I stopped and took a deep breath, my feet sinking a few more inches into the mud. I needed to calm down and figure out a solution. I always told my kids that for every problem there was a solution. I’d just never imagined that trying to climb out of a sewage pit in my friend’s backyard was a problem that would need solving. I needed to use what I had.

My phone. I still had it in my back pocket.

I pulled it out and swiped at the screen with trembling fingers. Except the screen froze midswipe. I tried to turn it off and reboot it, but it kept searching for service. The terrible joke that I would have to complain to Mark about my cell service did not escape me.

Since the rectangle in my hand wouldn’t give me a signal, I decided to use it as a tool. So much for the newest model with the upgraded camera. I spotted the errant locust tree root, sticking out of the mud near the hole. I reached and strained and finally hooked my phone around it. Now I had leverage.

Rain began to fall around me, sloshing into mud at the bottom of the pit. The water level quickly rose, and I realized if I stayed any longer, I could drown. Adrenaline coursed through my body as I pulled myself up, using my phone as leverage.

I felt my shoulder pulling out of its socket, a burning pain shooting up my arm as I strained to lift myself. I was never good at pull-ups in gym class, but now my life depended on it. Too bad I had never taken Jess up on her offer to try a CrossFit class.

I put my other hand around my wrist for stability as I slowly lifted my feet out of the mud. With my feet free, I pulled, ignoring the searing pain in my arm, until I got a foot against the edge of the mud pit. With my other hand, I clawed toward the top, handfuls of mud moving through my fingers like pudding. I stopped for a moment to take a breath, my chest feeling like it was going to explode.

As I did, I noticed a color change inside the pit. A green swirl was beginning to form at the bottom, like smoke gathering from a fire. And then the awful smell came back again.

My eyes widened in terror as the smoke swirled up toward me, encircling my leg. Inside, I felt the presence of something dark, something ancient. Something demonic.

I turned and pulled, pushing my feet against the mud with everything I had. My survival instincts kicked in, and I barely noticed when two of my fingernails broke off, lost to the earth.

The mist around my leg began to settle, and I felt a slight pulling sensation. It wanted me to come back down, to wash over me.