Feersum Endjinn

stik ma hed out ovir thi hooj sirkulir hoal.  Muss b 50 metirs or moar acros.  Blak deep.  Goze strate up in2 thi darkniss, 2.  Thers a jentil draft ov air cumin up thi shaft.  Iss warm, @ leest in comparison wif thi freezin air up heer.  No sine ov eny uthir entrinses aroun thi shaft, juss this 1.

Am stil not enywhare neer thi centir ov thi towir; thass way, way furthir deep, probly a cupil ov klometirs away.  Am in thi fass towr, stil on thi lam & serchin 4 litl Ergates.

I leen bak from thi hoal.

Then thers a cruntchin noyse sumwhare in thi darknis bhind me.  I whirl roun.

I foun Gaston thi slof peekin out ovir a stoan ledj on thi inside wol ov thi slofs' towr, neer thi sloped tunnil whot led 2 thi ole lift shafts.  Accordin 2 thi glimpse Id had ov thi locality when Id cripted erlier these shafts wer abandind & unyoosd but Id fot wif eny luk theyd b thi tipe ov shaft whot has stares goan roun thi inside ov thi shaft 4 merjencies, & mayb they wooden b garded by thi bods whot wer attakin thi slofs.

Wel, that woz thi feery.  In fact thi scoop ov thi tunil on thi levil blow whare Gaston woz hidin woz fool ov Security geezirs wif guns.  O grate, I fot.

I'd climed along btween thi dank blak wol ov thi towr & thi framework ov scaffoldin whot woz thi slofs' hoam neyburhood, hedin 4 heer, whare thi floar dropt away in steps & thi aksess tunil woz.  Lookt like old Gaston had had thi saim idear.

I didn fink Id maid a noyse but he turnd roun sloly & saw me & pushed himself bak from thi edj ov thi ledj & climed up thi scafoldin 2wards me, poyntin bhind me.

We retreetid a bit, bhind sum ov thi canvas-hung scafoldin.

… yung Bashkule, he sed, u r shafe; gude.

Yeh & u, I sed.  But it lukes like thi Security boyz ? this playce strung up gude & tite.  U no eny uthir waze out ov heer?

… ash it happinsh, Gaston sez, I do actchirly.  If yule jusht folo me…

Gaston set off bak froo thi scaffoldin hedin upwards @ whot woz probly a extreme sprint 4 a slof.  I ambild aftir him.

We climed up about 7 floars ov thi slof scaffoldin; ther woz qwite a lot ov smoak up here & I cude c flaims in thi distins, deepir inside thi struktyir.

… Heer, Gaston sed, stopin @ a pritti ordnari lookin bit ov wol.  He gript thi top ov a drippin blak stoan; it hinjed down 2 riveel a roun blak hoal.  He moashind me in.

I muss ? lookt doobeyus.

… I'll go firsht, then, he sed, & clambird in2 thi hoal.

I shuden ? luked doobeyus bcoz I cuden lift thi stoan bak up aftir us & so Gaston had 2 sqweez past me 2 do it.  I doan no if u ? evir had a larj swety slof wif kopeyis qwantities ov fungis on itz pelt sqweez past u in a confined spaice… Cum 2 fink ov it probly u Vant, but asoomin thass thi case fink uself luky thass ol I can say.

?in Gaston sqweez past me agen didn seem like sutch a gude idear.

Al juss leed off then if itz ol thi same 2 u Gaston ole sun, I sed.

… By ol meenz, yung Bashcule.

Thi tunil woz crampt & only fit 4 crollin in.  Thi dam fing wen up, doun & roun this way & that way; it woz like climein around in thi intestinez ov sum hooj stoan jiant.  Wif Gaston's pelt-fungis stil smeerd ol ovir me, it didn smel dissimilir neevir.

Lissin Gaston, I sed @ 1 point while he woz givin me a punt up a partikerly steep bit ov thi jiant intestin, am reely sorry if that woz me whot brot ol that thare shit down on u gies.  I reely presiate whot u did, rescuin me & takin me in etc & Id hate 2 fink I woz responsibil 4 ol this.

… I qwite undirshtand yoor angwish, yung Bashcule, Gaston sed.  But itsh not yoor folt shertin pershinsh r tryin 2 pershicute u.

U reely fink they woz aftir me?  I askd.

… Zhat woz zhe impreshin I formed from what I overherd, Gaston sed.  Zhey did not sheem 2 b intereshtid in eny ov ush.  Zhey were lukin 4 shumbody elsh zhey shuspected ush ov harberin.

Blimey.

