When Arnold turned and saw that he was suddenly alone, he did not panic. They had prepared for such a thing beforehand. If one of them stepped into snow sand, they were to lie spreadeagle without struggling, in an attempt to fall as slowly as possible, while the other found a way to retrieve them. Earlier, he had sliced one of the long, thick vines that hung above from the trees and coiled it over his arm. Now he knotted one end of this around a tree root and tied the other securely to his belt as a safety rope before diving into the ground where she had disappeared. He had no idea whether the vine would reach far enough and knew he had to work fast--before she suffocated.
Meanwhile, Helganna was drifting away, falling, falling. She wondered if it truly was bottomless, like she'd always heard. Did one ever stop, or just keep falling forever through the sand, like being washed about in an endless sea? The sand was so fine, she could barely feel it slipping around her, although she was aware of its ever-growing weight pressing down on her from above . She knew she was sinking quickly through the sand, yet it seemed to be so slow. She felt weightless, sleepy. It didn't seem real, rather like being in a dream, because you couldn't see anything, you only knew that you were still falling and probably would until the end of time. She couldn't breathe. She would have to breathe soon, but then the sand would come in and drown her in its softness. Drowning. That was it--snow sand was like drowning without the wetness. What a strange way to die. And Arnold...
She had almost forgotten about him. Where was Arnold?
Arnold had reached the end of the vine.
He very nearly did panic, then, when he could go no further and still couldn't find her in the sand. He knew that if he hesitated too long, she would be lost, and if he let go of the vine to look for her she might still be lost, and besides there was the slimmest of chances he'd ever find the end of the vine again, in which case they'd both be lost. So he did the only thing he could.
He let go.
Hoping desperately that she was just beyond his reach, he sank freely through the sand, feeling in every direction for something solid. Then, at the last second before it would have been impossible to fight his way back to safety, he felt...
A foot.
He clung to it with all his strength, and pushed his other arm above through the sand for the vine. Somehow, he found it, somehow, he managed to grab hold of it firmly and work his way back up towards freedom.
Somehow, he managed to pull them both out of the sand, gasping and spitting and breathing in the sweet air of life as they collapsed on the solid ground. When she could finally speak again, her face crusted with sand and her voice hoarse, she turned to him with a wry smile.
"What kept you?"
They rested for several minutes, coughing up sand and settling their nerves after their harrowing escapade. Finally, they rose to their feet reluctantly, and began walking again. It would be dusk sooner or later; the sunlight would fade between the trees and shadows would blanket the swamp with darkness, and so they had to walk as far as they could before then. If the Fire Swamp was dangerous enough in the daytime, imagine what it would be at night, when you couldn't see where you were putting your foot and all sorts of crawly things slithered out of their lairs to hunt.
"Well, now that you know the story of my life," said Arnold, attempting to lighten the mood after they had walked in wearied silence for a while, "let's hear what you've been doing for three years."
"What's to tell? I grieved over you, got engaged, got kidnapped, and you saved me. If you can call this 'being saved', that is." She glanced around at the swamp and let out a deep melancholy sigh, burying her face in her hands. "We aren't going to make it. We're going to rot here, in this horrible, smelly place, burned or suffocated or eaten alive. End of story." she said.
He put his arms around her. "Nonsense!" he said. "Look how far we've already come. People who have been through so many trials already can't possibly be meant to die in the Fire Swamp. We're nearly there, so don't give up just yet."
"Do you have any idea how annoying that optimism of yours gets, Mary Sunshine?"
"Of course. I'm one of a kind."
Helganna shook her head. "You're a fool, and I love you for it," she said. "But you know as well as I do; we barely lived through that--the snow sand, I mean--and our luck isn't going to hold out forever."
"And again, I say 'Nonsense!' After all, the Fire Swamp only has three significant dangers. The flame spurts are preceded by popping sounds, making them easy enough to avoid. And you've been thoughtful enough to test the snow sand for us; in the future, that can be avoided as well. Simple as pie, don't you see? And while we're on the subject, don't call me Mary."
"What about the R.O.U.S.s?"
It must be noted at this time that Helganna, despite all her bravura and show and protests to the contrary, was ABHORRENTLY afraid of rats of any size--and would probably have sooner kissed Lady Lila than look at a giant rodent. (Mind you, I am not so sure that one is any better than the other.)
It must also be noted at this time that Arnold thought he had already detected some rather menacing, hairy shapes lurking behind the trees, and was feeling a little apprehensive about the possibility of R.O.U.S.s himself. Perhaps he should have turned to Helganna at that moment and whispered something like: "Well, now that you mention it, something or other does appear to be following us."
But he didn't. Instead, he decided there was no need to alarm her just yet, and said "Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist." Then he turned and kept walking.
And then, the largest of the R.O.U.S.s in question leapt out of the shadows with a vicious snarl and sank its sharp teeth into his shoulder.