The wood of the staircase scraped at her elbows. The fire in the roof rained down ashes on her face. Yet she crawled on. All she had to look forward to was the next seam in the floor. If she could just get to the next seam, she'd be okay. She could get out of this hell-hole. The next seam would arrive, and then there would be another seam to reach.

Rose almost prayed for a swift death.

Then, a voice rang out over the roaring fire: "Hello? Anyone here? Come upstairs! There's a safe way out!"

Rose opened her mouth to respond, and a hoarse breath came out, followed by a string of coughs. There was no way he heard that. [i]Please, don't leave me behind! Just stay a little bit longer. I'll get there.[/i]

Solomon might have heard the coughing.