TO THE READERS: gack! No reviews for my last chapter? Grar. Send reviews.
Chapter 3: The Elevator Shaft
Kaname crouched, looking up and down the length of the shaft. It was a wide tunnel and could probably fit two elevators although only one seemed to be running. Kaname thought her plan over very carefully. She slipped her pack off her shoulders and grabbed a thin nylon rope out of the sack. She fingered the edge thoughtfully, wondering how she could change the rope to fit the predicament ahead of her. Then, the flower popped into her head.
"Sosuke!" Kyoko cried, "Pay attention. You've got to get her a flower..." Later on that day, Sosuke and Kaname were driving to the movies when a red SUV swerved in their way. Sosuke tried to steer out of its path, but it was too late. Both vehicles crashed and somehow the red SUV exploded sending shrapnel everywhere. Although their date was ruined, Sosuke tried to make the best of it by stealing some red shrapnel and, later that night, making a crocus for Kaname out of the red metal...
She took it out of her bag. It was rather large, approximately the size of her head and had four metal petals curving inwards. She wrapped the nylon rope around the leaf and stem and tied it with a knot. Closing her eyes tightly, then realizing she needed to open them to aim, Kaname threw the rope and crocus out into the shaft. It didn't catch on anything and instead screeched down the side of the shaft in an earsplitting creak.
Again, Kaname tried to throw her make shift grappling hook onto the elevator and again it fell short and screeched down the elevator hole.
"Third time's a winner." She muttered to herself. Kaname put all of her weight into the throw and watched as it fell short. Then, the elevator came up and the hook caught on a railing on the bottom. Kaname felt her heart drop to the pits of her stomach. The rope was being wrenched out of her hands. In a hurry, Kaname grabbed her pack and wound the rope around her right hand several times. With an arm-wrenching pull she was ripped out of the tunnel and into the shaft. They were climbing steadily and when the "ding" that signaled the elevator's stop echoed in the shaft, Kaname thought her arm would break into millions of pieces.
As she was hanging from the rope, Kaname struggled to somehow climb up the rope, but she did not have the upper body strength or the knowledge of how to climb a silky rope with no knots. Another ding sounded and Kaname was now being pushed downwards. As the bottom of the shaft grew closer, Kaname's worry grew as well. What if they didn't stop? What if she was crushed into the bottom of the shaft?
Her feet touched the floor. More pressure. Her knees buckled, dropping her to the ground. Her legs slid to the side as the elevator came down farther and farther. Kaname pushed her head into the floor as if it might go through. The cool metal of the elevator touched her forehead.
"SOSUKE!!!" Kaname cried, in anguish.
Sosuke clicked his Codec off. Hopefully, Kaname would realize that she couldn't get past her apartment security with a pack full of explosives and guns. She might try the ceiling tunnels. Sosuke pulled out a blueprint of Kaname's apartment building. Sure enough, there was a hollow space big enough to fit Kaname but she would have to Army crawl. Oh, how she hated to Army crawl. Sosuke let the corner of his mouth turn up a bit in a smile at the mental image of Kaname pushing herself through a dusty passageway.
Then, something caught his eye. The passage forked a while into the tunnel. If she chose to go up then she would be let out into the storage room and the stairs down to the basement. If she chose the lower way, it ended in the elevator shaft. Sosuke shuddered. What if she chose that way? What if she was trapped and couldn't get out? Sosuke shook his head. He trusted Kaname. She would find a way. He had taught her well.
To clear his thoughts, Sosuke packed his weapons and gear, cleaning them as he did. Of course, he was already in his BDU's , but he still wanted to make sure he had everything that he might need. C4 plastic explosives, machine guns, knives, serrated throwing knives, assorted handguns including Sosuke's favorite, the M9 (See Footnote1), and his medical pack all went into his bag. Sosuke his fingers through his hair, sighed, and started stealthily making his way toward the rendezvous point, an apartment directly above where he was currently hiding in a storage closet.
When he reached the appointed place, Sosuke took his time sorting through maps and marking coordinates in a little red book that he kept for recording mission reconnaissance. Soon he began to wonder where Kaname went as the appointed time came and went. Sosuke wiped his brow nervously and his mind pondered what to do. He couldn't fit in the ceiling passageways because his shoulders were too broad and his body too muscular. He felt something strange stir inside, some kind of foreign adrenaline rush that made his heart beat and his stomach feel strangely empty although it was full with Kaname's home-cooked meal.
"Kaname..." Sosuke murmured, pained with worry.
Kaname began to see lights and strange designs in front of her face as the pressure increased. Tears were mingled with sweat and the horrible mess ran down her face in a sticky landslide. Then, it stopped. The pain, ever present, did not cease but the pressure stopped increasing.
Ding.
Kaname breathed out a long-held sigh.
Ding.
The elevator started to pull her up again but this time, Kaname was ready. She reached a hand up and tried to loose the crocus. It cut her hand and blood dripped over her arm but she took no notice. Sosuke always told her that she was foolish and headstrong about unimportant things. She sliced her fingers again as she tugged at the sharp metal curves of the flower. The elevator started to rise again and Kaname was only hanging by the crocus. The metal bit deeply into her long, slender fingers and Kaname muffled a shriek. She jerked with all her might and it came free, leaving her with no handhold. So, Kaname dropped.
She landed with a thud on her back. She quickly sat up and did what Sosuke had ingrained into her: a routine injury check. Deep lacerations on the fingers, slight bruising of her head, and medium bruising of her back. Kaname groaned and sat up. A ding sounded above her and made her realize the elevator was coming back again. Kaname scraped the wall, languidly with no purpose....she was trapped.
AFTERWORD:
Footnote 1: I believe the M9 is a handgun but then I read some book where the guy was using it as a machine gun and I got very confuddled.
So...yeah. New chapter. Thanks for the reviews I got from only a couple people (thank you!) But, still!! People!! All the work on both K:SW? and Y:SC? and I get like 3 reviews for this sequel. COME ON!! Make my day. Click the review button and type some sentimental gibberish and send it. PLEASE!!! Merci!
Toki
