from here, that wouldn’t do much. Maybe a broken leg. But a broken leg with fifty to sixty zombies nearby, he wouldn’t live through that. All they had now was Merlin’s plan.

Merlin slid forward, and Justice scrambled for footing on the brick. “I thought you said you had it. I thought you said you had a plan!”

Merlin’s expression shut down as he wiggled backward, reclaiming the space they’d lost and then some. “I do have a plan. The plan is not to die.”

“Any details on that?” Justice looked down. Maybe Merlin was gaining inches, but Justice could lose feet, and his life.

Their gazes met. Justice believed Merlin’s expression looked apologetic. He didn’t have a plan; nothing was figured out. He was just going to be stubborn and try to make this rescue work. “Well, I was going to grab on to that pole there, but it broke, so now…”

Justice tried to smile as he shook his head. He was doomed, and that was okay. All part of the job. “Now I’m going to die. I told you, Merlin. It’s okay. I understand. These things happen all the…”

Before he could finish his statement, Merlin closed his eyes. He inhaled steadily and then mumbled a string of incomprehensible words.

Justice felt weightless, as if he could fly. He could direct his flight. It was giddy, like Justice could circle this stupid factory and come back, picking off zombies similar to how rich rednecks hunted wolves from a plane.

Instead, the momentum simply got Justice up and over the side of the building, and then he was dropped onto the loose pebbles next to his partner.

Merlin rolled over so he could lay spread-eagle on the hot-pavement roof. He panted, chanting words between breaths until he finally opened his eyes.

Justice was grateful to be alive. He stared up at the sky, thankful he wasn’t looking into rotten teeth and having his organs removed. Oh, the zombies were still down there, groaning and yelling, but they couldn’t get to them.

“I’m not sure I have enough ammo to take them all out. We might need your ax. Do you still have it?” Justice looked at Merlin, who was staring up into the sky.

“Don’t think we’ll need it.” He pointed at two dots in the sky getting bigger. The flat sound of helicopter blades drew nearer. “I think we’ve got backup.”

Merlin faced Justice. His expression was a mix of relief and confusion. Justice focused on the helicopters. While he shared the feeling of liberation that someone was coming to get them, it was rather unusual that there was any sort of armed defense—especially as shorthanded as ZoCOS was and that he and Merlin were two detectives who didn’t seem to matter much.

Or at least, they hadn’t dispatched aerial support for Justice’s benefit in the past, and he’d certainly been in the shit with zombies worse than this previously. So it wasn’t about him, so maybe it was about Merlin…and Merlin was very peculiar. What was that meditation bullshit that got Justice over the edge of the building? No trick of wind could have done that. It felt like magic.

Justice knew he should be grateful and not worry about it, but he’d been in law enforcement for too long to believe in coincidences. Merlin wasn’t just some civilian off the street. He was someone important to the people in charge. He was someone they didn’t want to get killed. The big question was, who was Merlin? And what made him so valuable?

~~This series will continue in daily increments through the end of March 2026. After that, it will be once a week on Tuesdays~~