We stopped, gasping for breath.
‘We must go back, Vic!’
She pushed away from me and began to stagger back the way we had come. I stumbled after her, jerked her round.
‘Don’t act the fool, Paula! Now, come on. You’re getting into a panic.’
‘I know,’ She clung to me. ‘I can’t help it. It’s this awful darkness.’
I could feel her trembling against me.
‘Let’s sit down for a moment. We’re going to get out of this; only, you’ve got to keep calm.’
We sat down, and immediately discovered the air was a lot better near the floor of the tunnel. I pushed her flat and lay beside her.
After a few minutes the tightness around my chest and the weights around my limbs went away.
‘This is better.’