Jerry Sohl by One Against Herculum

Author:One Against Herculum
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2011-08-26T13:06:11+00:00

8

ALAN RAN DOWN the corridor, hearing only the whistle of air past his ears and the clomp of his shoes on the hard floor. After a few minutes of running he stopped and took off his shoes. If someone should open the door at the top, they'd hear him if he left them on. He ran in his stockinged feet then.

It was only a precaution. Nobody would open the door, probably. Why should anyone when the signal device was in the riser?

But even running downhill can be tiring, and after a while he slowed to a walk. There was no sense in rushing to the ground, although it would take more than an hour to reach it. As soon as the police saw that he wasn't on the riser they'd start up the corridor for him, perhaps sending a flyer or two to the top to start down.

Pilson must be dead, he told himself. Or as dead as a robot can be. And that sergeant at police headquarters will be out of a job for a while. But I can't fool myself. My troubles aren't over. What happens when the police coming down from the top meet the police coming up from the bottom with me in the middle?

He kept his slow progress down the slope, noting now that the curve was not nearly so extreme as it had been. The shaft was getting larger. He wondered how far down it he actually was, wished there were windows or doors so that he could look out. But there was nothing except the endless curve of walls, illuminated by a continuous tubelight in the ceiling.

Ultimately he came to a level place where a door opened to the inner wall. He found it unlocked, looked down the dark shaft, could see nothing. Probably an opening used for an emergency exit or repairs. On the same level on the other side was a door to the outer wall, and his heart gave a leap at the sight of it. If he could get outside he might evade searchers on the way up—or down. Except that they would open the door just as he had done. And there he would be.

Or would they open it?

He opened the door, saw a ledge only a few feet wide. He stepped out into the outside brightness, looked at the ground from this dizzying height, saw specks that looked like flyers down there but he couldn't be sure at this distance. If he stayed inside the shaft until he heard someone coming; he could step out on the ledge, close the door and move around the shaft out of sight. It might work. And if it didn't . . . Well, he'd think about that when the time came.

"Alanl"

He was so startled he nearly toppled from the ledge. He'd been so busy looking down and considering his predicament he failed to see the flyer above him. He looked up to see Connie Craig wave at him.

He waved back. If she were with them, all was lost.

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