Sherri can do it, so can I, Sam thought. I’ve got to have faith in myself.
Stomach churning, he stepped to the edge and looked down. He could just make out Sherri some distance below. She seemed stable against the side of the building. It was a long way to the ground. Don’t think about it, just do it! he told himself. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out into space, and his entire body tensed as he began to fall. The fizzing whizz of the cable
escaping its encased drum peaked for no more than a couple of seconds before he felt the deceleration effect of the drum.
Sam’s eyes snapped open as his right shoulder thumped into the side of the building. He pushed away awkwardly and his body spun a full 360 degrees before he impacted the surface again.
This time he was ready. Hands and feet spread and poised, he cushioned the second touch, bouncing lightly away and down. Another touch and he was stable to the right of Sherri. She grinned at him,
eyes sparkling with excitement.
There was another whine, followed rapidly by yet another. Sam looked up to see the two raptors descending towards them, Newton on the far left and Nipper to his right. Both dropped fast, looking
awkward and unbalanced as they came. Nipper, who was clutching the drill-like tool that Newton had used to slice holes into the roof, stabilised about two metres below Sam and Sherri. Newton bared
his teeth as he came to rest parallel to Sherri and gave several angry-sounding clicks. He pointed at a panel to his right, but Nipper was too low to reach it.
‘I think Newton forgot to account for the weight of the equipment when he set the tensioners,’ Sherri whispered. ‘He’s not happy.’
‘So what happens now?’
Before Sherri had a chance to reply, Nipper provided the answer. Transferring the full weight of the heavy cutting tool to his right hand, he grabbed the rope with his left and hauled himself
up. The tension in the rope had not been far wrong, so Nipper did not have to bear much weight. However, while the manoeuvring didn’t tax the raptor’s prodigious strength, the result of
Newton’s slight miscalculation made the next few moments difficult. Wielding the cutter with one arm looked all but impossible, but Sherri sidestepped and helped stabilise it from
Nipper’s right, while Newton directed where to cut from his left and between the three of them, making no more than a barely audible hiss, they made short work of cutting the entire
door-sized panel away from the side of the building.
As the panel came fully loose, Sam and Sherri were waiting. They lifted it away from the surface without a sound and held it steady while Newton repositioned himself to take it from them. As he
took the weight, Sherri leaned across and clicked his inertia reel through to the second setting. He dropped away, holding the panel, inertia reel fizzing as he went. Nipper let go of his rope and
dipped below the level of the hole, while Sherri kicked away from the wall and swung on her rope in an arc that took her in through the opening. As she crossed the threshold, Sam heard the click as
she switched the lever on her drum to its second setting. He watched as she landed lightly and vanished inside.
Sam did his best to copy Sherri’s example, but it was not as easy as she made it look. Fingers ready on the inertia reel switch, he pushed away from the wall and swung in an arc towards
the opening. However, rather than swinging in cleanly as Sherri had, his left shoulder brushed the side as he entered and he spun through 180 degrees. In a panic, he clicked the switch through to
the second setting, but he did so a second later than was ideal. He had already started to swing back outwards as he dropped, meaning he was right on the lip of the freshly cut hole. Arms
windmilling in an effort to regain his balance, he teetered on the brink of the dizzying drop outside.
Just as he was convinced he was going to fall, Sherri’s hand grabbed the back of his
Stomach churning, he stepped to the edge and looked down. He could just make out Sherri some distance below. She seemed stable against the side of the building. It was a long way to the ground. Don’t think about it, just do it! he told himself. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out into space, and his entire body tensed as he began to fall. The fizzing whizz of the cable
escaping its encased drum peaked for no more than a couple of seconds before he felt the deceleration effect of the drum.
Sam’s eyes snapped open as his right shoulder thumped into the side of the building. He pushed away awkwardly and his body spun a full 360 degrees before he impacted the surface again.
This time he was ready. Hands and feet spread and poised, he cushioned the second touch, bouncing lightly away and down. Another touch and he was stable to the right of Sherri. She grinned at him,
eyes sparkling with excitement.
There was another whine, followed rapidly by yet another. Sam looked up to see the two raptors descending towards them, Newton on the far left and Nipper to his right. Both dropped fast, looking
awkward and unbalanced as they came. Nipper, who was clutching the drill-like tool that Newton had used to slice holes into the roof, stabilised about two metres below Sam and Sherri. Newton bared
his teeth as he came to rest parallel to Sherri and gave several angry-sounding clicks. He pointed at a panel to his right, but Nipper was too low to reach it.
‘I think Newton forgot to account for the weight of the equipment when he set the tensioners,’ Sherri whispered. ‘He’s not happy.’
‘So what happens now?’
Before Sherri had a chance to reply, Nipper provided the answer. Transferring the full weight of the heavy cutting tool to his right hand, he grabbed the rope with his left and hauled himself
up. The tension in the rope had not been far wrong, so Nipper did not have to bear much weight. However, while the manoeuvring didn’t tax the raptor’s prodigious strength, the result of
Newton’s slight miscalculation made the next few moments difficult. Wielding the cutter with one arm looked all but impossible, but Sherri sidestepped and helped stabilise it from
Nipper’s right, while Newton directed where to cut from his left and between the three of them, making no more than a barely audible hiss, they made short work of cutting the entire
door-sized panel away from the side of the building.
As the panel came fully loose, Sam and Sherri were waiting. They lifted it away from the surface without a sound and held it steady while Newton repositioned himself to take it from them. As he
took the weight, Sherri leaned across and clicked his inertia reel through to the second setting. He dropped away, holding the panel, inertia reel fizzing as he went. Nipper let go of his rope and
dipped below the level of the hole, while Sherri kicked away from the wall and swung on her rope in an arc that took her in through the opening. As she crossed the threshold, Sam heard the click as
she switched the lever on her drum to its second setting. He watched as she landed lightly and vanished inside.
Sam did his best to copy Sherri’s example, but it was not as easy as she made it look. Fingers ready on the inertia reel switch, he pushed away from the wall and swung in an arc towards
the opening. However, rather than swinging in cleanly as Sherri had, his left shoulder brushed the side as he entered and he spun through 180 degrees. In a panic, he clicked the switch through to
the second setting, but he did so a second later than was ideal. He had already started to swing back outwards as he dropped, meaning he was right on the lip of the freshly cut hole. Arms
windmilling in an effort to regain his balance, he teetered on the brink of the dizzying drop outside.
Just as he was convinced he was going to fall, Sherri’s hand grabbed the back of his
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