"Seems to be." No time for the spacesuits in the magazine now--something
had just emerged from the air lock through which they had entered the
second deck not many moments before. He helped the girl quickly down a
section of ladderlike stairs to the airseal connecting the second deck
with the storage, punched a wall button there. As the lock door opened,
there was another noise from the passage they had just left, as if
something had thudded briefly and heavily against one of the bulkheads.
Kerim uttered a little gasp. Then they were in the lock, and Gefty
slapped down two other buttons, stood watching the door behind them snap
shut and, a few seconds later, the one on the far side open on the dark
storage deck.
They scrambled down another twelve feet of ladder to the floor of a side
passage, hearing the lock snap shut behind them. As it closed, they were
in complete darkness. Gefty seized Kerim's arm, ran with her up the
passage to the left, guiding himself with his fingertips on the left
bulkhead. When they came to a corner, he turned her to the left again. A
few seconds later, he pulled open a small door, bundled the girl
through, came in himself, and shut the door to a narrow slit behind
them.