… In eny event, Gaston sed, Zhi reshponshibility ish thersh, not yoorsh.  Whot happind ish just 1 ov thoshe thingsh I shupoashe.

Wel, fanks, Gaston, I sed.

… U didn… kript, did u?  Gaston sed.  Ish jusht that mite ? led them 2 ush.  But u didn, did u?

O no, I sed.  No, not me; I didn.  Nope.  Not gilty.  No sirree.  Uh-uh.  Wooden catch me doing a fing like that.  O no.

… Zhare u r then, Gaston sed.

& so we wound on fru thi guts ov thi towr, me feelin lowir than a tapewurm.

Eventyooly we came 2 a bit whare thi tunil wideind out & thi floar turnd from stoan 2 wood; I moar or less fel in2 this woodin bowl whare a faint lite shon.  I didn qwite get out ov thi way in time so Gaston slid down on top ov me.

Moar pelt fungis.

… ther shude b a trap heer shumwhare, Gaston sed, feelin aroun on thi floar… A, heer it is.  Ther woz a sorta holo clunkin noyse & in thi ?-lite I cude c Gaston pullin whot lookt like a hooj plug up out ov thi floar.

… Itsh a holod out babil shtem, Gaston explained, settin thi plug 2 1 side.  I'll go firsht, I shink.

Thi holo babil trunk heded down in a serees ov long, stretchd Ss.  Ther wer rungs on thi wols; Gaston wen down them prity qwikli 4 a slof.  Now & agen we passd whot mite ? been doars in thi trunk whare thi okayshinal crak ov lite showd, but moastli it woz toatily dark.  We seemd 2 go on doun 4evir & I neerli fel off a cupil ov tyms.  Juss as wel Gaston woz beneef me; thi thot ov anuthir cloas encountir wif his pelt fungis qwikly consintraitid my mynd, I can tel u.

@ last Gaston sed,… Heer we r, & we stept on 2 a platform ov stoan & wen thru a doar in2 a crampt spais whare Gaston wriggld & I crold btween a stoan floar & this metil sealing witch maid a sorta blurbilurbilurbil soun.  We cairn out in whot luked lyk a big long kurvin servis duct hoos wols wer lynd wif pyps; weed juss crold undir a big gurglin tank ov sum sort.  I cude heer whot soundid lyk a trane rumblin sumwhare neerby.

… Zher ish a frate tube line juncshin thru zhare, Gaston sed, poyntin @ a hatch in thi floar.  Zhi tranes ? 2 shlo doun 2 negoshiate thi poyntsh & it ish poshibil 4 a hoomin 2 jump on bord a wagin & sho shicure a ryde.  I shink I ? 2 retern 2 c whot has befolin ma frendsh, but if u can maik yoor way 2 thi sekind levil shousht-wesht buttry u wil fynd a toun zhare.  Go 2 thi shentril sqware; shum1 wil b lukin 4 u & wil luke aftir u.  Im sorri 2 ? 2 abandin u in zhish way, but it ish ol I can do.

Thass ol rite, Gaston, I sed.  U dun ol u can & I doan deserv ol thi kyndniss yoov shown me.  I woz so choakd I cude ? hugd him, but I didn.  He just noddid his big funy pointid hed & sed,… Wel, gude luk yung Bashcule, u tak care now… & u promish u wil go 2 thi shousht-wesht buttry & thi toun zhare?

O yes, I sez, lyin thru ma teef.

Good.  Fair wel.

Then he woz away, crolin bak undir thi big gurgli tank.

I went doun fru thi hatch in thi floar in2 a brod dark cavern whare lots ov toob lyns converjd from singil tunnils.  Ther woz nobodi about but I hid bhynd sum hummin sorta cabinet fings between 2 ov thi trax & wated; a whyle laitir a trane ov opin wagins came rattlin fru, claterin acros thi points; I let thi unmand endjinn & moast ov thi wagins go pas & then jumpd on 1 neer thi end, hollin maself up thi side & ovir in2 its emty interier.

After a few minits during witch thi trane entird a blak-dark tunnil & pikd up speed agen, I rekind it woz safe 2 kript.

Ther woz no horibil corrosiv fog/sleet heer.  Everyfin loakily seemd normil.  Thi trane woz heddin 4 thi far end ov thi 2nd levil, neer 2 thi Sutherin Volcano Room.  It wude slo down @ a few moar playces yet whare I cude get off.  I kriptd furthir afeeld.

/Thi lammergeiers roost woz frozen.  Its kript-space repre­sentation woz thare but it woz like a stil piktcher