Shock

Almost in unison the women let the air out of their lungs and took in deep breaths. For Deborah it was hardly fresh.

"That was almost as close as the freight elevator," Joa

"They must be sweeping the building as you suggested," Deborah said.

"Let's stay put for a while in case he comes back," Joa

Time dragged by, especially for Deborah, who began to feel claustrophobic wedged down in the base of the narrow cylinder designed for one person. For her the situation was hardly conducive to thought. The smell of the old bare mattress was ripe and the dust bothersome. On several occasions it took sheer will for her merely to avoid sneezing. Eventually she began to perspire and experience a progressive shortness of breath.

After almost a half hour Deborah couldn't take it any longer. "Have you heard anything or seen any lights?" she asked.

"The only light I've seen has been some flickering through the windows," Joa

"Nothing inside the building?"

"Not a thing," Joa

"I've got to get out of here," Deborah admitted. "Push open the door and try to do it without making any noise."

Joa

"I'm coming out," Deborah said. "If I put my hand someplace you'd rather I didn't, I'll apologize in advance."

With a lot of wriggling and grunting Deborah managed to ease herself back out of the iron lung. Her eyes sca

"How about getting that chair?" Joa

"Oh, sorry," Deborah said. She'd been distracted by her worries. She dragged the chair over to the mouth of the iron lung.

"Did you come up with any ideas about getting out of here?" Joa

"I didn't," Deborah confessed. "Jammed in that tube the way I was, I couldn't think. What about you?"

"Something did occur to me," Joa

"How so?" Deborah asked.

"If they're creating heat over there to heat this building, it's got to get here," Joa

"You're right!" Deborah said.

"I noticed that the freight elevator control had six buttons,' Joa

"But I haven't seen access to a sub-basement," Deborah said. "There wasn't any in the stairwell we used tonight when we got here, or the one I used this afternoon."

"Let's check out the freight elevator," Joa

"We can't use that," Deborah said. "It's too noisy."

"I'm not talking about using the elevator itself," Joa

"Where did you learn this?" Deborah questioned. She was impressed.

"It's thanks to Carlton," Joa

"I suppose it's worth a check," Deborah said. "Do you think we've waited long enough?"

"There's no way to know for sure, but since we can't stay here all night, we have to do it sometime. Let me check the hall."

"All right, you do that," Deborah said. "I want to see what this extra light is, coming through the front windows."

While Joa

Deborah quickly joined Joa

"Dogs are not good," Joa

"I think we already knew that," Deborah said.

"It also means leaving the building underground is suddenly a necessity," Joa

NINETEEN

MEISSNER AND Deborah Cochrane!" A voice echoed against the front of the building. "There is no need to extend this charade. Don't make us come into the building with dogs, which we will do if you don't come out on your own accord. The Bookford Police are on their way. I repeat! Come out immediately."

"So much for our carefully crafted aliases,' Deborah said.

"If I thought they'd turn us over to the Bookford police, I'd walk out of here in a heartbeat."

"They're not going to turn us over to anyone," Deborah said.

"That's my point," Joa

Gaining some familiarity with the building, the women retraced their route back through the fourth floor to the stairwell they'd used earlier. At first they tried to descend without turning on the flashlight but quickly realized the risk of knocking some of the unseen debris down the stairs was greater than the risk presented by the shielded flashlight. They turned it off again before they entered the third-floor corridor. While in the corridor they heard the bullhorn message again.

They had to turn the light on again in the freight elevator vestibule. The elevator was exactly the way they had left it with the doors half open. Joa

"You were right about there being a ladder," Deborah said. "But how do you get to it?"

Joa

"All we have to do is climb to the top of the elevator,' Joa

"Is that all?" Deborah questioned sarcastically. "Where are you finding this sudden chutzpah."

"I'm pretending I'm you,' Joa

Deborah gave a short, derisive laugh.

The women stepped over the half-open lower elevator door. Joa

Joa