Naked Empire

"Jennsen!" Richard called to her. "Don't go that way! Stay with me!"

Wedged in as he was, he couldn't easily turn to see. He forced himself ahead, crabbing sideways, trying to spot her. Jennsen was clambering toward the light, ignoring him as he called to her. Kahlan wormed her way up to him. "What's she doing?" "She's trying to get out. She sees the opening, the light, and won't listen."

Richard shoved the packs and frantically worked his way ahead, moving into the area beyond the tight spot, to where it was open enough that he could at last get a full breath and almost get up on his hands and knees.

Jennsen screamed. Richard could see her clawing frantically at the rock, but she wasn't making any headway. In a frenzy of effort, she tried to push herself forward, but, instead, she'd slipped sideways farther down the slope, wedging herself in tighter.

Each exaggerated, panting breath as she strained and stretched ratcheted her in deeper.

Richard called to her, trying to get her to listen, to do as he said.

In her desperation, she wasn't responding to any of his instructions. She saw the opening, wanted out, and would not listen to him.

Fast as he could, Richard scrambled through the darkness and around toward the opening, guiding Kahlan, Owen, Cara, and Tom through the only way he knew they could make it. Kahlan held tight to his ankle and he could hear by the panting of effort that the rest of them were all following in a line behind her.

Jennsen screamed in terror. She struggled madly, but couldn't move.

Wedged in as she was, with rock compressing her rib cage top and bottom, it was becoming difficult for her to breathe.

"Jennsen! Take a slow breath! Slow down!" Richard called to her as he scurried around toward the opening. "Breathe slow! Breathe!"

Richard finally reached the opening. He emerged from the dark crevasse, squinting in the sudden light. On his knees, he leaned in and helped pull Kahlan out. Betty scrambled out, somehow having passed the rest of the people. As Owen and then Cara clambered out of the opening, Richard pulled the baldric over his head and handed his sword to Kahlan.

Tom called out that he was going back in to try to reach Jennsen.

As soon as the rest were safely out, Richard dove back into the fissure. Headfirst, on his hands and knees, he scuttled into the dark. He could see that Tom, from his angle of approach, had no chance to get to her.

"Tom, I'll get her."

"I can reach her," the man said even as he was getting himself wedged tight.

"No you can't," Richard said in a stern tone. "Wishing won't make it so. You'll just get yourself stuck. Listen to me. Back out, now, or your weight will help push you downhill and get you stuck so hard that we won't be able to get you out. Back up, now, while you're still able to. Go. Let me get her."

Tom watched Richard moving around behind him, and then, making a face that showed how unhappy he was to be doing it, he started pushing himself back up into the darkness, where there was a few precious inches' more room that would let him make it back out.

Richard worked his way through the tight spot and then moved down the slope so that he wouldn't be facing downhill as he tried to help Jennsen and possibly wedge himself in tighter than he wanted. If he wasn't careful, he would do the same thing Tom had been about to do. Down in the darkness, Jennsen cried in panic.

Richard, flat on his belly, wiggled and snaked his way deeper, all the while moving to his left, down the pitch in the shelf of rock. "Jennsen, breathe. I'm coming. It's all right."

"Richard! Please don't leave me here! Richard!"

Richard spoke in a calm, quiet voice as he moved around behind her down into the tighter part of the cave. "I'm not going to leave you. You'll be fine. Just wait for me."

"Richard! I can't move!" She grunted with effort. "I can't breathe! The ceiling is coming down! It's moving-I can feel it coming down. It's squeezing me! Please help me! Richard-please don't leave me!"

"You're fine, Jennsen. The ceiling isn't moving. You're just stuck.

I'll have you out in a minute."

Even as he worked his way into the low spot, trying to get up close behind her, she was still struggling to move forward, making it worse- there was no way she could go forward and make it out. As she kept struggling, though, she was slowly slipping deeper down the slope and with every frantic breath wedging herself in tighter. He could hear how desperately she was trying to breathe, to draw each shallow breath against the immovable compression of rock.

Finally all the way back around behind her, Richard started pushing himself in the way she'd gone. She had gone into a narrow channel that closed down on the uphill side of her, so there could be no moving her sideways up the slope; he had to get her to back up the way she'd gone in.

He had to get her to go away from the light and back into what she feared.