Page 74 of Pippa of Lauramore
She braces herself, closes her eyes for a moment, takes two quick steps, and then leaps across. I grab her by the shoulders and don’t let go until I’m sure she’s stable.
We’re across.
I point to a part of the open ceiling closest to the wall. The first person will have to climb up the wall, hang from the ledge, and then pull herself up using only her arms. That person will have to be me.
“Here’s where we’re going to climb out.” My hands are sweaty. This is much more terrifying than the jump. For a few moments, I will be dangling over the empty cavern. There will be nothing to break my fall if I should slip—nothing but the tiny puddle of water on the stone floor.
“Pippa, please be careful,” Leonora says.
I find a foothold in the wall and pull myself up. I stretch my hand out and grab onto the rock ledge above me. I give it a good yank, checking to see if it’s stable enough to hold my weight.
So far so good.
I take in a few sharp breaths, grit my teeth, and quickly reach for the ledge with my other hand.
I’m hanging over the cavern.
Leonora gasps and Marigold squeaks. I swing my legs back to the wall, trying to reach a foothold. With one swift kick against the rock, I have enough momentum to pull myself up. My head and chest are out, but the ledge cuts into my stomach. I look for something, anything, to grab hold of.
My hands are starting to slip, and my legs dangleuselessly below me. There’s a sapling just within reach. I don’t want to trust it, not with its roots only growing in sand over rock, but I can’t hold on any longer.
I grab onto it and send up a silent prayer of thanks when it holds firm. I use the sapling to pull myself up and out and then collapse on the ground. Only now do my legs start trembling.
“Pippa?” Leonora calls, trying to be quiet. “Are you all right?”
“Mmmhmmm,” I answer.
I turn back to the opening, stretch out on my belly, and firmly tuck my toes against a sturdy boulder. I lower my arms and head into the opening. “All you have to do is clasp my hands. I will pull you, and you will use your feet against the wall to press yourself up.”
They stare at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“It’s the only way,” I say. “Hurry up, all my blood is rushing to my head.”
Marigold steps forward. Now that she’s this close, she seems eager to be free from the cave. I clasp her hands and pull as hard as I can. She stumbles against the wall but gives me enough to yank her up.
She’s out.
I turn back for Leonora. She looks up at me with tired eyes. “If something happens?—”
I give her a sharp look. “Leonora, stop.”
“Tell Percival I love him.”
“You will be fine.”
She grasps my hands, and I pull. It’s going well. She’s found her footing on the wall, and she’s walking herself up.
Then she slips.
Her feet slide down and away from the edge, and the only thing keeping her from falling to her death is our clasped hands. The momentum of her fall has loosened my grip, and I can feel her sliding away from me.
“No!” I shriek.
I can’t hold her. I grasp her as tight as I can, but our hands are slick, and I can’t hold firm. One hand slips away completely, and she’s dangling from my fingertips. I grit my teeth and close my eyes, doing everything in my power to just hold on.
Then she’s gone, and my hands hold nothing. I scream in anguish, not caring who hears.
“Help me!” Marigold breathes, her voice strained.
