Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 721
time a surprising new avenue opened up, and after only a few
minutes they emerged on a single straight pipe that ran a full
kilometer straight to the end of the chamber. Tamsin began
running the instant they reached it, and Jordan took off after
her. He could hear her laughing ahead of him, and he grinned
too. The others followed more quietly.
She was waiting at the small square chamber at the end.
She kissed him then said, "is that our way up?"
Where she pointed, a black hole opened into a rattling
space where every now and then a large metal bin or bucket
would slide up and past.
"You're not afraid?" he asked her.
She shook her head. "You're not, so I'm not."
Jordan's heart managed to miss a beat. He was saved
from having to say something in return (his mind had gone
blank) by the arrival of the others.
"Oh no," said Marya, when she saw the opening. "I'm
not going in there."
"Fine," said Axel. "We'll leave you here then."
"It's perfectly safe," said Jordan, striving to make his
voice sound confident. "Just wait for a bucket to go by and
climb in. You'll just slide into the next bucket in line."
"Okay, if you're so smart, demonstrate," said Marya.
I hate being the leader, thought Jordan as he waited for
one of the big metal bins to go past. He felt himself hesitate,
felt a sudden surge of fear at the thought that he might wait too
long and get crimped by the next bucket in line while only
halfway through the opening--so he jumped.
There was a moment of blackness and falling, then he
was in a bucket, banging his elbow and hitting his head.
"Ouch!"
A square opening came into view. Several silhouetted