Play@YSDC

Her visage is enough to make Aidan shudder.

"Hey, you, listen to me! Help is coming... Just wait there, where I can see you. We can go up to the roof together and I will help you get to safety. Just come out of the office and stay RIGHT there!"

She giggles again and comes out of the room, moving with a jerky, bird-like motion. Aidan manages to rise to his feet. She tilts her head to an unnatural angle. "Build?"

"No! No building, damnit! Stay right there!" He yells, doing his best to cover to terror in his voice. He raises the spike above his head to signal that he's not afraid to defend himself.

"Stay right where you are! I'm not telling you again!"

The woman stares at the spike in abject horror, flinging her arms up to protect her face and throwing herself back, tripping over in her haste and hitting the floor. She attempts to crawl away, whimpering piteously, glancing over her shoulder at him in fear.

Aidan is perplexed at this, but isn't going to let his ignorance hinder him at this point.

"Listen to me! Go back to door and stand perfectly still... We have help coming... We can get you help, but we do not have much time left. Do you understand me?"

She struggles to her feet, using the wall for support, and runs across the floor, her low heels clicking against the linoleum. She disappears inside one of the rooms.

Aidan sighs. She's a lost cause, but as long as she seems to fear the golden spike, he feels like he at least has the upper hand. He checks around himself, looking for anyone else before heading towards the Accounting Office, keeping the spike deliberate prepared.

The Accounting Office is as it was before. The axe embedded in the desk. Ash streaming in through the window.

Aidan pulls his shirt up over his mouth, hoping it will prevent him from inhaling the suspicious ash. Setting down the rest of his panoply, he tries to pull the axe from the desk.

The axe sticks fast.

Aidan sighs and then realizes that he left his back to the door. He scurries around to the other side of the desk and tries again.

Failing that, he tries to kick it, missing miserably.

The kick makes his toes sore.

"Son of a bitch..." Aidan swears under his breath. He wonders if he's just wasting time, but without a way to get through that door, everybody's in trouble.

Unless one of them had a keycard and they're already up on the roof.

He steps up on the desk and grabs the axe, trying to lean on it with all of his meager weight to try and push it out the way in came in.

The axe is released into his hands.

"Oh, thank God!" He exclaims, claiming the axe. Now that he has more items to juggle in his two hands, he tucks the flashlight into his pants, tightening his belt to keep it there. Spike in one hand and the axe swung over his left shoulder, he leaves, trying to spot his way back out of the lattice.

He can hear whimpering from somewhere else on the floor. The lattice itself is exactly as it was. As he moves, his mobile rings.

Aidan sighs at the the bad timing and steps back into the office, setting down the axe to answer the phone.

"Aidan here."

"Hawkins here," says a familiar voice. "The helicopter's wondering what's taking everyone so long. I mean, look, I'd hell appreciate getting some food over here - everyone'll be real starving soon - but the chopper can't wait forevery."

"Can't tell you how glad I am to hear you, Sargeant... Pardon our lateness, I'm just about to get to the roof now. Everyone should be getting as many supplies as they can carry as we speak... Let me ask you, how many people can your helicopter carry?"

"Normally? About eight to ten fully grown men - about eight hundred kilograms. It's the British version of the SWAT helicopter. Could fit a lot more, technically, but not in this weather. Best be safe. We need a lot of food and supplies. Hope you've got that."