Sarisin woke to the sounds of voices. Gasping, she strained to hear the voices again, but there was nothing. Whimpering, she winced as pain shot through her shoulder and leg. Her entire body was shaking from the cold that seeped up through the stone. Everything was in pain, aching and bruised. Using her fingers again, she reached down to her pinned leg. The blood had dried in the cold air, much to her relief, and she felt around the wound. Even the intense pain from touching it was less than before.
To her relief, the wound was already crusted over, the results of the healing potion. Exploring the rest of her body, she tested the wound in her shoulder. Fragments of bone still stuck out of the wound, but a thick crust of blood stopped the blood loss.
Voices drifted down from above and she jerked slightly. Crying out softly at the pain that exploded, she took a deep breath and called out. Sarisin's voice was rough and raspy, from too much terror and sleeping on cold stone.
“Help.”
Swallowing against the dryness in her throat, she called out again. Her voice was louder, echoing against the walls of the pit, but still too soft to be heard from any distance.
“Help!”
The voices grew louder and soon she could make out Raban's voice urging the rest of her companions on. Above her, in the endless darkness, a thin spear of light lit up the edges of the pit. Gasping, she called out again, as loud as she could.
“Help!”
The voices stopped for a moment, then sounds of boots against the stone filled her hearing. A few seconds later, three heads peered down into the pit. A magical light, Raban's spell, filled the pit and she blinked at the tears from the harsh red light streaming down.
“Help me.”
Gailin's voice, disgusted and pitying, drifted after the light.
“Looks like our thief found herself a trap.”
Sarisin begged, “Please help me.”
Gailin snorted, “Why? You found the trap, you get yourself out.”
Narrar grunted, “Get her up, man.”
“Why?”
“Because she's part of the group.”
She felt eyes peering down at her. Gailin snorted, “Why bother.”
“Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be… properly appreciative.”
“Even I'm not that hard up for a little-”
Raban's voice interrupted Gailin's words and he pointed down one of the hallways, “Look at that!”
All three of her so-called companions turned away from her to look down the hall leading to the glowing door. Raban moved quickly, jumping over the edge of the pit and running down the hallway. Gailin didn't even look down at her as he swore and jumped after. Narrar looked down, a sad look on his face that Sarisin felt didn't have to do with her wellbeing, and then followed.
“No! Please help me! I'll do anything! Anything!”
Her calls went unanswered as the sounds of her companion's boots faded in the short distance of the hallway. The reddish light of Raban's spell faded into the distance and she quieted. They couldn't or wouldn't hear her. She spoke in a shaking whisper, to the dim light.
“I'll do anything…”
Her companions were too far. Sarisin had never felt so alone with someone who could save her so close. She sniffed, trying to fight back the sudden tears. A burning throb ignited in her leg and she whimpered to fight back the tears and the pain.
Above her, the light suddenly flared. Then, a huge gout of flame burst out over the pit. Some of the greenish black flames curled into her hole, heating it until until her eyes stung, but the bulk of it expanded down the opposite hallway, the one she didn't travel along. It hissed as it burned and she watched as stones above began to glow cherry red from the heat.
Flames died as fast as they were created and the stench of scorched stone and burnt bodies filled the pit. Sarisin could only stare up in growing hope. A flickering red light grew from the hallway, growing stronger as it smeared itself across the ceiling. Then, the bright point peeked over the edge as Gailin threw a body over the pit to the hallway leading out. From her position, she could see his armor still smoking. Something bounced off the body, then rolled to the edge. It rocked on the edge of the pit before falling in. Sarisin barely caught the image of the charred metal skull, with broken chain, before it bounced out of her vision and cracked against one of the spikes.
The light also gave her the first look at the poles. To her growing dread, each one was a meter in height and tipped with an immense barbed point. Under the ruby light, the rust covered spikes were too far up for her to ever pull herself off.
Gailin glanced down at her with an expression Sarisin never saw before. Sorrow. Shaking his head, he jumped back over the pit and ran down the hall. He came back after only a few moments, with Narrar's armor and pack, but no Narrar. He stopped on the side of the pit and pick up the body of his brother. Raban gave a broken moan, but made no effort to resist his brother's lift.
Staring coldly down the hall, from where the magic door was and the flames came from, he spoke in a very short, terse tones.
“We'll be back.”
Lifting one hand, she called out to him.
“Please help?”
Gailin glanced down, the sorrow still on his face. Tears dripped down his face, but instead of helping her, or even throwing down food, he turned around and walked away.
“Help?”
Sarisin's voice was pitiful and weak, but Gailin didn't return. The red smear of magical light faded slowly along with the sounds of his boots. Soon, darkness plunged back into the pit and she was left alone with her heartbeat.
She burst into tears.
Every sob that ripped through her body sent fresh pain shooting through her shoulder and leg, but there was no more energy to stop it. Instead, she let the tears roll freely down her cheek and splash against the blood-stained rock.
“Please let me die”
Her sobs echoed up the walls of the pit, and came back down, speaking in a slightly different voice. Sarisin called out again, between the tears, begging for death. It never came and darkness pressed tightly against her, cooling her skin and sapping the tears from her eyes.
“Please? Just kill me.”
Sarisin kept calling out to the darkness, begging for any gods to answer her, to take her life away. No gods came down, no bolts of lightning and her heart continued to beat like pounding drum. She kept begging for death until her voice gave out and the cold floor was causing her to shiver constantly. Everything hurt, from the two injuries to the ache in her bones. In the darkness, she couldn't escape the pain, except to beg in a rasping voice.