Ross broke in, "I'm sorry, Veta. There's no more time for talk. For real, we either do or die right now."
A gulfer brushed his foot as he spoke. Shuddering, Ross' jerked back hard against the room's rear wall, twisting the vocorn pipe from Veta's hand.
Then, like lightning, his arm whipped back, and forward, hurling the instrument the length of the narrow room, straight at the barred door and Igor Cheng.
It was close, a near miss. But Cheng ducked as it hit.
Simultaneously, Ross dived bodily across the encroaching gulfers.
He didn't clear the last, but he was rolling when he landed. Before the creature could get a grip and wrap itself about him, he was on his feet and lunging for the barred door. Arms extended, thrusting between the heavy rods, he threw his whole weight on the wheeled cage just beyond.
The cage rolled back, away, gaining momentum with every turn of the wheels.
Something brushed Ross' leg. He whirled as a gulfer started to surge up about his ankle.
Bending double, Ross caught the monster by one edge and, with a mighty heave, sent it flapping and slithering between the door's bars, out into the anteroom beyond.