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~Memphis, Saqqara and the Pyramids of Giza~
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~ MEMPHIS, SAQQARA AND GIZA
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About two thirds of the way up the shaft, my panic increasing exponentially, I realized that I was in deep trouble. Impossibly, my body seemed to be controlled by some invisible force. I could do nothing but continue ascending the shaft. I was screaming inside, and every pore of my body was streaming sweat. I needed to be out of this unending, stifling stone coffin. I could not stand to be in it one more second yet I somehow continued my painful upward climb. There has to be something just ahead to warrant all of this pain and fear, I rather mindlessly repeated to myself over and over as I struggled. My growing fear of the coming descent contributed to my stubborn refusal to reverse direction and get myself out of this terrible, terrifying situation.
The handrails were beginning to wobble! The stabilizing crosspieces on the floor were either missing or partly broken. My feet slipped and I almost completely lost my footing. My wrists screamed as I squeezed the rails on either side of me with all of my might and effort. I was nearly to the top of my prison when it became crystal clear that we were in a very unsafe and potentially dangerous area. This was not a shaft that was any longer routinely climbed. The upper part of the shaft, exposed to the elements, had degraded hazardously.
I could see the light of day ahead and I absolutely hungered to stand up straight and ease my body's pain. I needed to breathe fresh air now if I was to survive this ordeal. Relief was so tantalizingly close that I managed to get myself to the top of the shaft despite my rather realistic fear that at any moment one of the loose rails could literally pull off in my hand. I no longer cared about getting down, my panic was nearly out of control and I just absolutely needed to stand up straight and breathe. Nothing have I ever needed with such certainty and intensity. Just an instant later I could see that it was to be impossible.
An ancient lock on a rusty metal gate prevented any escape from the terror and claustrophobia that gripped me. I felt eternally imprisoned as I saw no way out of this narrow passageway. My legs began to shake uncontrollably and I barely was able to turn my head to tell Daniel that I needed to get down now. A whisper left my lips, my breath so shallow that the screams inside me remained silent.
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