Chapter 9 - Zapped!

Cody reaches Alana on the socket, using the rope support to his advantage.

[cooker base]
[cooker top - Logan, Alice]
[electric socket - wall wire start - Alana, Cody]
[wire on the wall]
[wire - through the door]

"Cody, hold this!", Al demands, pushing the sticky rope into Cody's hands. "I'll keep going!"

Alana starts the combination of balancing act and tree climbing involved in following the thick electric wire on the wall.

On the horizontal stretches she can sidestep on the wire, with her back to the wall, trying not to look down too much, as the drop to the cooker below is scary, and gets scarier as the wire snakes higher up on the wall.

On the vertical stretches of the wire, it is closer to tree climbing, and in a sense easier as she is facing the wall, not seeing the heights become more and more dizzying.

She reaches the half-way point on the wire and stops to catch her breath.

[cooker base]
[cooker top - Logan, Alice]
[electric socket - wall wire start - Cody]
[wire on the wall - Alana]
[wire - through the door]

"Loey! Alice! Come on up here, I'll hold the rope for you!" he calls down to the cooker surface.

Logan wipes his hand as best as he can and gives it another go at climbing the rope up to the socket.

Logan manages to join Cody on the socket. Cody pats him on the back and keeps holding the rope for Alice below.

[cooker base]
[cooker top - Alice]
[electric socket - wall wire start - Cody, Logan]
[wire on the wall - Alana]
[wire - through the door]

While Cody holds the rope for Alice, Logan pats him on the back and gets ready to keep climbing. Reaching up Logan gets a good hold and starts moving up the wire.

"Oh no, you're not getting ahead of me!", Al laughs as Logan catches up to her. "I'm going through the door and you'll be eating my dust!"

Logan reaches the wall mid-point side-stepping on the wire. Alana lets her competitive streak take over and rushes forward, despite the dangerous climb ahead of her. She climbs the wire vertically, all along the doorframe, to dizzying heights. Logan sees her smaller and smaller above him.
She successfully reaches the corner of the doorframe, where the wire gets through the door.



With a triumphant shout, she crawls through the gap between the top of the door and the doorframe. Her companions see her distant, tiny figure go through the door...

"AL??? ALANA???" he shouts, looking at the door through which she has disappeared...

Aww shit! Something happened to Al. I'm going ahead..you guys catch up when you can. Logan shouts down to Cody and Alice as he starts to climb up towards the door.

Logan makes the long vertical climb along the doorframe, until he is at the very top of the door.

He cautiously negotiates the gap over the door and finds himself in a dark place. He stops and looks around: he cannot see Alana anywhere.

[cooker base]
[cooker top - Alice]
[electric socket - wall wire start - Cody]
[wire on the wall]
[wire - through the door - Logan]
[? - Alana]

Logan carefully starts to climb down the wiring. Al?. Are you okay..can you hear me?