Falling through tunnels

I found myself falling.

I landed with a thump on the floor of the tunnel below the one I had been in.

Then that floor began to give way.

I grabbed for anything to hold on to.

All I felt were chunks of ice.

The I felt and arm.

“Santa!”

It was Eomar.

I felt his hand and grasped it.

We fell through the second floor.

We hit the floor below. Ice fell on us.

And elves and dwarves.

And more ice.

After a few minutes, the ice stopped falling.

He tunnel was filled with the groans and the sounds of elves and dwarves coughing.

I was coughing, too.

“Are you all right, Santa?”

I recognized Gimlitin’s voice.

“Yes, I think so. Are you? How is everyone else?”

Gimlitin clicked on his lantern. Several other lanterns turned on.

It took a few minutes, but we finally found everyone.

Bruises, a few sprains, but nothing more serious.

“Can we climb back out?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Gimlitin said.

I didn’t like the sound of concern in his voice.