|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- DEER EXPRESS--CUP 6--"BAD ELEVATOR" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  Deer Express  ||  -------> (Cup SRde006, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = "Whew!" Ronhy let out. "Now we're ready." He moved his foot away from the door, and a few moments later the elevator closed. As soon as the doors were shut, a bunch of dull, dirty lights came to life in the elevator jones. A smell of ozone, like during a rain, pervaded the elevator. Ronhy fiddled with some controls on his device, and soon they began moving. Up, it felt like. She looked around the cab--something was different--the lighting maybe? After about half-a-minute, there was a big jolt, and the back of the elevator was gone. Through the open space, she saw that they were racing forward through a subterranean passage, oddly lit with purple light. "What the hell is going on?" she yelled over the din of their passage. "Jonesin'!" Ronhy yelled, and then he laughed a maniacal laugh. She pressed her body against the elevator door, unable to take her eyes off the cavern rushing by. But soon, the purple light got brighter and brighter, and a few moments later became a solid gray glare. The wall swung back into place and Ronhy crouched down. "Come on!" he said, motioning with his hand for her to crouch as well. Now he seemed smaller than usual, approaching midget level. She complied and crouched. "Hold on to your bowling bag!" he said, covering his head with his hands. She half-heartedly did the same. A rumble turned into a roar, and the air pressure around them increased dramatically. It pressed on her ears and the rumbling got quieter, but she could feel that it was getting heavier. The tumult grew for another minute or two, and then, when she felt she couldn't take it anymore, it stopped. The air pressure returned to normal in a cool breeze, and she felt light. She looked up. Now it was the top of the elevator that was gone. And beyond it--grass. Well-tended grass. Were they somewhere with a grass ceiling? Ronhy looked up and smiled. Standing, he grasped the elevator jones with both hands. "Come on." he said, looking down at her. "Grab onto it!" He was back to normal size now. Paith was glad. She got up, and staring into Ronhy's eyes, lightly grasped the rod. "Hold on tight." he said, as he moved his face toward the device. He positioned his nose next to a control switch, and pressed it. Immediately, gravity shifted--up was down, down was up. Paith just managed to keep hold as she was swung unceremoniously around, to find herself dangling above the opening, now below her. It was a pretty good drop. "On the count of three, I'm gonna release the jones. We'll fall, but the jones will slow us down a little. We'll be fine." "Okay." "Alright. One... two... three!" He flicked a switch with his thumb, and the elevator jones. released it's grip on the walls, and they quickly fell. Paith found herself on the grass a second later, none the worse for wear. Her arms were still straight up, holding onto the device, but Ronhy let it down, and Paith let go. He looked over at her. -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----