02-25-2020, 04:55 AM
She stripped off her gloves, unslung her backpack filled with medical supplies, tossed the gloves inside and placed the backpack on the floor of the chapel. She took a flashlight and hooked it to her belt.
Nina started up the scaffold ladder. The entire structure trembled slightly as she went. The lashed ladders zigzagged up the scaffolding frame.
The air had become very cold by the time she reached the top platform. The last part of the climb had taken her some time. She didn’t want to fall. Slowly she climbed right up past stained glass windows, and the wooden beams that pendulum slightly from the vibrations of her ascent.
Nina had no head for heights at all, but she was damned if she’d let her beloved Bas down. The floor of the chapel was so far away now, the backpack on the floor was the size of a small doll.
“Crap,” she whispered, as she finally dared to stand up on the top. Rising to her feet. So high up. The chapel boards did not quite meet, and she could see the drop between them. That was so much worse. That, and the vibration.
Look up, she told herself. The painted dome was just above her face. What had looked splendid and golden from the ground was peeling and rotten up close. She could see the gilt peeling like scabs from the blind faces of the disintegrating saints. Mother Mary’s face had discolored so much she looked as dark and dead as the patients at the Guardian. So old, so very old.
“Bas?”
Left hand out for balance, Nina walked along the boards, plucking her flashlight from her belt and switching it on. The tight bright light shone in the cool gloom.
She saw the hole. The smell of incense was more intense here. It was another ceiling through the hole, aiming her light.
"Holy crap"
Religious images, figures, faces, glass, ornate lettering in traced silver, lines and constellations, a hint of some vast organization covered this area.
It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
Nina started up the scaffold ladder. The entire structure trembled slightly as she went. The lashed ladders zigzagged up the scaffolding frame.
The air had become very cold by the time she reached the top platform. The last part of the climb had taken her some time. She didn’t want to fall. Slowly she climbed right up past stained glass windows, and the wooden beams that pendulum slightly from the vibrations of her ascent.
Nina had no head for heights at all, but she was damned if she’d let her beloved Bas down. The floor of the chapel was so far away now, the backpack on the floor was the size of a small doll.
“Crap,” she whispered, as she finally dared to stand up on the top. Rising to her feet. So high up. The chapel boards did not quite meet, and she could see the drop between them. That was so much worse. That, and the vibration.
Look up, she told herself. The painted dome was just above her face. What had looked splendid and golden from the ground was peeling and rotten up close. She could see the gilt peeling like scabs from the blind faces of the disintegrating saints. Mother Mary’s face had discolored so much she looked as dark and dead as the patients at the Guardian. So old, so very old.
“Bas?”
Left hand out for balance, Nina walked along the boards, plucking her flashlight from her belt and switching it on. The tight bright light shone in the cool gloom.
She saw the hole. The smell of incense was more intense here. It was another ceiling through the hole, aiming her light.
"Holy crap"
Religious images, figures, faces, glass, ornate lettering in traced silver, lines and constellations, a hint of some vast organization covered this area.
It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
Nina