Back to the roof

"Do you think you can climb up there?" you ask pointing to the next balcony. Seeing her hesitate you remind her "It's much easier than the climb you just made." Downstairs someone opened the door to the apartment building and you hear the howls as the gang charge into the central hallway.

"I'll try" she answers "if you help me."

"Good, follow me and do what I do, as soon as I get up there I'll lift you the rest of the way." Standing on the thin railing you reach for the next handhold and place your foot on a narrow ledge. Pulling yourself up to that position you can reach the next balcony. You could just pull yourself up from there, but you wait for your new companion to climb on the railing and reach her first hand hold. Reaching up with both hands your feet find a tiny crack but that is more than enough to let you pull the rest of the way. Below you you hear the sound of a crash from the apartment below.

Reaching down to grab her hand you pull her up onto the balcony as the voices come clearly from beneath you:

"This must be the room!" One loud voice shouted. You hold your breath and the girl follows suit. You hold her close to your body and she buries her face in your shoulder.

"Where did they go?" Another howled, and you hear the sound of clay shattering to bits.

"Maybe they left already?" A third chimed in.

"Impossible! We would have run into them!"

"I'm not letting that whore or the little shit-stain that stole her get away!" The man who broke the jar snarled. "I'm gonna fuck and kill them both! And not necessarily in that order! Tear this apartment apart!"

"Can you do it one more time?" You gesture again this time at the roof. Again you are pleased to see her nod her head. "Don't look down" you warn her, "we'll do it just like the last one. I'll go first, step where I step and I'll help you for the last part."

You are over forty feet above ground now, but the climb itself is even easier. Unfortunately just as you pull the girl onto the roof you hear a yell from below.

"They're on the roof!" Looking down you see two of the men gazing up at you and hear the sounds pursuit from the apartment below.

Looking around the roof you consider your options, there is a large chimney in the center of the building, and a doorway standing twenty feet away facing you. You are confident that you could climb down the wall at several points but you doubt the girl could.

"See if you can jam that door." You tell her, "I'll check out the other side." The woman moves quickly to the door and is wedging rubble into the crack under the door. As she works you move to the far side of the building, a narrow alley about fifteen feet wide and then a similar building on the far side.

"Circling back to the girl you see she has done a pretty good job on the door, but you doubt that that will slow the gang down much."

You consider your options: Fight? Climb back down the way you came and try to surprise the men below? The chimney looks large enough to hide in if you can get to the top, or leave the girl and climb down wall on the side.