Shock

The ladder ran along the back wall of the shaft and cleared the elevator car by only twelve inches.

"Well, what do you think?" Deborah asked.

"I think we should give it a try," Joa

"You first," Deborah said. "And you keep the light."

"I'm not going to be able to climb and hold the light at the same time."

"I know," Deborah said. "But you have a pocket, and I don't."

"Okay," Joa

"Are you doing okay?" Deborah whispered in the dark when she didn't hear any movement.

"This is harrowing," Joa

"Are you on the ladder?"

"Yes," Joa

"You have to!"

Joa

"Can you give me a little light so I can see where the ladder Deborah asked from above.

"I can't," Joa

Deborah mumbled a few choice words as she reached blindly with one hand while maintaining the grip on the i:- -cable with the other. But the ladder was too far away. Eventually sat had to go down on all fours like Joa

The women moved slowly, particularly Joa

The blackness of the shaft aided Joa

Deborah had to slow herself down when she caught up with Joa

After a quarter-hour of climbing, Deborah was ready to reco

"You must be joking," Joa

"Maybe you should shine the light for a second. You could hook your arm around one of the rungs."

"I think I should just keep going until my foot touches the floor," Joa

"Do you want to rest?"

"I really think I should keep going."

Another ten minutes passed before Joa

"Can you tell if we're at the sub-basement or not?" Deborah asked.

"I can't," Joa

Joa

"Wow, it's freezing down here," Deborah said, rubbing her arms once she got off the ladder. "It certainly feels like a sub-basement."

The women gingerly made their way to the doors through the junk which was mostly paper, rags, and miscellaneous pieces of wood interspersed with a few cans. While Joa

Joa

"This is not good," Joa

Deborah picked up the light and took a step back. She shined the light around the periphery of the doors. She stopped at a spring-loaded lever arm protruding out from the wall at the edge of the doors just above where they came together.

"That's our problem," Deborah said. "I haven't seen too many action movies, but that has to be a fail-safe mechanism to keep the doors locked until the elevator is in front of the doors."

"Meaning?" Joa

"Meaning one of us has to hold it down while the other opens the doors."

"You're taller," Joa

A moment later the doors cracked open, although it wasn't until Joa

"It's a sub-basement all right," Joa

A passageway with a vaulted ceiling higher than the rest of the sub-basement led from the freight elevator to intersect with a similar corridor that ran the length of the building. Bare electrical wire looped along the peak of the vault to lighting fixtures, but they were not lit.

The women stopped at the intersection and shined the light in both directions. In each direction the view was a study in perspective, with the arches marching off into the darkness as far as the meager light was able to penetrate.

"Which way?" Joa

"I'd favor going left," Deborah said. "That will take us toward the tower section of the building. That's the center."

"But if we go right, we're going more in the direction of the power plant," Joa

"How are we going to decide?" Deborah asked, looking in both directions.

"Shine the light on the floor," Joa

"There's definitely more evidence of traffic going to the right," Joa

"My word," Deborah commented, looking down. "I think you're on to something. Is this another trick you learned from watching those action movies with Carlton?"

"No, this is just common sense."

"Thanks a lot," Deborah said sarcastically.

The women commenced walking rapidly to the south. Deborah kept the flashlight trained ahead. Their footsteps echoed off the concave ceiling.

"This is like a catacomb down here," Joa

"Perhaps I shouldn't ask, but what were you thinking when you suggested the tu

"It occurred to me that the tu