Falling Together (All That Remains #2) by S. M. Shade

while I boost Eric onto a third
floor balcony. I’m pulled up after him, and we break a window to get inside.
It’s such a relief to escape the bitterly cold wind.
    “You
okay?” Eric asks, after we take a few moments to retrieve the sensation in our
numb hands and feet.
    “I
could use a cup of coffee and a blowjob,” I reply, locking my jaw to keep my
teeth from chattering.
    He
smirks. “I’m fresh out of both. Come on, let’s see if the stairs survived.”
    The
interior of the building held up surprisingly well. We move slowly, testing the
floorboards as we go. A rustling sound makes me take a step back when Eric
opens the stairwell door.
    “The
fuck was that?” A shiver runs through me and the back of my neck prickles.
    “Probably
just rats.” The beam from his flashlight sweeps across the floor and up the
steps.
    “Wonderful.”
Pitch dark, surrounded by water, and wading through rats. Not at all
disturbing. We manage to make our way to the fourth floor without getting
chewed on. “This is it. Apartment four D,” I murmur, forcing open the door. Staring
around the tiny dilapidated studio apartment, it’s instantly apparent we’re
wasting our time.
    A
moldy mattress and rotting sofa with no cushions take up most of the room. A
small grease caked stove and mini fridge are tucked into a corner. The
furniture is so tightly packed together I could have sat on the sofa and
grabbed a beer from the fridge. There’s barely enough space to turn around in
the bathroom. A grimy shower stall and toilet take up the entire space.
    “Christ,
I can’t believe anyone lived here.” I shake my head in astonishment, and Eric
cocks an eyebrow at me.
    “Abby
lived here for a few years when she was a kid.”
    “Are
you shitting me?”
    He
shakes his head. “On the top floor. She said she used to sleep on the balcony
when it was too hot.”
    I
don’t know what pisses me off more, the fact that Abby lived in such a place,
or that Eric seems to know so much about her childhood. “Let’s go,” I bark. The
stairwells are dank and dark, enclosed by mold streaked walls. When we open the
door to the third floor, something sweeps by us in a dark blur. It almost
looked like…
    “Was
that a fucking monkey?” I blurt, feeling like a grade A asshole.
    “It’s
possible.” Eric laughs while we sweep the hall with our flashlights. I’m really
on edge now, just waiting on some creature to pop out at us.
    “If
you’re going to tell me that monkeys are indigenous to Indiana…” I warn.
    Chuckling,
he points to a wide white roof in the distance. “That was the Water’s Building,
which was a part of the Indianapolis Zoo. The animals had to go somewhere.”
    “Great,
I’ll be sure to watch for tigers.” I shake my head in disbelief.
    “Can
tigers swim?”
    “How
the fuck would I know?”
    An
odd crackling sound is followed by Eric’s yelp as a section of the floor gives
way beneath his feet. The top of his head drops below the spongy, mold covered
wood before I can react, and a loud splash echoes through the room.
    “Fuck!
Eric!”
    “Airen?”
His voice, thick with confusion and edged with panic, floats up from the
darkened hole.
    “Eric?
Are you all right?”
    “I’m
freezing…the water’s over my head…I can’t swim.” He’s losing it.
    “You’re
wearing a life jacket. You won’t drown. Calm down. I’ll get you out.” I have to
figure out something fast. Between his panic and the icy water, it won’t take
long for him to go into shock.
    “Calm
down?” His high pitched shriek is like an ice pick through my brain.
    “What
can you see? Is there a window? A staircase?”
    “I
can’t see my goddamned hand in front of my face! It’s pitch dark down here.”
Okay, first thing we need is light. Jerking my pack off my shoulders, I dig
through it, scrambling to find the military grade glow sticks.
    “Airen!
Oh fuck. I’m standing on something…mushy…I think it’s a body.” Tingles race up
my spine,