Krampus Plot, part II

[lady_bols]

 [ cont'd from here ]

She held tight to his hand as they swept through the door, the eerie light chasing them out into a gargantuan space.  The door clapped shut with a boom behind them. Beneath their feet, she felt rough stone floors and the air was humid and thick.  They weren't outside, because she could hear the echoes of the door ringing high above them.  There was an unidentified light source emanating from somewhere overhead.

"Well, this isn't Miliways."

Alex was still walking backwards when she turned to speak to Ichabod.  And it's a good thing he was close.  One foot kicked back into empty air and she almost fell over the edge of the cliff into pitch blackness.  She scrabbled for his arm, and caught herself before she overbalanced.

"Bloody hell..."

There was an ominous clicking sound.  And then there was a noise like boulders being slid across steel plates.  Beneath their feet, the floor began to shift.

Comments

[1stwitness]

"I'm sorry", he apologizes for hurting her even as he keeps pulling her up - and then, with one hand, he does latch onto her coat. The other remains firmly gripping her wrist.

[lady_bols]

"No worries," she gasps.

It's probably the longest minute of her life, but he manages to get her close enough to the edge she can squirm her way up. Largely using him as a ladder, in fact. She uses every ounce of upper body strength she can muster, and with his help, she hauls herself up over the edge.

Which leaves the two of them sprawled together on the wet, stone floor, shaking with exertion.

"I won't tell anyone about this," she pants, "if you won't."

[1stwitness]

"It will remain forever between us." He looks over the edge, and shudders. "Can you walk?"

[lady_bols]

"Yeah, just... Let me catch my breath."

She still has hold of his coat lapel and it may take her a moment to force her hand to uncurl. When she can manage, she rolls to one side, hissing.

"I think I cracked a rib."

[1stwitness]

"There is little I can do, unless - would you like a wrapping? A shirt sleeve might do."

[lady_bols]

She tried to turn, and winced again, tears springing to her eyes.

"I'm afraid, I need it. If I'm going to be of any use to you."

She jerks a thumb over her shoulder at the last hundred metres before the stone archway at the end of the room.

"We're not through yet."

[1stwitness]

Ichabod is already shucking off his coat - and then his shirt, and puts the coat back on, because it's cold, and begins ripping at the seams of the shirt.

"Let's see, then."

[lady_bols]

She watches as he tears the shirt into a continuous strip. Talking keeps her mind off the pain.

"I keep forgetting you were a soldier. You've done this before. More than once, if I had to guess."

[1stwitness]

"I have", he confirms, aiming to distract her as well. "More often it was to staunch bleeding than to bind a broken rib, but I've seen many injuries in my time."

[lady_bols]

She peels her jacket off, clearly gritting her teeth at the effort. And then she lifts her arms so he can wrap her ribs.

"Tight as you can," she says, grimacing. "The tighter the better."

[1stwitness]

"I know."

Neither of them is going to enjoy this, but he begins - the better to get it over with quickly.

[lady_bols]

Luckily, his arms are long enough, he can do it without much fuss at all. And he's had training, so it's as painless as something like that can be. When he's done and she's gingerly tested the result, she smiles up at him.

"Thank you. I owe you a bottle of your favourite rum, Mr. Crane. Now, what's say you help me up and we get the hell out of here?"

[1stwitness]

"Barbadian Best Amber", he says promptly, and holds out a hand. "Onwards."

[lady_bols]

She grabs her jacket, and lets him haul her up to her feet. She takes a moment to brush her hands off on her jeans, and then brush her hair back from her face.

She slips her arm through his, and nods that she's ready.

The last hundred yards might as well have been a mile for as fast as they covered it, but they did it without further bodily injuries, and no one got turned into a swine.

Victory.

The last leap took them to an arch over a dark doorway. The door itself was massive, twenty feet high, and had an iron ring to match. Alex stood back and looked at Ichabod.

"There's no place like home?"

[1stwitness]

The reference goes completely over his head, but he nods anyway.

"Hold on to that thought."

And he opens the door.