She had to try to move faster now. She'd started out hating the dark, but after a while she realized it was about the only thing going for her. It was like a cover, and once morning came, that cover would be ripped off. She wouldn't be able to sneak back to her car then, or find some crevice to crawl into and hide. There hadn't been much chance of that to begin with, but once the light came, the chance would be completely gone. He'd see her, no matter where she was.

Moving faster was something she could only do in her mind, though. Her heart raced, but the rest of her just plodded along at the same agonizing slow pace. She was afraid to look up again, afraid to see even more light; she focused her eyes on the rocks about two inches from her nose and tried to forget everything else.

After a few more minutes, Jenny's foot hit air

again. She reached out with her left arm and felt a smooth, flat surface. She couldn*t tell how far it went on, but to the right there was just more air, so she stuck out her left foot and managed to slide a few feet until she felt solid rock underneath. She felt to the left again. More flat rock. And more. Maybe it was the rock where she'd first come to meet him. If it was, then the gully was over to her left. And once she got to that, she could stand up and walk the rest of the way down. No, she couldn't do that, not on her ankle. She'd have to crawl. But that wasn't so bad; she should keep low, anyway.

It was still quite dark, and as she turned over on her seat and started scooting to the other side of the rock, Jenny felt a surge of hope. She was certain he was waiting for her, but if she'd actually made it down off the face of the cliff before the first light, then she might have a chance after all.

She scooted a few feet, then stopped. Her ankle was killing her and her good leg was cramping from holding all her weight. She stretched it out and rubbed it frantically. She couldn't stop now.

There. It was okay. She got ready to move, braced herself on her hands, and pushed up on her good leg. And stopped in that position, not moving, not even breathing.

She'd heard something. A sound, but not one she'd made. Silently, she eased herself down and listened.

There it was again. A rock clattering on another

one, followed by a soft swish of smaller pebbles. She knew that sound, all right, she'd been making it all night. But she hadn't made this one. Someone else had.

Automatically, Jenny reached around until her fingers closed over a loose rock. It was perfect, rough and uneven, just the right size for her hand. Then she waited again.