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PART SEVEN(7)
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Down below,
Almost exactly forty-five seconds later, he felt the forefront of the
breath-flow upon his face.
Before the following force of the down rushing air could snap his head
back fatally, he reacted to the forefront's deceptively gentle caress, and
pulled back around the cornerstones of the through-arch. Tucking his head down
and turning it away, as he did so, he shouted warningly to the others behind
him, "Howelly Sheowti! Brace for the--"
The shrieking howl of rushing air voided the
rest of his words...
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Everett was on a straight shot, with just a right ninety turn and another
stretch and then the last stairs to the surface, when he felt the air around
him stir ~ even in his hasty flight.
'Oh Goddess, please don't let that be--'
he began to think ~ But it was.
The gasping breath of the depths down below sucked at him irresistibly,
and with a horrified yell of, "Rendal!" he was picked up off his feet
and hurled with deadly force back towards that last turn he had passed ~ A
switch-back he couldn't hope to survive beyond...
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"Report for duty in a time of crisis, and you get your head nearly
bitten off!" One Dash One muttered to himself broodingly.
He had know it might not have been the best idea to use the comm-link,
but he had opted to risk it. He had figured that OCley would forget about him,
away over here. 'Out of sight, out of mind' was all too true of teamers on the
sidelines of a mission's field of operation, during a crisis of any sort. And
he did admit to himself, that most Operations Chiefs got snappish when the
least little thing didn't go according to their plans.
Therefore, he reasoned that he couldn't rightfully hold OCley's shortness
of temper against him, considering the gravity of the mission's status, so he
decided to stop glowering and grumbling about the incident.
The problem was, if he didn't continue to brood about it, he would get
bored mighty quick ~ there was really nothing to occupy his mind but to dwell
on the emergency situation.
Thinking of the plight of the others down below, made him realize he was
fortunate to be where he was ~ In probably the safest position of anyone on the
mission, at that moment; or so he thought.
He chuckled quietly and said to himself, feeling suddenly amused,
"The way it's raining out there, even the rest of the topsiders could
catch a cold, but I have rain AND heat protection against getting a
chill." As he was saying this he was looking out of the hovercraft's
automatically distortion compensated windshield, at the highest pile of the
ruined castle's stones in his restrained line of vision.
When he finished speaking, he reached for the now enclosed cabin's
heating controls, his eyes still glued to that same rubble.
He had no sooner turned the heat on about a third of the way, than he
registered with shock, 'Ohmygoddess ~ the hovercraft is rising!'
That was indeed how it appeared ~ illogical as it was ~ to him, as he
disbelievingly watched those stones disappear from his sight...
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With
There was little doubt in the poke`mon's mind that One Dash One was
caught in the force of the breath, as he just managed to establish his psy-lock
and 'beam' the 'kid' out, before he was thrown against the switch-back's
outside wall.
The tocus 'phased'
While hurtling to his doom,
His breath escaped him with an immensely relieved' whoosh', and he
unfolded himself, knowing somehow that Penny was very nearby.
He was no sooner sitting upright upon the stone Rendal had thoughtfully ~
even in the desperation of the moment ~ teleported him onto, before he felt a
hesitant touch on his right shoulder.
Misreading her hesitancy, she heard him ask without turning to look at
her, "Why the hesitation? Are you afraid Rendal only teleported my
disembodied spirit, and your hand will pass right through me?"
It had been because she didn't want to startle him after his ordeal in
the passage, but she didn't get to tell him so, because Rendal spoke up,
sounding mildly indignant.
[Well, in case you hadn't already noticed, One Dash One, you are here in
BODY as well as spirit,] he pointed out with a slight frown.
Everett jumped up, turned and embraced Penny and whispered into her ear,
"When we get away from here, remind me there is something I REALLY want to
say to you."
Then, he made his response to Rendal's comment, while Penny's face split
into a happily expectant smile.
"Anything you want, you true blue tocus you,"
As Rendal seemed surprised by his grateful promise, the young man
repeated forcefully, "ANY-thing!"
The tocus didn't need to consider.
[All I want,] he pronounced solemnly, [is to get out of these ruins,
sometime tonight.]
"That will be arraigned," OCley's voice came finally. He had
been standing discreetly off to one side this whole time, because he had sensed
Penny's relief ~ in deed joy ~ at the hoped for deliverance of One Dash Two.
And now it was obvious to him that a spark had been stuck between the two of
them; 'sometime during this nightmarnes of a fiascoed mission'!
"The passage took its breath," he continued smilingly,
"so OLie and the others will be along just as soon as they can."
~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~
[NARRATOR]
He was wrong ~ the passage was still taking its breath. There was
a factor none of the team ~ above or below ~ were aware of yet. Certain of them
would begin to find out in exactly seven seconds...
~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~
OCley Two raised his comm. unit to his lips, observing lightly,
"I'll buzz down; there is probably such a hullabaloo of a celebration
going on down there, that OLie'll forget to ring me up!"
He opened the link from their end, only to hear the whistling of rushing
air from the comm. unit. And then everyone topside felt the tremors, and this
band of four whirled around to the sound of water spouting from the passage's
entrance thirty-five feet away, with no little force...
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