Skeletons Read Online Free Page A

shouted.
    Someone above yelled, "They're down below! They're coming at us from below!"
    There was shouting, and a general movement away from the grate. Victor tried to push the grate up, but more bodies were jostled into standing on it. Then, someone carrying a cane fell across it and he was unable to get it up.
    "Help me! Help me!" someone cried above as Victor grabbed at a piece of clothing.
    "Listen to me!" Victor shouted.
    Above, a face turned to stare down at him. "Oh, God, please no!"
    "I'm not going to hurt you!"
    "Let me go!" the figure above pleaded. "They're stepping on me, kicking me— owww !"
    " Listen to me! " Victor shouted, putting his face up to the grate. "You must help me—do you know who I have down here?"
    "I don't want to know—stop it! Stop it!" the figure above turned away to shout at someone on top of him, waved up feebly with his cane.
    "Look at who I have down here!" Victor shouted. The head turned back, the eyes looked down at me. 'This is Peter Sun," Victor said with authority. "He's the only man who can get us out of this mess. Do you understand?"
    "My God! My God!" the figure above said. The eyes stared down at me. "It's true! Help him! We must help him—get off of me!"
    The figure above struggled up, stood for a moment, then squatted down to look back at me.
    "Mr. Sun, we'll help you!"
    The figure stood back up, began to shout, "Get away from the grate! Mr. Sun is down there! Let him up—get away from the grate!"
    The shouting was interrupted by the first nearby explosion. The man above was silent for a moment, then put his face back down to the grate.
    "A bomb has fallen in the square! There are people hurt!"
    "Please get me out of here," I said.
    "Yes! Get away! Get away!" The cane was waved around, but there seemed to be just as many bodies on the grate as ever.
    The man with the cane bent quickly down. "I'm sorry—I can't make them move— ohhh !"
    Another blast sounded nearby.
    "Give me your cane!" Victor shouted up at the man. "Another bomb, nearby! People are screaming!”
    â€œYour cane—give it to me!"
    "Oh, God help us!" the man said, trying to move away with the crowd. His cane momentarily slipped into the grate and Victor grabbed it.
    "What are you doing!" the man above shouted. "Give it to me!" He tried to yank the cane up through the grate. "Give it to me!"
    "I need it to get Mr. Sun out of here!" Victor shouted. "I can help Mr. Sun with it!"
    "What? Oh, yes. Oh, God ..." the man said, suddenly letting go of his cane before being pushed away from the grate by the crush above.
    Victor pulled at the cane, getting it halfway down before it was caught by kicking, falling bodies above. Another face stared down at us, pressed against the grate, shouting painfully, "Help me!"
    Victor tried to work the cane free, then suddenly broke it in half.
    "It will have to do," he said.
    I stood looking at the face crushed against the grate above.
    "Help me, help me...."
    "There's nothing we can do," Victor said, drawing me away.
    Reluctantly, I turned and followed him to the grate under the stage.
    "Now up on my shoulders again, and push it open with this," he said, putting the broken cane in my hand. "It should be long enough."
    I mounted his shoulders again and pushed at the grate, which immediately rose up. It slipped once, but the second time I was able to work it to the side, snugging the end of the cane into the middle of the grating and making an opening.
    "Now's the hard part; I'll have to boost you to get you through," Victor said.
    "What about you?" I asked.
    He was silent for a moment. "I'll have to go back to the tomb. I'll watch you work your magic from the crowd."
    I reached down to take his hand. "You're a good man, Victor Volokovsky . But I have to warn you, I don't think there's anything I can do."
    "You will try."
    "I'll try, yes, but—"
    He smiled, squeezing my hand firmly then letting it go. "I know," he said. `But I'm proud you took my