Reid has nowhere to go. The lit lip of the tunnel is so narrow he is mostly in the dark, his back facing the approaching creatures. He tries to turn, slips, his sneakers losing traction on the skinny bit of ledge, sending a cascade of pebbles and dust down the quiet shaft. He has no time to think up a plan, no recourse. Either he falls or the creatures eat him alive.

On his knees, Reid's desperate hands grip the outside edge of the shaft wall as he searches for something, ...