Almost Free! (Part 6)

A dry waft of heat alerted me that I had almost reached the exit. I lifted my head to see just how close I was, but that was a mistake. Stumbling debris pelted my eyes, nose, and mouth. I coughed so hard that my left foot slipped. It pedaled madly trying to find a rock, an edge, a crack – anything. In my fists, tiny snaps ticking ever faster told me that the roots in my grasp were cracking under my weight and spasms. And then my cell phone vibrated in the back pocket of my shorts. “Not now!” I raged. In an all-or-nothing gamble, I let go of the roots, pumped my right leg to the fullest, and stretched my arms as far as I could, fingers hyper-extended...