Alien - Alien: Colony War by David Barnett;

Author:David Barnett;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags:  
Publisher: Bookwire GmbH

19

Between the blankets, several lengths of plastic ducting, and a coil of flexible steel cable, they’d managed to assemble a serviceable rope that, once secured to the main comms desk, fell only about two meters short of the distance between the tower and the landing platform—though it was difficult to estimate as the wind whipped it around.

Moran leaned forward through the window and looked down.

“I’ll go first,” he said. “I can probably hold it taut at the bottom so it’s easier for everyone else.”

“I’d have thought a leading man would have been wanting to go last, make sure everyone was safe,” Chad said mildly.

Moran straightened and squared up with him. “Well, we’re the biggest fellas here, so it’ll have to be one of us first. Be my guest if you want to test the strength of the rope.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Cher said. “Can we all get our dicks off the table and start getting ourselves out of here?”

Moran and Chad stared each other down for a moment, then the Brit shrugged and gave the rope a tug. He swung himself over the lip of the window. The wind buffeted him and the rain soaked him, and he gripped the length of cable with both hands.

“See you on the ground floor.”

They all leaned over to watch his careful descent, feet against the slick surface of the tower, letting himself down gradually, hand over hand. It was a hell of a drop, Cher thought. The blankets seemed to stretch and tighten as he passed over them, the knots pulling at each other.

“I think we’re going to have to go down one by one,” Chad said. “I don’t trust it to hold more than that at any one time.”

Merrilyn held Therese close. “I am not going down without my daughter.”

“I’m not sure if anyone has taken this into account,” Davis said, “but I have a marked lack of fingers and opposable thumbs.”

“I’ll strap you to me.” Chad found some strips of plastic that were left over, but too short to be used for the escape line. “Therese, do you think you could climb down that rope if your mama was right below you?”

The girl nodded bravely.

“I think we get as many people on the ground as we can before Merrilyn and Therese come down,” he said. “That way, if the worst happens… well, there’s a chance of catching them.” Merrilyn made a moaning sound. Bromley nodded and slung her rifle over her shoulder.

“I’ll go next.”

There was a tug on the makeshift rope and Cher looked over the edge. “Moran’s down. He can barely grip the rope.”

Bromley took hold and swung over the sill, then started to let herself down. Still at the window, she turned to Merrilyn.

“You sure you don’t want to go next?”

“I am sure,” the Frenchwoman said. “Chad is right. If the rope should break with Therese and I on it… at least you can catch her, or break her fall.”

There was another sharp tug on the rope. Cher swallowed.

“I guess it’s my turn.

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