Contest

Swain got to his feet immediately and looked around the base of the shaft.

Solid concrete walls on two sides -- a series of counterweight cables on one of them. Opposite the counterweight cables was the battered side wall of the destroyed elevator, lying crumpled at the bottom of the shaft. On the fourth side of the shaft, however, Swain saw the most unexpected sight of all.

A pair of outer doors.

There was another floor down here.

The working elevator could come down.

And if it could, then...

'Holly! Selexin!' he called desperately. 'Are you still up there! If you are, go to the buttons! Press anything below SL-2!'

Inside the elevator, Selexin was still sprawled on the floor, bloodied and dazed. Holly was huddled in the corner.

Then strangely she heard her father's echoing voice and she blinked back to life. '--anything below SL-2!'

What?

She ran over to the button console and scanned the buttons there:

3 2

1 G

SL-1 SL-2

SL-2 was the lowest it went. There was nothing below SL-2!

What was he talking about?

Groggy, Bellos got slowly to his feet. The fall had hurt him.

Swain called up again. 'Anything below Sub-Level 2! Just press it!'

Holly's voice floated down the shaft. 'There isn't anything! There's nothing below that one!'

Christ, Swain thought. I can see the doors. There has to be!

He called again, 'Look below the buttons! Is there a small door in the wall! A panel of some sort! Something like that! Anything like that!' A few seconds.

Holly's voice. 'Yes. I see it! I see a little panel!' Beside Swain, Bellos staggered against the side wall of the destroyed elevator. On the other side of the shaft, Swain saw the five or so counterweight cables running vertically up the concrete wall. They were taut and greased and they appeared to run all the way up the shaft, past the elevator hovering above them. 'Holly!' he called urgently. 'Open the panel! If there's another button there, just press it!'

Holly opened the small white door set into the wall beneath the button console. Inside she saw several switches that looked like regular light switches.

Underneath them, though, was a mouldy green button, beside which was scrawled in white chalk the words: ACCESS TO STORAGE BASEMENT.

'I found one!' she called.

'Press it!'

Holly pressed the green button and immediately felt her stomach lurch.

The lift was going down.

The cables running up the wall of the shaft suddenly came to life, some going up, some going down -- all moving too fast to tell -- as the complex pulley system of counterweights burst into action.

Swain looked up as the elevator fourteen feet above him began to move.

Downward.

Toward them.

That was good. He'd needed to do something, to provide some sort of--

And then abruptly he was slammed onto the concrete floor. Bellos had thrown himself into him and both of them went sprawling to the ground.

Swain hit the floor hard and rolled quickly just as a big black fist came plunging down into the concrete right next to his head.

Bellos roared in pain, clutching his fist.

Swain leapt to his feet. He looked up at the slowly descending elevator. It was close. There wasn't much time.

You can't fight Bellos. You have to find a way out of--

Then suddenly Bellos was on his feet again and he launched himself at Swain, driving him back against the side wall of the destroyed elevator.

The moving elevator edged downward.

Twelve feet off the ground.

Bellos punched Swain in the stomach. He buckled over.

Eleven feet.

Bellos hit him again. Swain gagged. Bellos was just too damn big to fight.

Ten feet.

Bellos glanced up quickly at the descending elevator and then all around himself for an escape. He saw the rapidly moving counterweight cables by the wall. There seemed to be enough space there to stand...

Nine feet.

The bottom of the lift scraped Bellos' horns and he ducked.

Eight feet.

And Swain saw the speeding cables, too. Beside him, Bellos was crouching now, bent over at the waist, facing the other way, looking at the cables.

It was a chance.

Swain seized it.

He moved in quickly behind Bellos and kicked him hard in the back of one knee. Bellos dropped immediately, fell to his knees.

Seven feet.

Swain dived in front of Bellos, scrambled for the counterweight cables.

Got to get out.

Have to get out.

Going to die.

He was almost at the cables when suddenly -- violently -- a big black hand clasped his ankle. Bellos had his foot in a vice-like grip, and was dragging him away from the cables!

Six feet.

Swain broke out in a cold sweat.

Bellos was holding him tightly, pulling him backwards --so that now Bellos was closer to the counterweight cables.

There was nothing Swain could do! It was obvious Bellos was going to hold him until the last moment and then roll to safety near the cables, leaving Swain to be crushed underneath the elevator. There was no way out this time, no way to break Bellos' grasp. The elevator came slowly down.

It was then that Swain saw Bellos' trophy belt right next to his eyes--saw Hawkins' chemical Mace canister hanging from it.

The Mace...

But it hadn't worked for Hawkins before...

Five feet.

And then Swain saw the white powder on Bellos' face. The white powder from the fluorescent light tube that Swain had smashed across his face.

It was oxidised fluorine.

And fluorine added to Mace would make...

Don't think! No time. Just do it!