I don't own Narnia or the Pevensies. I'm really sorry this took so long - I uploaded it a week ago, but it never showed up! It was swallowed in the move, I suppose. In any case, it looks like I was lazy but I promise I wasn't. :)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Now really, this is just mad," Timothy said vehemently, though his sword was drawn and he didn't risk actually looking at Edmund, to whom he was obviously speaking.

"Feel free to try and fend for yourself," Edmund spat back, eyes locked on the monster looming above them. "The forest is any direction you please."

"You intend to fight, then," the elder man said disbelievingly. The spider-like creature's forward extremities twitched, like it was smelling something. Lucy swallowed hard, her dagger in her hand, though she didn't see what good it would do now. Edmund had unbuckled his shield from his back and it was in his hand, now, his eyes scanning over their enemy. Practically seeing the cogs turning behind his eyes, Lucy realized he was sizing it up, trying to figure out what to do.

"Not necessarily," he said, in response to Timothy's statement. "I intend to rescue my brother. I don't intend to fight if I don't have to."

"And how would you accompli – " The monster lurched forward clumsily but at an alarming rate; its jaws snapped at the air Edmund had occupied only a second before. Lucy expected her brother to take advantage of its momentary confusion and stab it, but he did not. Perhaps he was afraid of angering it. It retracted its great head slowly, looming above them once more, and suddenly Edmund snapped into action and began to spew orders.

"Lu," he said quickly. "Run around while we distract it, see if you can't get Peter to wake somehow. Throw things at him. If he wakes up, both of you look for ways to get out of that pit. If he doesn't, look for a way in and try to figure out what's wrong with him. He might be poisoned. Timothy – you and I are going to try and take this thing down a few pegs. Keep on your feet, don't try to kill it, just see if we can't get enough of its legs clipped that it…"

A hideous squeal erupted from the creature and it lunged again, this time towards Timothy, whose impending protest was cut off as he was bowled over. The great jaws gaped wide, swooping towards him as he struggled to get to his feet, and for a terrible second, Lucy was sure he was going to be swallowed whole, but something dark flashed through the air towards the monster and it reared back with a screech, one spindly limb swinging wildly towards its source. Edmund ducked and it whooshed over him.

"Go!" he shouted to his sister. Lucy didn't stop to question him but took off, realizing he'd thrown the knife he'd been carrying. She skirted around the edge of the pit to more monstrous squeals and a few, shouted, less-than-savory words from her brother and his ally.

The great trench was deep, though not so deep that it would kill a person to jump into it. It seemed to be simply a great hole in the dirt and grass of the forest. It was wide enough that when Lucy came to stand approximately above where Peter, she was easily thirty feet from the combat. The thing was flailing now, its limbs flying every which way as it tried to bring down its attackers. She saw Timothy swing his sword forcefully and the tip of one of its legs went flying, red globs of sticky blood erupting from the end. Screeching in fury, the creature renewed its efforts, keeping its wounded leg off the ground.

Turning her attention to the task at hand, Lucy quickly looked around for something to throw. Thankfully, there was a trail of rocks and sticks and trampled grass nearby, where she assumed the monster had dragged her brother. She picked up a short stick and hurled it down. Though she'd never had much of a good arm, her aim was good and throwing down was easier anyway – it bounced off Peter's shoulder. Unfortunately, the leather shoulder-plates of his armor caused it to glance off harmlessly, and she tried again, this time aiming for his head since it was the biggest target of the unguarded parts of his body.

"Peter!" she yelled, cupping her hands over her mouth. He remained green and still.

Gritting her teeth, Lucy bent to pick up a small rock and threw it. It hit Peter square on the temple, and his head lolled to one side slightly, a red mark where the rock had struck, but still he did not waken, though for an instant Lucy thought his lips had moved slightly. A pained yell came from the fighters across the pit; her head jerked up in time to see the monster bearing down upon Edmund, but a second later Timothy had hurled himself between the two. The hairy bulk of the spider-like creature blocked her view from this point and she turned back to Peter with a fresh sense of urgency.

"In Aslan's name, wake up!" she pleaded, picking up a slightly heavier rock and chucking it down at him. It struck his shoulder again, bouncing off to land in the loose dirt, and still he did not move. Now seriously worried, Lucy began to wonder if perhaps they'd been too late. But there was only one way to find out. The sides of the pit sloped slightly inward, enough that she couldn't jump cleanly (besides, it was about twelve feet deep; she would break her legs) but not so much that she could walk or slide down. The dirt was more firmly packed towards the bottom than the top.

Looking around quickly, Lucy picked up a stick about half as wide as her wrist, gripping it in her left hand and drawing her dagger with her right. She leaned over the edge of the pit and thrust them both into the side, moving around until she found a place where they wouldn't slide in as easily. Then she turned herself around and slid her feet backwards until she was gripping the grass at the top, her lower body dangling over the edge. Taking a deep breath, she let go of the grass with one hand and quickly grasped her dagger, then let go with the other hand and held onto the stick, her feet brushing against the edge of the pit and her hands upon her makeshift handholds.

When her heart had slowed a bit, Lucy gathered her courage and made her next move. She swiftly tugged her dagger from its place and swung it down, burying it to the hilt in slightly firmer dirt about a foot below. Then she did the same with the stick, and slowly began to make her way down the face of the pit. The third time she tried to move the stick, it struck a rock instead of dirt and glanced off, and for a terrifying moment she was left dangling by one arm until she finally managed to jam it into the hard earth and breathe again.

When her boots were four feet from the ground, she withdrew her dagger and dropped, leaving the stick embedded ten feet in the air as she dropped down to the bottom. She stumbled a bit on the uneven ground but quickly regained her footing and looked around for Peter. He sat slumped against the side, his face pale and greenish, but from this proximity she could see the slight rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. She put a hand on his face – it was boiling hot, but the more immediate reaction was that his eyes flew open and his chest began to heave fitfully, as if he was having trouble breathing.

"Peter, it's me," Lucy said quickly, not sure why that made a difference, but it seemed the right thing to say. His wide eyes rolled over to stare at her face, but his breathing remained a struggle. Unsure of what to do, she stroked the hair back from his face like Susan did for her sometimes when she was having trouble calming down. "It's okay, it's okay."

"Lucy!" Edmund's voice came, a hoarse bellow. She looked sideways –

- and something slammed into her side, sweeping her sideways and slamming her against the pit wall. She felt herself cry out but no sound came, only a hollow rush of air as it was driven forcefully from her lungs. The loose earth vibrated slightly at the pounding of many feet, and then the monster was scrabbling towards them both, rushing in front of Peter and screaming a hissing shriek at Lucy. She'd dropped her dagger when she'd approached Peter. She had nothing left with which to defend itself. And though she saw Edmund and Timothy rushing along the top of the pit, they were too far away; they wouldn't reach her in time, she knew.

Swallowing hard, Lucy reached for a stone and stared into the face of her inevitable doom.