<meta name="LineWrap" content="true"><TITLE>SR_Bk1 0160</TITLE><A HREF="SR_Bk1-0161.txt">Next (Page 161)</A><BR> "I just have to get something--wait here!"<P><P>"What is it? What the--where are you going?"<P><P>"I'll be back in a minute!" Treyess said, as she descended a ladder on the side of the roof.<P><P>Ferrajalt ran over and looked down the ladder.<P><P>"What the hell?" he muttered, and a moment later he heard the sound of glass shattering.<P><P>"Treyess! Are you okay?"<P><P>"I'm fine! I'm fine! I just have to get something!"<P><P>"Okay--but be quick about it."<P><P>Ferrajalt meandered back to the plane, looking up at the waterfall and mulling over the vision they saw in the weird mountain. He just couldn't get over it--the dog and the rabbit--what could it mean?<P><P>And beyond that, of course, there was Treyess. As a Royal, Ferrajalt was used to girls fawning over him, but in Treyess, he knew he had found his equal. So what if she was so much older than him? How much older could she have been anyway? Ten years? Twelve years? It didn't matter. Especially in a world such as Aconck, it really didn't matter. Oh, he knew his mother would have a heart attack if she knew--but how could she know? She probably didn't even exist anymore. And even after they wholloped this building--who knew? Who knew if anything would ever exist again?<P><P>"Oh Ferrajalt! Could you help me?" he heard Treyess yell from below.<P><P>He went back to the ladder and looked down--Treyess had a tablecloth bunched up like a sack--full of silverware, glasses, and dishes, from the sound of it.<P><P>"What is this--another graduate of the Nevrippa Den school of looting?"<P><P>"Now come on! Help me and pull this stuff up. And I am not looting--just think how cool it'll be to have Office Complex at Gumhanshire table settings in the future, if we manage to pull this off? It'll be rad!"<P><P>"Oh okay! Here--gimme."<P><P>Ferrajalt grabbed the heavy load and heaved it up with some effort.<P><P>"Now come on," he said. "We really have to get back."<P><P>They loaded the contraband into a storage compartment in the back of the plane, and took off, the Prince behind the stick again.<P><P>"Uh," Ferrajalt said, "I'd like to uh... if I can pull it off, I'd like to hover up and down along the building, looking into the windows with lights on, just to be sure that no one's in there."<P><P>"Sounds like a good plan. Better safe than sorry."<P><P>After a few failed attempts, Ferrajalt figured out how to make the plane hover straight up and down, and they looked into floor after floor of windows.<P><P>Inside, they saw numerous empty offices, many of which were all screwed up and full of weird things, just like the rest of this crashed world.<P><P>"Well," Ferrajalt said, "I'm satisfied. No sign of life."<P><P>"Nope."<P><P>They headed back for the Warhome.<P><P>Before they knew it, they made it back, passing the enormous nightmare structure to their left. <P><P>Docking back up with the Warhome was a piece of cake, and soon the two of them were climbing down the ladder of the central shaft. Ferrajalt followed Treyess into the main living chamber.<P><P>"Oh I just want to take all my clothes off and lay down under the covers and get all warm and toasty!" Treyess said, almost sounding drunk.<P><P>Ferrajalt stopped dead in his tracks, heart racing.<P><P>"So--go ahead. Maybe I'll join you."<P><P>Treyess smiled and spun around slowly several times, looking right at Ferrajalt all the while. Finally she spoke.<P><P>"I'll do what I want to do--while you wait outside. Then you can come in. Deal?"<P><P>"Uh--deal," Ferrajalt said with a stumble, and he backed away and out of the door. "Just--uh--just tell me when I can come back in."<P><P>"Will do."<P><P>Ferrajalt shut the door and leaned against it, his heart now pounding wildly and a cold sweat breaking out all over him.<BR><A HREF="SR_Bk1-0161.txt">Next (Page 161)</A>