They were now at the point where they would have to cross the chasm on the narrow bridge. This was the point of the journey that left them the most vulnerable both to discovery and attack. Krysty had traveled on ahead to scout the entrance to the bridge, and she returned as Ryan and J.B. spoke.
“So what’s it like up ahead?” the one-eyed man queried.
Krysty shook her head briefly. Her hair was clinging protectively to her, although whether as an expression of her feelings or as a premonition, Ryan couldn’t tell.
“It could be better, lover,” she whispered. “There’s no one around on this side. The rooms nearest the sec door entry are empty. But I’m not sure about the other side… I couldn’t risk taking a look across, in case I was spotted and blew it before we even got there.”
Ryan chewed his lip. “That was the right thing,” he murmured. “We’re just gonna have to go for this one and hope.”
Krysty fell into formation behind Ryan, and the companions moved forward at the double, down the corridor toward the sec door that led out onto the bridge. The rooms around were deserted, with no sign of any activity having taken place for some time. They reached the sec door quickly and with ease. Ryan paused before keying in the door code.
“We’ll take this as quickly as possible. Anyone comes in from the other side, then I’ll try and take them out with a blade. I just hope the bridge doesn’t go.”
He keyed in the code and the door rose, revealing the chasm and the narrow metal bridge that spanned the divide. Taking a deep breath, he began to run across, the panga grasped firmly in his hand. If he had to face an enemy, then he would rather use a blade than risk the metal of the bridge being melted by laser blasterfire. He felt the bridge begin to move beneath his feet, swaying with the rhythm of his run. On their previous encounter with the narrow metal walkway, they had been moving slowly, but now they moved at speed, and the bridge began to sway wildly at the heavy footfalls, first with Ryan’s rhythm, and then with the counter rhythms of the others as they followed.
“Fireblast!” Ryan cursed through gritted teeth, grabbing at the thin rail as the bridge began to move wildly beneath him. He looked over the side of the bridge at the darkness below, which moved beneath, delineated only by the edge of the rock shelf that ran around the chasm. The shapeless subhumans that lived along the rock shelf became little more than rapidly moving blurs as the bridge swayed wildly.
“Stop! Everyone stop,” Krysty yelled sharply, holding on to the rails. “If we don’t, it’ll pitch us right off.”
Holding on to the rails, they swayed with the bridge as the momentum began to slow, and the metal walkway steadied. The only member of the party who had looked in any way comfortable was Jak, whose innate sense of balance had made it easier for him to maintain his footing. But even the albino had found it hard to stay steady as the metal snaked and twisted beneath his feet.
“Dark night, I thought we were going to do the job for the Illuminated Ones ourselves,” the Armorer said, clasping his fedora to his head and fighting the dizziness and waves of sickness that still assailed him.
“Yeah, I reckon we should be a little more careful the rest of the way across,” Dean added. “You know, try not to upset the balance too much.”
Ryan looked around. They were more than halfway across, which was good. Although they would have to slow their progress, it would be for a shorter distance. It did still make them vulnerable, however, as they were easily visible from below.
“Okay, let’s do it. Slow and easy,” the one-eyed man said as he began to move forward.
The metal bridge still swayed under the combined rhythm of their walking, but the slower and lighter movement kept it to a minimum. Looking down again, Ryan could see that they were now over the rock ledge, and within twenty feet of the sec door.