The next floor had been turned into a makeshift clinic.
Tables had been pushed together.
Medical supplies were stacked in cabinets.
Empty bottles covered the ground.
A red cross had been painted on the wall.
There were sleeping areas too.
Most were empty.
One was not.
An old man sat beside a dead battery lamp.
He looked up when they entered.
He had white hair, a dirty coat, and a small pistol resting beside his chair.
He did not point it at them.
"You are going up."
Bai Li nodded.
"Yes."
"You know what is waiting?"
"Not exactly."
The old man smiled.
"That is probably better."
Yan Cijin glanced around.
"How long have you been here?"
"Long enough to stop counting."
"Why stay?"
"I am not stupid enough to go higher."
Bai Li looked toward the stairwell.
"How bad is it?"
The old man laughed.
"The lower levels belong to people. The middle levels belong to monsters. The upper levels belong to things that used to be monsters."
Yan Cijin raised an eyebrow.
