The ground softened around her boots. A thin layer of sticky tar clung to them, but with every step the tar became thicker. No matter how much she tensed her fingers she could not get the blue flickering haze to return.
Meanwhile the ground became so viscous that she couldn’t free her boots from the tar bands that stretched whenever she lifted her legs. A loud horn sounded from the airship; she looked up and waved desperately. She continued waving both arms above her head while trying to move in circles so she didn't get trapped.
“Hey! HEY! Help me! Please Help me!”
The airship slowed towards her. A platform chained to a crane in the underbelly of the airship descended; it had standing room for about four people. Chains clinked and screeched as the woman saw Larox on the platform, clinging to the safety rail near the edge as the vessel lowered. His hair was disheveled, a long mess of strands in various lengths. He wore dark jeans and heavy black boots with a blue short sleeved shirt. His arms were toned. She stood patiently as the vessel approached and Larox reached for her.
“Grab my hand, I’ll pull you out!”
Only the moment she reached in return, a heavy easterly wind pulled up the airship and jerked him away. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, if Horst was piloting. Tray could pilot in a pinch, but this kind of thing was far too common with him on any controls that required precision. To pluck a person from the clutches of the ground, the platform had to be placed precisely. It wasn’t like they could tether the airship to the ground. It was all in the piloting.
Larox tapped his headpiece, “What's going on Horst, keep it stable! I’m seven meters in front the target and too high. Bring it back!”
Lavinia lifted her head, turned around and squinted as the man spoke into headphones. The crane platform lifted and passed her by. The airship hovered above her. It attempted to stabilize over her position against the wind. The platform lowered, though Lauren had to be careful not to let it touch the ground. They played a game of centimeters.
Meanwhile, a pool of hot tar formed around Lavinia. It drew her in slowly as it bubbled around her protective foot gear. Soles sank a bit deeper into the muck. Larox balanced himself as the platform was jolted by harsh adjustments to the airship’s position. He gripped the rails to keep from falling and called once again, but the pilot wasn’t getting the ship low enough and Lauren had lowered the platform as far as it would go.
Larox couldn’t reach her uplifted hand even though she was only a few feet away. The vessel slowly descended to bring him closer to the woman below. Their fingers touched, Larox felt a spark, and swore he saw a fizzle of blue static. He reached forward to take her hand but the airship ascended again; the pilot failed to make minute adjustments for the winds. Larox mumbled, this was too much like Tray, he’d rather go up than overcompensate and go down too far. Undaunted, Larox hung on a rail by his lower legs and went upside down to reach her. Sure it was insanely dangerous, but she didn’t look like she had time to wait for the ship to stabilize.
“Grab my arm, you can do it!”
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The airship couldn’t stay that low long enough for her to manage it, even though the propellers were off. Larox pulled back up, he took off his boots, then pulled off his black jeans to reveal lanky, hairy legs. He tied the pants leg to the rail before jumping over the edge with a hold of his jeans. He almost kicked Lavinia in the face with his stocking feet. She found herself looking at socks, as she was now right under him and able to grab his dangling legs as he hung from his jeans.
“Just keep it stable!” Larox yelled into his headset before looking down.
“Climb!”
If the airship descended properly right now he'd be crushed under the lift.
Lavinia looked up to see a pair of gray underwear. A blush formed across her cheeks as she hesitated to grab his legs. It didn’t look like it was going to work, he’d probably just loose his grip and fall anyway. And he was in his underwear.
“Grab my foot and climb! I’m trying to save your life!”
“That's not going to work,” she whispered.
A heavy gust of hot wind caught the airship from underneath and forced it up. The pair of boots slid over the edge of the platform as the chains jolted. Larox gripped his jeans as he swung under the platform. Suddenly, what had been so up close and personal was a twenty foot drop way off center from the target position. Larox climbed back up his pants, untied them, and slid them back on.
“One more time Lauren,” he yelled in his headset, “Tray, if you don't get Horst in that pilot seat right now, I’m going to dump your entire stash of hot sauce when we get back! Put the platform on the ground if you have to! Drag it!! She’s stuck in the ground a bit, so be sensible, we don’t want to chop her with the platform!”
Above, Horst made a return to the control room, “Having trouble with this jet stream Captain?”
“These winds aren’t behaving in any sensible pattern, and I think we lost a few power sources. The propellers don’t seem to be turning right, everything is going wrong.”
“Clinker can’t afford proper maintenance I suppose, either that or the Captain wants to look a bit too cost efficient.”
Tray sweat as he manipulated the control stick. The airship groaned against him. The panel displayed power readings in the yellow. Just above the ground, the upper level jet streams blew unpredictable and fierce. Weather patterns had changed worldwide. Piloting an airship was a constant peril, especially when it couldn’t land anywhere.
Horst pulled out a panel and began rigging some wires into new inputs. He bumped his head once as the airship shifted and uttered a loud curse. Then he pulled himself out and politely indicated he’d prefer the controls. Tray conceded defeat. He left the cockpit to man the guns, though he bit into his lip angrily along the way.
Finally, the airship managed to get the propellers moving properly and pushed down against the wind. Horst positioned it right above Lavinia, but even he wouldn’t put Larox close enough for a comfortable reach. It wouldn’t be as easy as having her step right onto the platform. Bringing the platform to the ground on activated asphalt could anchor the blimp if the ground decided to clutch it, meaning they would have to jettison the platform along with Larox and the rescue. Larox tucked his legs as if hanging from monkey bars and was close enough to snag the woman's uplifted arm with both of his.
Sweat laced her thin arms, his palms were sweaty as well, making the grip tenuous from the start. Then the airship suddenly jolted down four feet, maybe one of those variances, or perhaps Horst trying to get him closer. Whatever the case, it allowed Larox to grab her by the underarms.
She turned bright red as she pulled his arms, but she couldn’t climb onto the platform because her feet were stuck in tar.
"My legs are stuck," she said.
Larox nodded and spoke into his headset, “Bring it up Lauren! The ground has a hold of her boots, just enough to help me pry her out. So take it easy!”