Lying on her stomach, Addis peeked through the slats in the grate, trying to keep the lump of terror lodged in her throat from escaping. A better question would be: what kinds of things currently claimed this space as their habitat? Gagging, she scooted forward until her upper body rested on the still secure bars and then dangled her left arm into the black abyss, doing her best to tune out Emerson’s frantic what are you doings as she tried to convince her brain that nothing was crawling on her skin, that no legendary monster was at this moment about to latch onto her arm and drag her down to its lair.

‘I can’t tell how deep it is, but I can’t feel the bottom. It might be a tight squeeze, but I think we have to try, Em. It’s dark, so what else can we do?’

For the longest time, the only answer came from the mysterious sounds of nature before Emerson finally agreed. ‘You’re right; it might be our best option.’

The width of the gap had been deceptive, and so it hadn’t been quite as simple slipping between the open bars as they’d thought. Addis had shimmied in first, bearing the brunt of the serrated edges of broken metal scraping against her skin because she’d been able to guide Emerson away from the worst of it. At least the drop wasn’t as bad as she was afraid it might be since it turned out the hole was only approximately two feet deep. It meant they’d have to lie down, but that couldn’t be any worse than what they’d already been through. At least that was what she tried to tell herself even as the stench of rotting trash and God-knows-what-else seemed to seep into her nostrils and every inch of exposed skin.

And now, in the dawning light of day, Addis wondered if she had the strength or even desire to drag herself back up. It wasn’t that the distance was so great, or at least it wouldn’t have been if she wasn’t fatigued and oh-so-cold, but the very real notion that they had to trust someone out there to help them was simply too much for her overtaxed mind and body.

Beside her, Emerson was beginning to stir from her not-quite sleeping, not-quite awake state, and Addis reached out to rub warmth into her best friend’s arm. When Em spoke, her throat was scratchy and raw, changing the natural cadence of her voice.

‘God, Ad, what are we going to do? There’s no way we can keep going like this.’ Moisture trickled down her cheeks as the first round of tears for the day released. ‘I don’t want to do this anymore,’ she cried.