The leader corrals the henchmen. In return, the henchmen feel a false sense of empowerment. They are just sticking to the leader to feel strong. It's a simple relationship, that ends tragically short today. At least for the leader. I have to use my gun, and now I'm out of bullets. But situation is under control, I hope.
Move on forward. Found a piton lying quite out of sight. Then I finally see it, my quarry. It's located high up in the sky. How it manages to stay there after one year or so is up for anyone to guess. But not going to wait for explanation. There's a gap that I will jump over and a machine of some sort that I hope will take me up there.
The machine turns out to be an elevator. It has no fuel so I need to look for it. Unlike the window washer, this elevator needs TWO jerrycans. Dammit. Where does one look for jerrycans?
There are two doors of the elevator. The other one opens to the other side of the building, where I find a runway of sorts. A pipe becomes my main of ingress to the higher level. Once inside, I realise that I am going to do a lot of climbing, jumping and balancing about. However it is not a bad experience at all.
The first jerrycan is after the sliding down, and the second can be found all the way down, where a small fire has been lit. Collecting everything as I pass them, I have the jerrycans and ready to go back.
As the elevator rises, I wonder if Mei is okay. But all I can do now is get the medicine. I'm halfway there now, and neither low stamina nor climbing a la French Spiderman is going to hold me down.
***
Talk about close calls.
Scaling the face of a building should better be left to the professionals. Not that there are a lot left in the world now...
However I made a promise, and Mei needs her medicine. Dear old pitons saved my ass a lot of times, letting me catch my breath, just hanging without really using my strength. Finally when I get to the crate, the last few moments are just exhilarating. Some are unusable, a lot had gone rotten. But I got what I came for... and then some.
Among the crate contents, I also found a grappling hook. This will make my trips up and down practically everywhere a safer route. Just let me test myself with it first.
As I grapple about with the new hook, I also find several items, one of which is the inhaler. I guess it's useful when I'll be 'down with the dust' again soon. When I landed on a strip of fragile-looking concrete, I feel the whole building move.
I'm sure I landed myself pretty nicely, so this has to be another tremor. I will myself to stay motionless for the duration of the tremor, fearing even a pebble coming loose and undoing the whole massive unfinished skyscraper. The tremor passes, and I am still standing atop the unfinished project on 2nd Avenue.
Looking out to the north (I guess) of the broken building, I see another building, lying at the steepest angle a building could possibly be without tipping itself over. The unmistakable sound of air current whipping around me shoves another warning into my head: could another dust storm is coming?
My way down will involve a lot of rolling over atop a dangerously steep surface. Positive thoughts, positive thoughts...
***
That was crazy. I had to roll over several times just in time to avoid those steels. I won't want to imagine how'd they feel piercing my body in places I'd rather not think.
But I am back on terra firma. Or not. Gotta make a little detour before I arrive on terra firma actually. I hear voices talking, but no time for that now. My way out is clear, and that is my aim. And Mei, who is probably still feverish. I want her to wake up after I arrive there.
I hope Mei is all right.
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