Doc looked up in surprise at the dangling ladder. It was the bottom rung of a rope ladder that had hit him in the head. “Well I’ll be. Now what?”
“Our way out of here,” Kybil grabbed Maaleah’s arm and pushed her toward the ladder.
“Look!” Kess pointed. “There’s another one over there.”
The ground beneath them moved more violently. It pitched and heaved with such force it threw everyone to the ground.
“Oh, no!” Maaleah screamed above the constant wail and groans of the surface. “This thing is oozing out a lot more of that sticky stuff.”
Kybil and Rakmor managed to move under the constant heaving and pulled Maaleah and Doc to the closest ladder.
“Kess!” Kybil yelled through the din. “Try to get to the other ladder. Hurry!”
The two men struggled to get Maaleah up to the second rung. Fi
