A call came from the adjoining hall before the group finished the next survey. Yan and Wei followed it to a pressure chamber where Lin and Du were trapped beneath crossing lines of force.
The pressure pinned their shoulders down. Lin’s face was turned to one side, and Du’s arm lay at an angle beneath him. The floor lines pulsed in sequence, each one feeding the next.
“Don’t move!” Wei called. “One shoulder at a time. Wait for the line to dim.”
His elbows buckled. He caught himself before his chest touched the floor, but the pressure pushed through his sleeves and into his shoulders. The lines crossed just above Lin and Du, so a careless strike at one could drop the other.
“Can you move your left hand?” Wei asked Lin.
Lin tried to lift it. The line brightened and forced her shoulder down again.
“Stop there,” Wei said. “Don’t fight the whole room. Wait for the dim pulse.”
Du’s trapped arm shook. “Get this off me.”
