The Last Magician

Out Of The Rubble

The sound of settling dust and debris hissed in the dark air.

Jack’s ears were full of his own pounding heartbeat and ragged breath.

Amanda’s body pulsed against him

Jack opened his eyes and blinked against the dry dust drifting around him.

He groaned as he tried to turn. Amanda’s weight was on him and his side ached from the fall. He knew it could have been so much worse; at least they were alive.

“Amanda!” Jack said in between wheezing breaths. “Kurt!”

Amanda coughed in his arms. In the very dim light, he could make out her form and felt her shifting against him.

“What was that?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Are you alright?”

“Yes I think so. Why is it so dark?”

Jack stopped himself telling her he didn’t know. It wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Instead he turned and looked to the window. Through the broken glass he could see dark grey stone covering most of the open frame.

“I think something must have shaken loose outside. It looks like part of the roof is blocking the light.”

The room came into a hazy focus, everything blurred by airborne debris but shapes still visible through it. As far as Jack could tell the doorway had not been blocked; a stroke of luck they needed.

Something dripped on Jack’s face. He held his hand out, flinching as he touched Amanda’s skin and felt wetness.

“You’re bleeding,” he said. “Let me up. I can’t see how bad it is from down here.”

Spluttering came from the cell beside them. Amanda moved enough for Jack to lift himself off the floor.

“It’s alright,” Amanda said. “It’s just a graze. It’s not going to kill me.”

“But this place will if we stay here,” Kurt said through the hatch.

Jack moved stiffly to the cell door, pain lancing his side every time his foot hit the floor. He leaned against the door frame and looked directly at Kurt.

“What was it?” he asked, his breathing still hindered by the clinging dust. “How did you know it was coming?”

“I don’t know what it is. It came before, happened before…oh whatever it was there. It all happened just the same; the quakes first then the light.”

“When did the first one happen?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know. I can’t even remember how long I’ve been in here. It could have been days.”

“That’s all you know?”

“Of course that’s all I fucking know! I was locked in here. I just saw the light through the crack of the door. Now can you get me out of here?”

“There must be a key somewhere,” Amanda said, the words leaving her mouth as she gazed out into the main office.

“There isn’t a hope in hell of finding it though,” Jack said flatly.

He bent to the lock. It was solid metal. He could see no way of picking it and he doubted the air rifle would do much damage. He slammed his hand against it in frustration. Kurt jumped back from the hatch.

“Christ! Don’t do that!”

Jack ignored his protests, his attention drawn to the crumbling stone around the door frame.

“I think we can shake the door loose,” he said standing and putting his face to the hatch.

“What?” Kurt asked.

“That quake may have done us more good than harm,” Jack said. “The walls are weak and I think we can break the whole door loose.”

Jack kicked the wall with his heel, connecting with a solid thud.

“Bastard!”

Amanda caught him as he staggered back. “Are you alright?”

“Fine. I think I just hit it a bit harder than I intended.”

Their talking was accompanied by the chinking of stone. A section of wall crumbled entirely and a large crack rode parallel to the frame.

“Looks like it worked though,” Amanda said with a smile. “How high up can you kick?”

Jack aimed another kick where the crack ended. It had minimal impact. He raised his foot to the same spot again. This time the crack widened and spread like a fracture in glass. He watched it creep across the wall, fanning out and dislodging more debris.

“Kurt, you need to push it from your side,” Jack said through the hatch.

“Move back,” Kurt said. “I’ll shoulder it.”

Jack and Amanda did as he said, stepping aside from where they expected the door to fall.

“Are you clear?”

“Do it,” Jack answered.

A still expectation ended abruptly with a crunching thump of flesh and bone striking metal.

A primal scream of agony and frustration burst from the hatch.

The door remained standing.

“Kurt!”

Jack pressed his face to the hatch. Kurt dragged himself up from the floor.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Step back, I’ll give it another try.”

“We can see if we can find another way.”

“Just move back,” Kurt said, preparing his run before Jack could argue.

Jack moved away from the door, returning to where Amanda waited.

This time there was no shout of warning just the sound of Kurt throwing his weight against the door, followed by another involuntary yell of pain and the grating of stone against stone.

“He did it,” Amanda said.

The door did not fall, but one side had moved enough to leave a fractional gap between the frame and wall.

“You’re not going to like this,” Jack said into the hatch.

“Just shut up and get back,” Kurt’s voice said from the floor.

Amanda put her hand on Jack’s arm. “Maybe we can find something to lever it out.”

“There’s got to be a metal bar among all this,” Jack agreed. “It will only take a couple of –“

Jack threw his arms around Amanda as the roar of falling stone and clanging metal flared around them. Somewhere in the commotion Jack heard Kurt’s voice yelling in what could have been pain, euphoria or plain madness.

Fresh clouds of dust rose and fell and in the middle of the tumult, lying face down on top of the cell door, Kurt coughed out a lungful of dirt through his diminishing cry.

Jack released Amanda and moved to help Kurt, hooking an arm under his shoulder.

“I’m alright,” Kurt breathed, wincing as Jack hauled him off his face. “I just saved the best until last that’s all.”

“Congratulations, Ram Man,” Jack said with a smile. “You’re free to go.”

Making light of their situation did not come naturally to Jack, which made his comment somewhat unexpected.

“Thanks,” Kurt said, using Jack as a support. “It’s a good feeling.”

“I just hope you weren’t in there for murder. Now let’s get out of here. I don’t think this is the safest place we can be.”

The three of them left the rubble strewn cell behind. Kurt walked with the support of his saviours, Jack on his left, Amanda opposite. As they stepped through the doorway of the station office, al three shared an unspoken thought.

Where exactly was the safest place?