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Slek's hand gripped mine tighter than ever. "We need to reach the end of this corridor, then—"
"Then what?" I asked, my voice high.
"We take an elevator or service shaft."
"If the power goes out while we're on an elevator—"
"We're fucked," he finished for me. "Service shaft it is." He pulled me so hard I almost had to run to keep up. We skidded to a stop at the end of the line which led to a hole in the wall. A security officer with the tentacles of a Garvian directed people one by one into a dark hole in the side of the wall.
"One at a time in an orderly manner," he said calmly. "One at a time."
In spite of that, the crowd pushed and jostled as people pressed to reach the chute first.
Someone else stepped on my foot, but at this point I was too scared to growl at them.
Slek squeezed my hand. "It's okay. We'll be fine."
The ship rocked and I squealed. "Are you sure?" Right now, I didn't feel very certain. Anything but.
"I'm absolutely sure. Look, we're next." He nodded toward the chute. How he or the Garvian could be so calm, I didn't know, but I drew on my training for emergencies and forced myself to breathe.
The voice over the loudspeaker repeated the warning to evacuate the ship.
"We're trying to," I muttered. Then I was face to face with the deep, dark hole. And the chute which disappeared around a bend and out of sight.
"Ladies first." Slek said. "It's just a big slide. It's usually used for dirty laundry."
"Wonderful," I muttered. "For the record, that isn't the kind of dirty talk I like." I let him help me through the hole, so I was sitting at the top of the chute.
He chuckled. "You have your watch and I'm right on your ass," he said. "I'll be thinking dirty thoughts all the way down."
All the innuendos and no time to enjoy them.
I sucked in a breath and might have hesitated, but he gave me a shove and I started to slide. With nothing to hold on to and no way to slow myself, I gritted my teeth and tried not to scream. I felt as though I was in free-fall, with no net and no end, just round and round in a loop, faster and faster.
I let out a whimper which bubbled up in my chest. It bubbled harder and harder until I wasn't sure I could stop myself from screaming and screaming.
Just before I did, I slid out the end of the long tube and into the arms of someone who thrust me aside the moment I regained my feet. They turned to do the same for Slek, but he flew out of the chute with a grin and landed like a cat.
"You've done that before," I said.
"A time or two." He reclaimed my hand and we made our way with the throng toward the rear of the ship. A lot of people were dressed in IF regulation pyjamas, but some were naked. I guess when a disembodied voice tells you to leave immediately, you do just that.
I thought I caught a glimpse of Kalvix, but she was swept away before I could be sure.
The push and jostle resumed at the entrance to the pod bay, which was wide enough for four or five people, but not the eight or nine which were trying to get through all at once.
Slek and I stopped and waited along with the rest, taking only small steps every few moments.
I was so focused on the doorway I didn't see anyone approach until I was almost knocked off my feet.
"Edie!" Brinley almost shouted in my ear. She hugged me so hard I could barely breathe. "You're all right!"
"Yes." I drew my head away from her and winced. "You too. Do you know what happened?"
Brinley shook her head. "Something about an explosion in or near the navigation array. They're worried whatever caused it will spread."
The ship rocked again and a bang sounded, followed by another.
