Only a handful of those around Otto seemed to be animated. Tourists, laborers, retired folk--they were stone-gray and frozen in place. The ringing in Otto's ears began to subside, though the restoration of his hearing did little good at this point. He instinctively yelled,[b]"GRAB SOMETHING HEAVY THAT YOU CAN SWING AND GET IN THE WALL!"[/b]

He tucked his pipe into an outside pocket of his garment and snatched up the nearest tool he could find: a sledge hammer, approximately a meter in length with a light alloy shaft. The angry foreman had a permanent determined look to her. Otto imagined the woman was fiercely serious about her job; she was likely an honest person...a natural leader. He cupped the pink orb in his gloved hand and maneuvered it into his satchel. [b]"You're comin' with me."[/b] 

Otto knew the elevator was a terrible idea. A small group of folks could squeeze into a trolley; each was equipped with a pulley-style system to move them slowly along the wire when the power wasn't available. With practiced grace (and a massive amount of pain to his back and knees), Otto leaped from the wall summit into the trolley he used minutes earlier. He anxiously waited for the others to gather their wits and make a move. [b]"Maybe one of these youngsters knows somethin' I don't, but we need to un-ass this area,"[/b] he breathed to himself in angst.