Chapter 2

The ride up the Fontail elevator from bottom to top took an average of seventy-five minutes from start to finish. On this particular trip, Marissa and her mother would be sharing the platform with two other groups.

One of them consisted of a horse drawn covered wagon that carried four young men. Apparently they were on their way to find work at the upper cliff cities. It was either that, or they were on this trip for pleasure. It was difficult to tell as they did not speak with the rest of the group.

The other caravan only had a single sturdy male on horseback. At his side lay ten oxen, each of them with an iron chain around their necks which was tied to the one behind it. The cattle formed one long leashed chain, and they were all skillfully handled by their keeper.

While not a completely full load for the great Fontail elevator, it still was a sizable group. As each group climbed aboard, the iron guardrails that surrounded the platform were erected. The rails were not an entirely perfect solution in regards to safety but they did their job well.

In addition to this, a sole guard rode on each trip up and down the wall. He sat on a simple wooden stool near the western edge of the platform. This position for the elevator's staff was usually the most boring, and napping on the job was a very regular occurrence. This trip would include the same, and the eyelids of the man assigned this task became heavy. He would assuredly be very much asleep, very soon.

A great whistle of steam echoed up the wall of the chasm to signal the platform's ascent. The wide wooden platform creaked, slightly stuttered, and then started its hour long climb.

Marissa waved to her father as the platform rose. Graham waved back and wished them on their way. The little girl watched as he slowly became smaller and smaller in her view. As he appeared farther away, the grip she had on her mother's legs grew stronger. Marissa wasn't terribly fond of heights.

The elevator continued its steady climb up the wall as the minutes passed. Higher and higher it rose, almost reaching the halfway point up its journey. It was at about this moment, that a few of the oxen on the platform began to rustle.

Just out of sight in the direction opposite of the Great Vein appeared a cloudy shape. It flew upon the air effortlessly, almost gliding. It was obviously coming closer to the rising elevator and the attention of its passengers turned towards it.

"Pontia!" cried the now fully awake guard. He struggled to get upright and clumsily tripped into one of the oxen.

A tremendous cry was heard emanating from the approaching creature. Now easily visible, it was terrible sight upon the air. The large birdlike creature was made up of pure blacks and grays, each feather a dark shadow upon the sky. Behind its massive wings trailed long plumes of smoke that traced its movement. Each flap of its wings twisted and stained the air with the putrid ash. The pointed beak looked like that of a giant raven. A terrible sensation of heat accompanied its arrival. The passengers felt as though the beast's pitch black eyes were staring into their souls.

The ten cattle were now fully spooked, and they began to bellow out in horror. Almost instantly they began to flee from the elevator in futility, and in turn started to pull at their chain leashes.

The ox at the tail of the chain reared back away from its restraints. Its sudden movement pulled the entire line backwards a step. The still rising platform shifted slightly.

The guard whom had clumsily fallen into the group of cattle was shoved to the edge of the platform due to their movements. When he tried to regain his balance, the rear oxen had instead slammed into his side. With a quick flip, the poor man toppled off the edge of the iron railing. No voice was heard as he fell down to the desert below.

Marissa and her mother Sicily cowered down onto the floor near the eastern railings, both of them kneeling down and clutching each other. Fear filled into both of their hearts.

Another screech could be heard, and then the Pontia was upon them. Easily half the size of the entire platform, its massive form was awe inspiring. The accompanying heat of its presence forced them to look away. It passed over the top of the elevator, glancing down towards its prey. It did not take any action as it flew overhead.

It was at this point in which it was apparent that the crew on the ground below had to take action. They did not know how to combat this beast, nor did they know even if they could. The conductor immediately halted the lift on its journey upward, and the platform and the giant chains ground to a halt.

The only way to reach a stuck platform was through a single emergency lift line that had been installed alongside the eastern chain. It only was built to carry a single man, and would allow him to rise quickly up the cliff usually with tools, supplies, or a tow line. He could then help the crew get the elevator working again. The line could only be used once with any kind of speed as resetting it took several days.

Without even thinking, Graham had harnessed himself into the line and motioned to the conductor. With no words being spoken, his blurred form raced up towards the platform of passengers.

The great Pontia passed over the platform and continued on as if it was going to leave them be. That was not the case, and the giant raven of ash banked and turned its attention towards the elevator once again.

In one fell swoop, the creature had clasped the center ox within its giant claws. Each dark mandible seared into the flesh of the shrieking prey. The Pontia easily lifted the cow and its brethren into its possession. The chain of animals which were connected at the neck, turned into a giant whip. The beasts' handler was instantly thrown off of the platform from their flailing mass of bodies.

The bird now had its prey, and it made motions for its exit. With a final flap of its wings, one of the smoldering feathers clipped the eastern chains. The ancient iron links melted and snapped on contact and let loose of their cargo.

The eastern edge of the platform fell, and the entire surface tilted on its axis towards the ground. With only two of the support hooks now able to perform their duty, the iron grapples struggled to keep their clasps onto the lift chain. The angle of the platform was now very steep.

The covered wagon quickly lurched down the angled platform, its wheels spinning downwards off of its face. The men had decided to climb inside for protection, and in doing so had doomed themselves. They desperately tried to escape from the cart as it moved.

The iron railing protecting the western edge tore and broke upon impact. The wagon and her passengers easily rolled off of support of the elevator. Silently they fell, and then suddenly splintering wood could be heard when the wagon crashed into the side of the cliff.

The only remaining passengers were now Marissa and Sicily. They desperately clung to the iron railings, their fragile little hands holding on for their lives. Tears ran down both of their cheeks from the terror.

At that moment, Graham's emergency ascent had ended. He was now at the same level as the crippled platform. The man quickly climbed aboard with his harness still in tow.

Unfortunately Graham knew that the line he had just used was not strong enough to hold all three of their forms. In fact, it barely had been able to carry his midsized frame up the cliff. A choice had to be made.

Graham motioned with his hands towards little Marissa. "Marissa! Grab my hand! I need to hook you up to my harness!"

The tears flowing down Marissa's cheeks stopped. An amazing resolve flushed over her tiny body. Almost instinctively, she let one hand go from the railing and leapt towards her father. Their hands met and he pulled her towards him.

Within moments, he had traded places with his young daughter and she was now confined within the safety of the harness. Satisfied that she was secure, he immediately placed his attention towards his wife. He was certain that the line would be strong enough to hold both Marissa and her mother.

Just as he had begun to turn his attention towards Sicily, the platform lurched.

Unable to continue his hold onto the harness, he tumbled away from his daughter. Luckily he was able to catch a hold of the iron railing. His arms twisted with the fall, but they still held. There he and his wife clung tightly to the metal bars.

The platform began to tilt even further. The surface became more and more vertical as the giant iron hooks lost their grip. With one final creak, the platform lost its hold onto the eastern supporting chains and began to fall downward.

Farther and farther the platform fell, with both Sicily and Graham still aboard. They became smaller into the distance as they descended. They continued to fall until they could no longer be seen except as a tiny speck below. Marissa continued to watch from the comfort of the harness.

She never saw the platform crash into the river below, nor was she able to hear it. All she could hear was a ringing noise in her ears mixed with the roar of the waterfall to the east.

It was there in that spot up along the cliff side, that the poor little girl remained until her rescuers arrived several hours later.

Continue reading onto Chapter 3