The tunnel got narrower and her claustrophobia kicked in. She kept her arms bent, hands at her chest. Her shoulders scraped the tunnel walls. A sudden fear flashed through her, that she’d get jammed in here, unable to move. She let the fire go out and covered her face with her hands. She was sweating. Breathing fast. Close to panic. Her progress slowed, the creatures working to get her through. The tunnel walls were tight against her shoulders. Her arms were forced down by her sides. It was too small. The space was too small. Too narrow and too low. She wanted to scream and lash out, flail and kick, but there was no room for that. She had to keep it together. She had to. She had to remain calm. She had to keep control.

The creatures were all over her. All she could hear were their scuttling legs and her own breathing. Another sound escaped her. A sob. Was she crying? No, not yet. But close. Very close.

“Please,” she whispered. “Please please please please.”

The creatures gave another determined shunt, and her head banged painfully off the tunnel ceiling and her shoulders jammed and she came to a sudden, jarring halt.

She was stuck.

Her arms were trapped by her sides. She could open and close her hands, and she could kick her feet a few inches, but that was all.

Valkyrie opened her eyes to complete blackness. She heard the creatures scuttling away to either side, which meant the tunnel had opened to something wider. She just had to get her shoulders through this last narrow bit, and she’d have room.

She started wriggling. She couldn’t bend her knees much, but she tried her best, tried to gain a foothold and push off from it. Her fingers scraped the rock. Her hips squirmed as much as they could.

Her shoulders wouldn’t budge, though. Nothing she was doing was moving her further on.

Closing her eyes, she forced herself to take deep breaths. Her hands were slick with sweat, and the air felt cold against her skin. She could feel the air against her feet, too, even through the boots. It was faint, very faint, but it was there, that space where it all connected. All she had to do was push off from it, then fly like a torpedo from a launch tube. Easy. It was going to be easy.

Her heartbeat slowed. She took another breath. Let it out. In control again. In control.

She pushed off hard, felt the air rushing around her body, felt it shoot up through the gaps and blow her hair off her face. But she didn’t move. She didn’t move, not one inch.