Slipping In, Checking Out

“Let me out! For God’s sake, let me oooout!”

Smoke hung heavy in the air as he dove headfirst into the darkened corridor, obscuring his vision as the howling of their prisoners nearly drowned out everything else. Her senses were reeling, but she couldn’t help herself as she moved forward, feeling with her outstretched hands as the heat within the enclosed space was stifling, grabbing at her as though it were alive.

Where in the hell was she? Only a moment before she’d been watching her step so she didn’t slip on the wet leaves that led into the tunnel beyond, and now her couldn’t see more than a foot in front of her face. A heavy whining sound reached her hearing at that moment, and in the next breath she was thrown off of her feet as she collided heavily with the rough ground beneath her. Letting out a groan of pain as she felt something burning in her side, Kate moaned as she tried to roll over to her front, her skull pounding as though a giant had just wrapped his meaty, calloused hand over it. As she reached her knees, she fully expected to see little more than devastation all around her, but instead-

“Kate, are you okay?”

(to be continued)