Ch 2: Whistling vents

-” Rust on bolts is frowned upon,

Better scrape it up so I don’t meet the baton,

And at the end, it shines so bright,

Makes me a bit happy to not face the night.”

With each new tightened bolt, Diaz lowered down the outer mantle of the giant elevator while whistling a tune enjoyed by himself, the rodents and mutants squirming through the vents. A smile always tightened the stiff breathing mask.

Diaz- “ My devoted fans, it’s wonderful to hear your tiny vent taps once again. I must say, I truly missed your squeals of appreciation and echoing death moans. Must mean that you truly love my work.” He then expertly turned his happy go-lucky whistle in a more somber and longer tune; no one knew how he managed to speak, yet alone whistle with that veil covering his face and mouth.

The rats crawled through the tight corners, following the young man’s song as if it had a power over them; either the little sounds he made had mesmerizing effects or they learned that at the end of his humming crumbs of mushroom bread waited for the audience.

Diaz- “ Than you, thank you are truly too kind”, he added with passion while his rope slowly lowered him to the broken, opened vent. Usually, only his squeaking friends waited for him there, but not today. Today he almost lost his balance and was on the verge of reaching the bottom faster than his rest of his colleagues. “ What in the world…who the hell are you?”, he asked the strangers.

In front of stood a scared looking child, with a blue striped cloth covering half of his face and a hoodie obfuscating the rest of his body; he was hiding behind a smug looking girl, with a trembling hand stretched out, at the end of which she held a wobbling insignia.

Eury-” H.H. HALT!”, her quivering voice yelled out while her silvery seal reflected outside light all around the young maintenance worker. A tug on her pants drew her attention from the outsider for a second though. “What, what is it?”, she whispered frantically.

Sammy- “ You sure this one’s good? Wasn’t he just talking to the rats?”, the boy murmured back, side eyeing the confused young man.

Diaz- “ I can hear you, kid. And yes I was; it’s boring up here, what do you want from me?” His angry fidgets made the child take a few steps backward, which in turn flared up his guardian.

Eury- “ First of all, you’re way too wormy with your hands; calm down, you’re scaring Sammy. Second, surprised you haven’t reacted to it, but by the power invested in me by this insignia, I command you to carry us both to the bottom of the elevator.”

The worker’s brows now wriggle around from the quick transition from suspicion to confusion and back.

Diaz- “ Insi- what is that? Are you a ceiling walker?”

Eury- “The hell kind of name is-”, thought the girl to herself. “ I guess I am. Junior- Middle Grade subdivision 1 Lift operator…greeter. Euryale Seto. Pleased to meet you-”, she then extended a hand to the confused maintenance worker; to both salute him and keep him from reaching his ancient-looking communication device.

Unfortunately for her, though, what she wasn’t aware off was that subcontractors were equipped with ear pieces as well. Always ON ones.

-” Diaz from the Burgos encampment. V corner...Miffed to meet you, to be honest.”

Eury- “ Wonderful, a base dweller with no filter. Haven’t seen one in a minute.” She no longer even tried to whisper her comments. “ Anyhow, since all that is concluded, get us to the lower level and we will be on our way. M’kay?”

Diaz-” Really now? Technically, if what you’re saying is true, and that seal isn’t a forgery, I am obliged to follow the directions of a ceiler.” A self satisfied grin grew on the girl’s face. For a moment. “ But-”

Eury- “ But what?”

Diaz- “ Truth be told, you don’t look anything older than me. Two, we’re about halfway between the top and bottom of the elevator. And third, and no offense here, miss, I don’t think my ropes can carry more than one person. We’re all too heavy.”

Irritated, Eury puffed through her nostrils and crossed her arms. “ Firstly, wow…unless that costume really messes with your figure, didn’t know that bottomers age like that. My condolences. Second, good to know. And third, I knew that…just needed someone to confirm it. I planned on me and Sammy lowering first, and you would…I don’t know yet.”

The young man’s eyes started to twitch a bit, prepared to unleash another set of rebuttals until he felt a tingle on his ropes. Something from above was fiddling with his equipment, and only after a quick zoom in with his mechanical eye did a dreadful panic seeped in.

Diaz’s agitated state pushed him to miss the unblocking button a few times, and only by the fifth attempt did he manage to untangle half of the death trap currently attached to him.

Sammy- “ Mister…what are you doing?” The child guessed what scared the worker so hard, and his thoughts pushed him to ask Eury to give him a helping hand. “ Hurry”, he urged.

The girl, frozen in place by the how fast things were shifting around her, got closer to Diaz and extended her hand; just in time as right then a pair of cut ropes fell by the worker’s sides.

Eury- “ How are you-”

Diaz-” Tiny ledge under my tippy-toes. Now stop distracting me and keep me straight while I unbuckle the rest.”

Eury- “ Right”, she puffed from the sheer effort needed to keep a hold on the heavily geared Diaz. “ No problem. Got this. Phew. I’m more fit than I look, I’m doing 10 minutes of core strengthening. DAILY!”

The boy was reaching for another smug reply, but seeing her exert herself for his survival swayed him to keep his mouth shut. A few more unzips later and both were on stable ground, one kissing the ground under him, while the other was panting and laughing at the ceiling, happy to see a tight corner to the sky.

After gasping for enough air to calm down, Eury’s giggle felt infectious to Diaz. The two laughed one over the other, which started to concern Sammy about their mental health.

Eury- “ It is kinda funny, isn’t it? The whole situation?”

Diaz- “ Sure, sure. But that’s not why I’m laughing. Are you, by any chance, being followed by some weird twig of a guy?”

Eury- “ Yeah. How did…”, she stopped and her demeanor switched to abyssal concern. “ How do you know? The rope? Did you see him?”

Diaz- “ Caught a glimpse of a robbed skinny fellow cutting my alloyed strap. With a bright looking blade! The hell did you roped me into?”

Eury, now ignoring the worker, dragged the child to keep up with her wide steps- “ Sammy. Sammy, come, we’re going back. We’re looking for another way, no time to waste.”

Diaz- “ Wait just a second-”

Eury- “ Listen, I’m sorry for what happened to you, but I advise you to hide, run or whatever. That ‘fellow’ isn’t keen on letting witnesses, so…hope you have a happy future ahead of you.”

Just as he opened his mouth, a shrieking sound like a crying harpy came from the outside. And it grew closer and closer with each passing second. Diaz didn’t need more explanations about its source, and the moment he saw the girl spring away, he decided to give chase and get some answers.

Diaz- “ I’m not getting removed cuz of some ceiling walkers stupid scuffles!”, he yelled out in anger, ready to keep track of the two until this whole mess was lifted from his shoulders.