Out of the frying pan . . .

<snip>
A loud crash echoed distantly around the cargo bay, followed by an inhuman roar of triumph
“Looks like they found that loose plate on the floor…”
</snip>

"That means we've only got a couple of minuets." said Jay. "So do we go up or down?" asked Cass. "Down might be safer, but up is where the key is."
"Yeah, & besides I'm not so sure down is such a good idea," started Davie, "from what I gathered trekking through the ship, the lower levels are flooded, and that probably means fish."
"Fish?"
"Yeah, big fish people, mean smeggers."
"We have to get to the ladder first, at any rate. Ideas?"
Davie looked around them and spotted a long, wide sheet of jagged edged metal laying haphazardly, half buried on the ground, that looked like it had been wrenched from the wall. He eyed the length of the piece with the gap between them and the grinder wedged against the inside of the shaft. /It'll just make it./ he thought. "Give me a hand with this." he said, brushing a few scattered bones and piles of dust as Alex and Gomez stepped over to help. Jay looked down at his motion tracker. "Hurry it up, we haven't got long."
They balanced the metal plate on the lip of the chasm and the edge of the massive grinder. "Alright, go!"
Gomez was the first across, followed by Alex and then Cass. "Up then, right?"
"That seems to be the general idea." said Alex as he started up after Gomez. "Oh I'm sorry, but what about me?" asked Seymour annoyedly from his wheelchair, "How am I supposed to climb a ladder without legs!?"
Jay patted White Wolf on the shoulder, and looked from him to Seymour, smiling sardonically. "Wolf, you know what to do."
Wolf nodded and hauled Seymour out of his wheelchair, stuffing him inside his cheek pouch. "Agh!" he shouted as all but his head disappeared inside the large hamster's mouth. "I seriously protest this!" he shouted, "This is disgusting treatment for a man of my--"
"Be grateful we're not just leaving you behind..." Davie cut him off. "Eh...I...Wh...Well what about my wheel chair?!"
"Anybody have any rope?"
Wolf reached into his other cheek pouch and pulled out a small length. Davie folded up the chair and tied the rope to either end, slinging it across his back. Jay started for the ladder, followed by Wolf. The tracker on Davie's phosphorus launcher beeped loudly and he down at it to see a wall of white dots moving across the screen towards them. "Time to go!" he said, moving towards the ladder. He stopped for a moments and kicked the metal plate off balance, sending it down the shaft so no one could follow. He looked back into the tomb and whispered a prayer for the dead before starting up he ladder after the rest of the group.
A little ways up, Seymour broke out in protest again. " I still resent you carrying me along in this way! I--" he was cut short as Wolf popped his head into his mouth for a moment to shut him up. He let his head back out and Seymour spat up a mouth full of Wolf's saliva. "Ugh!" Seymour gagged, "Rabbit droppings taste better!"
"You taste worse." Wolf said out of the corner of his mouth and they continued up the shaft.

<Tag!>