If her mouth and throat hadn't been so dry and fiill of grit, she might have screamed. She felt like it, felt like screaming and screaming until somebody heard and came to help.

She shifted again, carefiilly, and heard rocks clattering down. They seemed incredibly loud, probably because everything else was so quiet. The only other sound she could hear was her own breathing.

It wasn't steady, but at least she was doing it. At least she was alive.

Did he know she was alive? He must have checked after he pushed her, Jenny thought. He must have come down and checked. But if he'd done that, then he would have known she wasn't dead.

Did he think she was in a coma, like Diana? No, he couldn't have taken a chance on that. If he'd seen she was still alive, he would have killed her.

He couldn't have seen, then. He didn't know for sure. He must not have been able to get to her. He must be waiting. Waiting until there was just enough light to see by. Then he'd make his move.

Jenny put her hands over her mouth and gulped down the sound that was trying to escape. She had to be quiet. But she also had to move, get down, get away. She didn't know what time it was, it could be hours before the first Ught, or it could be minutes. She had to move now. And she had to do it without him hearing her.

Chapter 12

In spite of the urge to start scrambling down immediately, Jenny forced herself to sit still for a few more minutes. The darkness was almost total; her eyes had adjusted enough so that she could make out shapes close by, but when she tried to see for any distance, it was as if a thick black cloak had been thrown over the world. It must be cloudy, she thought. She couldn't even see any stars above her, just more darkness.

She stretched her arms out wide, trying to get a feel of the place where she'd landed, and whether or not there were any sheer drops in store for her when she made her first move. Her hands met with rocks, and after she'd pulled on one to make sure it wasn't going to come loose and fall with her, she held on tight and started to roll over onto her knees. That's when she felt the pain in her right ankle. The sharpness of it made her hiss through her teeth and sweat broke out on her forehead. When the pain

eased into a dull ache, she reached down and felt her ankle, gently.

It felt puffy. Did broken bones swell? She didn't know. Probably it was sprained; she must have twisted it when she landed. She couldn't let it hold her back, though, broken or not. She might have to move even more slowly than she'd planned, but she still had to move.

She grabbed hold of the rock again and rolled over. She poked around with her good foot until she felt it come up against something sohd, then took a deep breath and slowly let herself shde down.