Chapter 13: Betrayal
Boss Chen, his face a grim mask of desperation, grabbed the thick rope.
"Alright, listen up! This is insane, but it's all we've got!" He frantically tied a heavy piece of debris
– a chunk of broken concrete – to one end of the rope, his hands trembling with a mixture of fear and adrenaline.
"I'm going first! Skinny, you're next! Ben, you after him! Nina, you bring up the rear! Mei Feng, you're last!"
His orders were barked out, his eyes darting nervously towards the stairwell where the monstrous roars were growing deafening.
He swung the weighted end of the rope precariously, his muscles straining. With a grunt of effort and a muttered "God help us all!", he hurled it across the alleyway.
A collective gasp escaped their lips as the makeshift grappling hook snagged precariously on the edge of the opposite building's roof.
Chen tested the rope with a desperate tug. "Hold tight, damn it! Don't be a dead weight!" He swung his legs over the edge of the terrace, his face white with terror.
"Here I go! Don't anyone fall and drag the rest of us down!" With a final, terrified glance back at the stairwell,
he began his slow, perilous slide across the chasm, his knuckles white as he gripped the rope.
Skinny watched him go, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and a desperate hope. "Please make it, Boss Chen... please don't let go..." He shuffled nervously to the edge as Chen signaled he was across.