Plan B
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 75512
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Astra looked outside at what seemed like a solid wall of flame
surrounding the building. If she went out there, she knew that her
chances of survival had to be extremely slim, especially as her speed and
agility were greatly reduced by her pregnancy. If there had only been
herself to think of, she might have risked it. But in the last few months
she had discovered - much to her surprise - that she had a strongly
developed maternal instinct, and she was not prepared to expose her
unborn babies to so great a risk.
So she squeezed into the tightly packed escape elevator, her gravid naked belly rubbing against that of her nearest neighbour. She was almost the last one in, and a few seconds later the technician pressed the button to close the doors. There was no need for her to select a destination. The elevator only went to one place, the shelter far, far below. So as soon as the doors closed, it should have automatically started downward. But before the elevator could begin its descent, it shook violently and a dull "thump" could be heard through its sturdy doors. Evidently a bomb had detonated not too far away. The technician waited for thirty seconds, before deciding that the elevator must have been damaged and wasn't going anywhere. "We'll have to use the emergency stairs," she said. "The stairwell is right next to this elevator, but I'm afraid that it will be a very long walk down." She pressed the button to open the doors. Reluctantly, with a screeching sound, they parted to reveal a scene of devastation. Part of the building had collapsed, leaving piles of rubble, and several fires were burning. As one of the last women into the elevator, Astra was one of the first out, and she sproddled (what else could one call a cross between a sprint and a waddle?) the short distance to the top of the stairs. Luckily there were no obsctructions. The technician and the armed guard had remained behind to shepherd the women to the stairs, and Astra found that she was in the lead as she started downwards. She had descended about thirty or forty feet, and knew that she still had hundreds more feet to go, when the stairs shook violently. The main lighting went out, leaving only dim red emergency lights. A moment latter, she was almost knocked off her feet by a concussion wave of dust-laden air from above, the accompanying KRUMP almost deafening her. Clearly there had been a major explosion nearby. Astra doubted that anyone still st ground level could have survived, but there might be some women behind her on the stairs. She peered upwards, but the combination of the dim light and the dust made it impossible to see anything. "Is there anyone there?" she called.
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JH (edited to add sound effects)
4/12/2008 2:56:13 AM
Extending Enabled
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