A few seconds later Lucy reached the opening, let the rifle fall against her back by its strap, and jumped after her, catching the ladder hard with both hands as the Hybrid crashed into the corridor behind her.
Her hands caught the metal ladder hard enough to sting through her palms. The whole shaft smelled of hot machinery, dust, and old grease. Above them, the bright strip of corridor light cut across the opening like a wound in the dark. Below, the elevator roof sat several floors down, a dull rectangle surrounded by black concrete walls and cables that vanished up and down into shadow.
"Get down fast!" Lucy snapped.
"That's what I'm doing," Sydney shot back, already climbing with Zakthar slung awkwardly against one side. "But reassure me about something. Hybrids don't know how to climb ladders, right? Please say yes."
Lucy looked up.
