Rats in the Pipes

26: Down and Out

I'd never imagined Per could get hysterical but he was definitely on the edge of it by the time I got back. He nearly broke my ribs in the hug he gave me.

"If you'd been much longer I'd have succumbed to unreason and gone to look for you" he admitted shakily while wiping his eyes.

I smiled "No you wouldn't. I'm sorry I had the bright idea about shopping and I shouldn't have gone all the way up to 10. I was probably being paranoid."

"After what happened it's difficult to apply reason and logic. I guess we all feel like everything suddenly came crashing down."

It was true all of us, even Mik, were in a state of shock after what had happened. Jan picked Mik up and he and Sol came over and put their arms round us. The group hug felt good and no words were necessary. After a bit Jan got practical and we started moving stuff down to 44. I put the lever and the studio keycard together with five creds, fifteen bits in scrip into a bag and left it behind the door. I wondered briefly if it would ever be used or whether it would sit there until Esperance crumbled around it.

Once we'd hauled everything including the bin down to 44 we simply slumped on the ground at the foot of the steps. It had been hard work and we needed a rest. Inevitably reaction set in. My hands started shaking. I tried to sit on them but Per noticed. He reached over and took hold of them.

"We're out. It worked and probably better than if we'd stuck to the original plan. That's fate for you."

"I would like you to give fate a message from me. Tell her, him or it to go stick their head down the chutes."

That started Per laughing which set the rest of us off. Eventually Jan suggested we eat, repack the bin and start off up the tunnel. We had no way of knowing what time it was but it had been 11.25 when I'd got the delivery signed for at Chizzles so it must be mid to late afternoon by now. Per had bought stuffed bread, salad and some of the small, tart, red fruits for which we'd all developed a taste for our evening meal. Not that he'd expected we'd be eating it crouched in the dark and about to leave Esperance. We shared a half litre of water then reluctantly heaved ourselves to our feet.

Mik was tired from climbing down the steps so we took it in turns to carry him. I'd never seen the tunnel and I was dismayed by how steeply it sloped. Luckily there was a ledge that had obviously been intended as a maintenance path which had a hand rail. It made walking easier since it's surface was rippled and not smooth like the curved floor of the tunnel. Thankfully it became less steep by the time we were two thirds of the way up. By the time we got to the entrance where the tunnel branched off from what had been the river bed we were all drenched in sweat and exhausted. The last bit was littered with debris and dust that had blown in during storms. 

When we reached the entrance we stopped and I switched off the ledlight. We stood letting our eyes become accustomed to the night. It was clear and the sky was full of stars. We'd all seen the stars from inside the City but it's a whole different experience standing under them feeling the breeze on your skin and without glass and structural supports breaking the view. Jan and I had experienced it before but for the other three it was wholly new. Sol wandered out and stretched her arms up. She tipped her head back and rotated slowly through three hundred and sixty degrees. As she did so she started laughing softly. She dropped her arms and turned back to us her eyes sparkling.

"This is fucking awesome!"

Per nodded "I agree. Look at the space. No walls!" He picked Mik up and walked a little way out into the river bed. "You can see the far side of the reservoir and the lights reflected on the water." We all joined him. The scarp runs roughly east west but it isn't flat. From here Esperance was hidden by a spur of rock that jutted out from the cliff face but there was a glow in the sky from the lights of UpCit and the spires of the Elite enclave. We stood and stared at the view until Mik saying he was hungry sent us back to the tunnel.