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I wiped the rain from my eyes and ventured to open them. The amount of people onboard seemed smaller now, with many huddled together, holding on to each other or sitting against the railing. Several held limbs in awkward angles. Broken against the railings, I presumed.
The lift had ground to a halt several metres below the first level on the cliffside.
The wind blew again, harder this time. Lighting flashed so close it seemed to skim the air just above our heads.
Someone screamed.
The lift bumped against the side of the cliff and ground against the stone with a desperate whine.
"Get us off here!" someone shouted, a woman with a long nose and eyes wide in terror.
"It's not too far to jump." A man dressed as a butcher peered over the side.
"You're crazy, Elmer," a woman told him, his wife perhaps. "It's a long way down already." She waved her arm at the top of the cliff and shouted, "Let us down!"
If anyone heard, no answer came. The lift stayed in place.
The wind grabbed it in the strongest fingers yet and blew it away from the cliff before it slammed it back in. The railing groaned and cracked along one side.
The lift rebounded and spun. A handful of people slid toward the now open edge.
I pushed through between two women, but could only watch as they slid over the edge and into the abyss. Screams followed them down, but ended abruptly after only a moment.
Silence fell until the lift rocked at an angle.
I glanced up, hand over my eyes. One of the cables which held the lift had begun to fray. Threads of steel unraveled like a poorly knitted scarf before the whole cable snapped.
One side of the lift dropped and spun on the last cable. Some were thrown against the remaining section of railing, but more plunged off the side.
I managed to grab a section of railing and hung with my feet dangling over the edge.
Don't look down, I told myself.
I looked down.
The ground beneath lit up by another flash of lightning. It was dotted with bodies
I swallowed and looked up. The only way off was up that last cable. If I could reach it.
I started to pull myself up the broken railing, which somehow held my weight. Like a monkey, I swung hand over hand, even when my arms began to ache.
I worked my way up under the cable. I would have to swing myself onto the upper side of the lift and grab the cable.
I took a breath.
The cable groaned. The lift rocked and shuddered. Shards of something fell along with the rain and I realised it was pieces of the second cable. It too had begun to fray.
I worked my way to the side of the railing and—
"Bain? Bain?" The voice was persistent. Sound snapped in front of my face. Not a cable, something else.
I shook my head. "Kerina?" I blinked several times. She held her hand up in front of my face and waggled her fingers.
"It's time to get off, we're at the top."
The sun shone on my face.
A glance at the railing showed the lower town far below. The lift, and everyone on it, was intact.
