Her hips and knees banged into rough rock, and then her feet hit something wooden, a ladder, skidded along the rungs of a ladder. One of her scrabbling, clutching hands found the side rail, and she grabbed it, halting her fall with a hard jerk that wrenched her arm and tore a harsh cry from her throat. Pebbles and dirt rained down around her, falling into emptiness.She hung, swinging by one arm, gasping and sobbing with terror. The candle had gone out, dropped when she fell, and the darkness was absolute. She had fallen into a shaft that led down to a new level, and the ladder, nailed into the rock, had saved her life.Slowly she searched with one foot, found a rung. She put her weight on it, and the wood gave way with a splintering crack. She slid down the ladder several more feet, ripping her glove and tearing the skin off her palm. Her scream echoed back at her.She hung, sucking at the foul, hot air and trying not to cry. Her arm shrieked with pain.She shouted for help, her voice bouncing up into the cavern and down, down, down....
