Ropes of clingy tar broke from the woman’s protective boots as the platform lifted with a screech of chains. She started to climb onto the platform but trying to keep her feet from touching Larox’s face when she heard him yell anyway. Her hand had just grasped the safety rail when she felt something latch her injured ankle. She screamed at the searing heat through her clothing. A string of inky black muck extended from the earth; it wrapped the woman’s injured ankle and pulled her with forceful tugs. Her sweaty hands lost their grip on the safety rail. Larox caught the sides of her waist, almost taking off her shirt as his fingers slid into the side of a pink bra.
The airship lowered again, as well as the crane, to prevent them both from possibly dying if they fell. Larox grunted as he struggled to keep her, only to go down with her in his arms. They rolled a bit on the ground. It felt like they landed on a hot skillet. Larox screamed as he forced himself to stand and helped her up. It was all up to Horst now; there was no room for error.
“I’m on the ground and things look real active down here, real active! Please assist!”
A hole opened in the underbelly of the ship. A yellow canister that looked like a barrel was launched out. It hit the ground, a spray of water exploding out, all charged with electricity. Lavinia clutched her chest and screamed as an electromagnetic pulse emitted from the center of the explosion and traveled through the air and along the ground at a specified radius from the blast.
Formations of tar strings fell apart and pits cooled. The silhouettes sunk into the ground. Clouds of steam rose from the blast site, the mineral laden water helped to carry the EMP charge further. With the platform now safe to drag, Larox began to tug at Lavinia. He put her arm over his shoulder and helped her move. She wasn’t moving well, looked like she was about to pass out, but the EMP effect in this area wouldn’t last long.
“Hop on,” Larox said, lifting her onto his back.
At least the ground had cooled, as he carried her it felt more like walking on blacktop on a hot sunny day. It wasn’t pleasant but he could bear it with the help of his stockings. The platform approached as the airship worked against a strong prevailing wind, one stronger than what it had dealt with previously. It would only be a matter of seconds in which the platform would be within reach, a brief window of opportunity in which they could walk right on and get pulled up to safety. The ground shook as geysers of hot tar burst around their position. The tar reactivated even more fiercely, silhouettes pulled up and moved forward.
“We’re getting out of here, trust me on this.”
Safety beckoned only a few feet away when the ground rolled underneath them in a tremendous localized earthquake. They found themselves knocked off their feet. Larox held the woman close as they slid. Clothes were torn and stained; Larox gained a cut on his face that slowly dripped blood. He pulled them both to their feet. Then he slung her over his back once again. Breath became labored as sweat dripped from his forehead. He tried to carry her over his back again but the earthquake corrupted his balance. It was all he could do to maintain his footing and keep them from being rolled into a tar pit. He sighed, unable to even push forward when close to safety.
Three canisters shot forth from the ship, all landed around Larox’s position. He felt the blacktop cool under his burning feet. The ground stopped shaking so much, and Larox began trudging forward. He drooled for the safety of the platform. Lavinia rested her head on his shoulders as she sat on his hands.
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“Here goes, gonna have to let go,” he said, “Can’t take much more of this, so hold on tight.”
No sooner than he was about to walk on the platform with her than it raised just above her head, the airship suddenly lifting. Larox broke into a stream of curses. He spit in rage as the woman clung to his shoulder with all her power. Then he reached to grasp the bottom of the platform using sweaty palms, which began slowly slipping as the airship raised further.
“Lower, lower. I’m slipping. You can do better than this Horst!”
Horst’s voice came back over the communications link laced with frustration, “I don’t have full power man, doing the best I can!”
He looked back to the woman who was clinging to his shoulders as Larox tried desperately to cling to the platform
“Can’t you climb?!” he yelled, “It’s right above you!”
She didn’t move.
“I can’t pull us both up. You have to climb first.”
As he said this the airship lowered again, but only enough for Larox’s feet to touch the ground. Since he was going to slip off soon anyway he let go. That way they wouldn’t get hurt when he fell. Upon landing, Lavinia slid off Larox’s back and looked just as frustrated with this rescue attempt as he was. They had a few seconds before strings of muck rose from the ground and slapped at them, coiled and then whipped at them. The silhouettes approached, one wrapped Larox with tendril of tar in the fashion by which a snake kills its prey. He screamed, it felt like his ribs were going to cave in while being cooked alive.
The blonde woman's eyes lit with a florescent blue light and her fist became surrounded by cool blue flame. She punched the asphalt silhouette wrapping Larox. The coils cooled, loosened, and fell apart into dust and crumbs. Larox knelt in front of her, panting, eyes wide. She panted too and looked completely spent.
“How’d you do that?” Larox asked, “Do it again!?”
But she simply shook her head. He was about to say something when a searing blob of tar reached up from the ground and sucked on his right hand. He screamed as he pulled out the sizzling red flesh. Blobs of tar formed around them; the flats changed tactics. Geysers of black gunk shot upwards. A small pool of boiling tar claimed Lavinia’s right boot with such tenacity that she couldn’t pry it loose. Larox grunted, ignored the pain in his welted hand and pulled her stocking clad foot from the boot.
His feet burned through heavy stockings. They needed to stop dancing around and get on that platform! He pushed her on his back forcefully, grunting at the pain of his hand as he surveyed the terrain. The airship was too far above them so he’d have to wait. He cursed.
This airship opened fire, another canister exploded onto the asphalt. The woman squirmed, groaned in pain, and then went limp on his back. Larox was relieved by how quickly the ground cooled under his feet. This time there was another earthquake as the top layer of ground retracted around where the canister landed. It was a retraction signal EMP on low polarity, they caused the activated asphalt to retreat temporarily so treasure could be recovered. If Tray used them, it meant they were almost out of options.
Nearby was a pit of flat gray, bedrock, the organic matter below had probably been absorbed by the asphalt over time, turned into gunk. Larox could only hope it didn’t open too wide, lest he be sucked in with the girl before they could be rescued. The airships propellers powered full as Horst maneuvered again, Tray continued firing pulse canisters to keep the asphalt away from Larox’s position. The platform finally touched down, Horst brought it right next to Larox.
“Hold on tight,” Larox screamed, pushing the both of them onto the platform, “Bring her up!”
He watched as the asphalt began to reclaim the craters opened by the EMP barrage. The ground moved quickly and steadily like a wave. He leaned against the safety rail and hugged the woman against his side as the platform was pulled up. He wasn’t going to let her slip over the edge after all that. Still, with his good hand he pulled a half smoked cigarette in the back pocket of his jeans.
Since he didn’t have a light and wouldn’t be able to smoke it on the ride up anyway. And she didn't look like a smoker. He flicked it over the edge of the platform. Only now he felt the pain in the patches of wet sticky skin on his hand.